282 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



words, particularly as by their omission 

 judges are free to exercise their own dis- 

 cretion in the matter, and treat an exposed 

 haw as a point in a dog's favour or not, just 

 as they think fit. 



The points and general description of 

 the breed as published by both the Spaniel 

 Club and the Clumber Spaniel Club are 

 identical. They are as follows : 



1. Head. Large, square and massive, of medium 

 length, broad on top, with a decided occiput ; 

 heavy brows with a deep stop ; heavy freckled 

 muzzle, with well developed flew. 



2. Eyes. Dark amber ; slightly sunk. A light 

 or prominent eye objectionable. 



3. Ears. Large, vine leaf shaped, and well 

 covered with straight hair and hanging slightly 

 forward, the feather not to extend below the 

 leather. 



4. Neck. Very thick and powerful, and well 

 feathered underneath. 



5. Body (including size and symmetry). Long 

 and heavy, and near the ground. Weight of dogs 

 about 55 Ib. to 65 Ib. ; bitches about 45 Ib. to 



55 Ib. " 



6. Nose. Square and flesh coloured. 



7. Shoulders and Chest. Wide and deep ; 

 shoulders strong and muscular. 



8. Back and Loin. Back straight, broad and 

 long ; loin powerful, well let down in flank. 



9. Hind Quarters. Very powerful and well 

 developed. 



10. Stern. Set low, well feathered, and carried 

 about level with the back. 



11. Feet and Legs. Feet large and round, well 

 covered with hair ; legs short, thick and strong ; 

 hocks low. 



12. Coat. Long, abundant, soft and straight. 



13. Colour. Plain white with lemon markings ; 

 orange permissible but not desirable ; slight head 

 markings with white body preferred. 



14. General Appearance. Should be that of a 

 long, low, heavy, very massive dog, with a thought- 

 ful expression. 



To these remarks I would add that 

 in my opinion it is a great mistake to 

 think, as many do, that a Clumber's head 

 should be short. It can hardly be too 

 long, since the dog is expected to retrieve, 

 but should be so square and massive and 

 deeply flewed as to appear to be only of 

 medium length. 



The coat should be very thick and dense, 

 and of a silky texture. This is the most 

 weatherproof coat of all. 



The pads should be very thick and 

 strong. 



The hocks should be set straight. Many 

 Clumbers are cow-hocked, which is a great 

 fault. 



The forelegs should be straight, not 

 crooked like a Basset-hound's or Dachs- 

 hund's. Many otherwise good dogs fail in 

 this particular, owing to their great weight 

 when they are growing puppies forcing the 

 joints out of position. 



The facial appearance should denote a 

 very high order of intelligence. 



V. The Sussex Spaniel. This is one 

 of the oldest of the distinct breeds of Land 

 Spaniels now existing in the British Islands, 

 and probably also the purest in point of 

 descent, since it has for many years past 

 been confined to a comparatively small 

 number of kennels, the owners of which 

 have always been at considerable pains to 

 keep their strains free from any admix- 

 ture of foreign blood. 



More than a century ago Youatt, and 

 the authors of "The Sportsman's Cabinet" 

 and " Sportsman's Repository," wrote in 

 commendatory terms of the Spaniels found 

 in the county of Sussex, and even in France 

 the antiquity of the breed has found recog- 

 nition, as M. H. de la Blanchere, in his 

 work entitled " Les Chiens de Chasse," 

 says : " Cette race du Sussex itait une des 

 plus anciennes, et probablemcnt la premiere 

 qui ait ete asservi a la chasse au filet ou au 

 fusil dans les lies." 



The modern race of Sussex Spaniels, as we 

 know it, and as it has existed since the be- 

 ginning of the dog show era, owes its origin 

 in the main to the kennel kept by Mr. 

 Fuller at Rosehill Park, Brightling, near 

 Hastings. This gentleman, who died in 

 1847, i s sa -id to have kept his strain for fifty 

 years or more, and to have shot over them 

 almost daily during the season, but at his 

 death they were dispersed by auction, and 

 none of them can be traced with any accu- 

 racy except a dog and a bitch which were 

 given at the time to Relf, the head keeper. 

 Relf survived his master for forty years, 



