372 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



two. Very high in the list, also, would 

 come Mr. Henry Ridley's Ch. Redeemer. 

 And among bitches one would name cer- 

 tainly Mr. Gregg's Ch. Belfast Erin, Mr. 

 Clifton's Ch. Charwoman, Mr. Everill's 

 Ch. Erminie, and Mr. J. S. McComb's Ch. 

 Beeston Betty. These are but half a dozen, 

 but they represent the highest level of ex- 

 cellence that has yet been achieved by 

 scientific breeding in Irish Terrier type. 



Breeding up to the standard of excellence 

 necessary in competition in dog shows has 

 doubtless been the agent which has brought 

 the Irish Terrier to its present condition 



i 



MISS LILIAN A. PAULL'S CH. PAYMASTER 

 BY CH. BREDA MUDDLER ERASMIC. 



of perfection, and it is the means by which 

 the general dog owning public is most 

 surely educated to a practical knowledge 

 of what is a desirable and what an un- 

 desirable dog to possess. But, after all, 

 success in the show ring is not the one and 

 only thing to be aimed at, and the Irish 

 Terrier is not to be regarded merely as the 

 possible winner of prizes. He is above all 

 things a dog for man's companionship, and 

 in this capacity he takes a favoured place. 

 He has the great advantage of being equally 

 suitable for town and country life. In the 

 home he requires no pampering ; he has 

 a good, hardy constitution, and when once 



he has got over the ills incidental to puppy- 

 hood worms and distemper he needs only 

 to be judiciously fed, kept reasonably clean, 

 and to have his fill of active exercise. If 

 he is taught to be obedient and of gentle- 

 manly habit, there is no better house dog. 

 He is naturally intelligent and easily trained. 

 Although he is always ready to take his 

 own part, he is not quarrelsome, but re- 

 markably good-tempered and a safe asso- 

 ciate of children. Perhaps with his boister- 

 ous spirits he is prone sometimes to be over- 

 zealous in the pursuit of trespassing tabbies 

 and in assailing the ankles of intruding 

 butcher boys and officious post- 

 men. These characteristics come 

 from his sense of duty, which is 

 strongly developed, and careful 

 training will make him discrimin- 

 ative in his assaults. 



Very justly is he classed among 

 the sporting dogs. He is a born 

 sportsman, and of his pluck it 

 were superfluous to speak. Fear 

 is unknown to him. In this 

 characteristic as in all others, he 

 is truly a son of Erin, and, like 

 his military countrymen, he excels 

 in strategy and tactics. Watch 

 him when hunting on his own on 

 a rabbit warren ; see him when 

 a badger is about ; follow his 

 movements when on the scent of 

 a fox ; take note of his activity in 

 the neighbourhood of an otter's 

 holt ; observe his alertness even 

 at the very mention of rats ! As a ratter 

 the Irish Terrier has no rival. Mr. Ridgway's 

 story of Antrim Jess illustrates both the 

 terrier's ratting capabilities and its resource- 

 ful strategy. A bank was being bored for 

 the wily vermin. One bolted. Jess had 

 him almost before he had cleared his hole. 

 Then came another and another, so fast 

 that the work was getting too hot even 

 for Jess ; when a happy thought seemed 

 to strike her, and while in the act of killing 

 a very big one, she leaned down and jammed 

 her shoulder against the hole and let them 

 out one by one, nipping them in succession 

 until eighteen lay dead at her feet ! 



