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CHAPTER VII. 
TOY-DOGS, 
1, The King Charles and Blenheim Spaniels—2. The Maltese Dogp—3. Toy- 
Terriers—4. The Italian Greyhound—s. The Pug-Dog. 
I—TOY-SPANIELS, 
Two breeds are known and recognised under this head, namely, 
the King Charles and the Blenheim spaniels, the former being 
slightly the larger of the two, and by most people considered the 
more handsome. To an ordinary observer, the chief points of dis- 
tinction in the King Charles are the colour, which is black and 
tan more or less mixed with white—the less the better—and the 
length of the ears, which is greater than in the Blenheims, the 
latter being also lighter in frame, and always yellow or red and 
white. Both are small, delicate dogs; and though they have pretty 
good noses, and will hunt game readily, yet they so soon tire that 
they are rarely used for the purpose, and are solely kept for their 
ornamental properties. They make good watchdogs indoors, bark- 
ing at the slightest noise, and thus giving notice of the approach 
of improper persons; nor, though they are somewhat timid, are 
they readily silenced, as their small size allows of their retreating 
beneath chairs and sofas, from which asylum they keep up their 
sharp and shrill note of defiance. The great objection to these 
handsome little creatures as pets is, that they follow badly out of 
doors, and as they are always ready to be fondled by a stranger, 
they are very liable to be stolen. Hence many people prefer the 
toy-terrier or the Skye, which is now introduced very extensively 
as a toy-dog, and might with equal propriety be inserted in this 
chapter as in that which he occupies. The King, Charles and 
Blenheim spaniels are often crossed, and then you may have good 
specimens of each from the same litter; but if true, their colours 
never vary. 
