441 
CHAPTERS XUVIIL 
THE JAPANESE SPANIEL. 
BY MISS MARIE SERENA. 
“An honest creaiure, 
Of faithful, gentle, courteous nature ; 
A parlour pet unspoiled by favour, 
A pattern of good dog behaviour, 
Without a wish, without a dream, 
Beyond his home and friends at Cheam.” 
S their breed-name implies, these tiny 
A black and white, long-haired lap dogs 
are reputed to be natives of the land 
of the chrysanthemum. The Japanese, who 
have treasured them for centuries, have the 
belief that they are not less ancient than 
the dogs of Malta. There seems to be a 
probability, however, that the breed may 
claim to be Chinese just as surely as Japan- 
ese. The Hon. Mrs. McLaren Morrison, 
an authority on exotic dogs whose opinion 
must always be taken with respect, is 
inclined to the belief that they are related 
to the short-nosed Spaniels of Thibet ; 
while other experts are equally of opinion 
that the variety is an offshoot from the 
Spaniels of Pekin. It is fairly certain that 
they are indigenous to the Far East, whence 
we have derived so many of our small, 
snub-nosed, large-eyed, and long-haired pets. 
The Oriental peoples have always bred 
their lap dogs to small size, convenient for 
carrying in the sleeve or for holding com- 
fortably under the chin. The “sleeve dog ” 
and the “chin dog” are common and 
appropriate appellations in the East. 
The Japanese Spaniel was certainly known 
in England half a century ago, and probably 
much earlier. Our seamen often brought 
them home as presents for their sweet- 
hearts. These early imported specimens 
were generally of the larger kind, and if 
they were bred from—which is doubtful— 
it was by crossing with the already long- 
established King Charles or Blenheim 
Spaniels. Their colours were not invari- 
ably white and black. Many were white 
and red, or white with lemon-yellow patches. 
56 
SIDNEY SMITH. 
The colouring other than white was usually 
about the long-frinnged ears and the crown 
of the head, with a line of white running 
from the point of the snub black nose 
between the eyes as far as the occiput. 
MISS SERENA’S CH. FUJI OF KOBE. 
This blaze up the face was commonly said 
to resemble the body of a butterfly, whose 
closed wings were represented by the dog’s 
expansive ears. 
The white and black colouring is now 
the most frequent. The points desired 
are a broad and rounded skull, large in 
proportion to the dog’s body; a wide, 
strong muzzle and a turned-up lower jaw. 
Great length of body is not good; the 
back should be short and level. The legs 
are by preference slender and much feathered, 
the feet large and well separated. An 
