122 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



possible accusation of undue preparation 

 for show. 



To sum up the position of the Old 

 English Sheepdog in the canine world 

 to-day, I think there can be little doubt 

 that within the last decade the tendency 



MR. AUBREY NORWOOD'S CH. RAGGED MAN 



BY CH. CUPID'S DART CH. FAIRWEATHER. 



BRED BY MRS. FARE FOSSE. 



of the breed has been towards improvement. 

 Generally speaking, the all-round quality 

 is higher, the classification is much more 

 liberal, and the entries are far more numerous 

 than they were ten years ago. In fact, there 

 is a larger proportion of good dogs before the 

 public than at any previous time in the his- 

 tory of the breed. This is a healthy sign. 

 But with increasing popularity, and en- 

 hanced competition, there are symptoms 

 of inevitable dangers which often follow 

 in their train. 



The attempt to attain great size, already 

 alluded to, has had its ill-effects. Big 

 dogs, in many instances, have gained their 

 additional substance at the expense of true 

 type, and of the real Old English charac- 

 teristics. Heavy shoulders, undue length of 



fore face, and snipiness of muzzle, are on 

 the increase. 



In the matter of coat, too, the average 

 of excellence is none too high, and the 

 desirable harshness of texture is compara- 

 tively rare. To some extent, no doubt, 

 this is attributable to 

 over-grooming ; but a 

 harsh coat, like every 

 other attribute, can un- 

 questionably be bred, if 

 the breeder knows the 

 way to go about it. 



That is the point to 

 which exhibitors should 

 devote themselves. In- 

 stead of running after 

 a popular prize-winner, 

 and securing his ser- 

 vices regardless of the 

 ascertained laws of he- 

 redity, they should 

 strive, by a study of 

 the science of breeding 

 for results, to eradicate 

 faults by judicious se- 

 lection instead of aggra- 

 vating them. 



Good as our modern 

 bob-tails are, the points 

 in which they may well 

 be improved appear to 

 me to be these : Com- 

 pactness of body and shortness of back, 

 clean shoulders, harshness of coat, strength 

 of jaw and fore face. 



With our judges, of course, lies the 

 ultimate remedy, for the improvement or 

 deterioration of a breed rests to a very 

 great extent in the hands of those who 

 judge it. So many of us are equal to 

 criticising another man's verdicts ; so few 

 of us, alas ! are competent to improve on 

 them. 



There is scope in this direction for the 

 energies of the Old English Sheepdog Club, 

 who have done so much already for the 

 improvement of the breed. 



Of those whose names are household words 

 in the bob-tail fancy, the space at my dis- 

 posal only admits of the inclusion of a few. 



