THE DANDIE DINMONT. 



401 



all the points of the dog, without any undue 

 leaning towards any one or more particular 

 point or points. And here I would utter 

 a word of warning to breeders and admirers 

 of the Dandie, to the effect that they should 

 be careful not unduly to exaggerate the 

 points and peculiarities of the breed. 



The Dandie should be " long and low " 

 Quite so ; but though one often hears it 

 said that a Dandie's legs cannot be too 

 short, such a statement is inaccurate and 

 very mischievous. It should always be 

 remembered that the Dandie was originally 

 famous as a sporting terrier, as a dog that 

 was active enough to follow his master 

 all day over a rugged country, and, when- 

 ever the opportunity arose, to give battle 

 to fox, otter, or badger, and to follow his 

 quarry into its underground fastnesses. 

 If the Dandie is bred with too short legs, 

 or too big and heavy a body, it is impossible 

 for him to do his work in aiding man in 

 hunting and destroying vermin. 



The so-called " top-knot " of the Dandie 

 is another point which is in danger of 

 over-exaggeration for show purposes at 

 the present time. The standard of points 

 says that the head should be covered with 

 very soft, silky hair ; but it does not say 

 that that covering should be of exces- 

 sively long hair, standing up very high over 

 the head of the dog and giving him anything 

 but the appearance of a working terrier. 

 The top-knot should be abundant and long 

 enough to give the dog the appearance 

 of a " silver-domed " terrier, and then we 

 have what is quite sufficient. An excessively 

 long top-knot generally goes with too soft 

 a body coat, and also generally induces too 

 much growth of hair in front of the eyes, 

 and too much hair on the ears. Then 

 to enhance the appearance of smartness, 

 " trimming " is often resorted to. In the 

 interest of the dog, as well as of his owner, 

 the less trimming that is attempted the 

 better. 



An excessive top-knot is a great pitfall 

 for the unwary, for very often it covers 

 a multitude of sins in the shape of a flat 

 skull, perhaps also a narrow one, and ears 

 that are set too high on the head. 



The eye of the Dandie is an all-important 

 point, as herein lies a great feature of his 

 beauty and attractiveness. Many speci- 

 mens at the present time have eyes too 

 small, or eyes of too light a shade. The 

 eyes should be large, dark hazel (not black). 

 I emphasise this point, as one often sees it 

 stated as a great recommendation of some 

 Dandie that he possesses black eyes. Here 

 we have an instance of the way in which 

 a feature which is a good point is apt to be 

 exaggerated until it becomes a fault. 



MR E. W. H. BLAGG'S KATRINE ROB 



BY KATRINE WIZARD KATRINE REBEL. 



FROM A DRAWING BY CECIL HUNT. 



Many Dandies fail with regard to the 

 ear ; either it is set too high on the skull, 

 or is too big and heavy, or lacks the feather 

 at the tip. 



The long, flexible body is not always in 

 evidence, the body very often being too 

 stiff and cobby-looking, or the arched back 

 is over-exaggerated, which seems to stiffen 

 the body and cause a loss of flexibility, 

 and therefore of activity and usefulness in 

 the dog. On the other hand, a straight 

 back is a very common failing ; a dog with 

 this fault loses much of the typical appear- 

 ance of the breed. 



With regard to legs and feet there is 

 no doubt that specimens that have been 

 very faulty in this respect have on certain 

 occasions won high honours in the show ring ; 

 at the same time, I think there is no doubt 

 that there has been a very great all round 

 improvement in these points in recent years, 



