THE WELSH TERRIER. 



375 



In the early part of the last century we 

 know there were several strains of Welsh 

 Terriers in South Carnarvonshire kept purely 

 for sporting purposes, but most carefully 

 kept and bred, their different owners being 

 very proud of them, and each firmly con- 

 vinced that his own were the best in the 

 world. In one district, near a place called 

 Four Crosses, they were all Lewis Jones, 

 Saddler, breed ; in the Lleyn district they 

 were the Nauhoron breed ; at and about 

 the town of Carnarvon, the Rumsey breed ; 

 at and about Dolgelly, the Williams breed ; 

 at Harlech " Shon go " breed, and so on. 



At times it seems the Welsh poets have 

 thought it right to refer in verse to the 

 Welsh Terrier. The Welsh poet writes 

 what is called in Wales an " Englyn " ; one 

 such, which was composed in or about the 

 year 1450, is here given : 



" Urddasol ffou im eoesoch a gast dda, 

 Daeargast ddu dorgoch, 

 T dagu'r ffwlbart dugoch, 

 Ac i ewy go'r cachio coch." 



This, literally translated, reads : 



" You gave me a dignified (picked) 



stick and a good bitch, 

 A black red-bellied terrier bitch 

 To throttle the brown pole-cat 

 And to tear up the red fox." 



Until about the year 1884 no one seems 

 to have considered the question of putting 

 specimens of the breed on the show bench. 

 About that year, however, several gentlemen 

 interested in the variety met together to 

 see what could be done in connection with 

 the matter, the outcome being that the 

 Welsh Terrier Club was shortly afterwards 

 founded, the Kennel Club recognised the 

 breed, and the terrier himself began his 

 career as a show dog. 



The specimens which were first shown 

 were, as may be imagined, not a very high- 

 class-looking lot. Although the breed had 

 been kept pure, no care had been taken in 

 the culture of it, except that which was 

 necessary to produce a sporting game 

 terrier, able to do its work. One can readily 

 understand, therefore, that such an entirely 

 " fancy " point as a long foreface and 



narrow, clean skull had never been thought 

 of for a moment, and it was in these par- 

 ticulars that the Welsh Terrier at first 

 failed, from a show point of view. Natur- 

 ally enough:, good shoulders, sound hind- 

 quarters, more than fair legs and feet, and 

 excellent jackets were to be found in abund- 

 ance, but as the body was almost invariably 

 surmounted by a very short and wedge- 

 shaped head and jaw, often accompanied 

 with a pair of heavy, round ears, an under- 

 shot mouth, and a light, full eye, it will be 

 realised that the general appearance of the 

 dog was not prepossessing. 



No sooner had the Welsh Terrier been 

 started as a show dog than a serious rival 

 put in an appearance. He was a similar 

 dog, but much better-looking than most of 

 the variety he was trying to oust. By 

 name he was known as an Old English 

 Terrier, a somewhat catchy appellation, and 

 some very beautiful specimens were brought 

 out, the consequence being that very shortly 

 after the Welsh Terrier had been officially 

 recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club, 

 this competing animal was also afforded 

 due recognition by the ruling body and 

 put on the list of breeds. 



Then came the struggle for supremacy. 

 The beautiful Old English Terrier had, 

 naturally perhaps, the general sympathy ; 

 the insignificant short-faced Welsh Terrier 

 was laughed at, ridiculed, and treated with 

 contumely ; and though a small band of 

 determined admirers treated all this with 

 the scorn it deserved and stuck to their 

 dog, it was a hard struggle for them, and 

 it took some little time ere the foe was 

 successfully done with. That he was effec- 

 tually vanquished is a matter of history. 

 To the thinking person, who knew the 

 facts of the case, the victory of the Welsh 

 Terrier was assured from the first. The 

 one a pure breed established for centuries ; 

 the other, a child of the moment, a mon- 

 grel of the first water. So long as the pure 

 breed was kept pure, the Nemesis of the 

 other was bound to come. The Old English 

 Terrier emanated from the counties in the 

 North of England, wherein reside probably 

 the cleverest animal breeders in the world. 



