THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



245 



long that it is not easy to see whether he is 

 going or coming. And he can't tell you. for 

 there is so much hair over his eyes that he 

 can't see for himself. 



The long hair covers this dog so completely 

 as totally to conceal the physical characteris- 

 tics it is supposed to possess. There are two 

 types : those with pendent ears and those with 

 upright '■pricked" ears. 



The dog himself is long and low. like the 

 other Scotch terriers, and the hair, which parts 

 from his nose to his tail, comes nearly or quite 

 to the ground. This outer coat is quite hard 

 and nearly straight, curls being a grave fault, 

 though a moderate wave is generally present; 

 it should be at least ^/ 2 inches long on the 

 body, though shorter on the head. It falls 

 forward and nearly conceals the eyes. The 

 only visible feature of a good Skye is his black 

 button of a nose. The undercoat is much 

 softer and more sympathetic to the touch. 



In color the Skye may be dark or light 

 "blue" or gray, or fawn with black points. 

 The height is about 9 inches and the weight 

 16 to 20 pounds. 



THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER 



(•For illustration, see page 234) 



The Yorkshire terrier (page 254), as a rule, 

 is frankly exhibited as a toy. This breed, too, 

 claims to have had sporting instincts, but today 

 he is an artificial creature, and, so far from 

 being useful, practically requires a valet to 

 keep his beautiful long, silken coat in order. 



Special brushes are made for his benefit, 

 special cosmetics are recommended for his 

 hair, and very often he takes his meals with a 

 mask on to keep his long whiskers out of his 

 plate. Man\- owners go a step farther and 

 put cotton or linen stockings on his hind feet 

 to protect his precious coat when he scratches 

 himself. 



This little dog is virtually concealed by his 

 long silky coat, which reaches to the ground. 

 It is parted on his nose ; the part extends unin- 

 terrupted to the root of the tail, which is of 

 medium length, carried straight out. 



He is in general a delicate refinement of the 

 Skye, which he resembles strongly in confor- 

 mation. His back must be level and straight 

 and he must carry his head well up. 



The standard dictates a very strict color 

 scheme: the body from just back of the ears 

 is all steel blue ; the head and feet are all 

 golden tan, the shorter hair of nose. ears, and 

 feet being darker and richer, the long, flowing 

 hair of crown, cheeks, and chest being dark at 

 base, but growing steadily paler toward the 

 extremities. 



There are three classes, according to weight ; 

 5 pounds and under, 7 pounds and under, but 

 over 5, and over 7 pounds. 



THE MALTESE TERRIER 



(For illustration, see page 231) 



The Maltese terrier, which should be pure 

 white, is said to be of very ancient lineage and 



to have been a favorite of the ladies of olden 

 Rome. He is covered with long, straight, 

 silky hair from head to toes, and he has dark, 

 snappy eyes, which in some individuals give 

 an appearance of great alertness and intelli- 

 gence. 



Some dogs of this breed are very bright, 

 active, and interesting. Others are so delicate 

 that they are kept in glass cases for fear of 

 draughts — little more than slightly animated 

 pen-wipers. 



The head is like that of a droop-eared Skye ; 

 being, however, rather shorter and deeper in 

 muzzle. Like the Skye and Yorkshire, this 

 breed is completely lost in his coat and has to 

 be felt of to be judged. He must not exceed 

 10 pounds in weight. 



THE POMERANIAN 



(For illustration, see page 231 J 



Toy dogs have been developed from larger 

 breeds by selective breeding. They all serve 

 one main purpose, and it is a good one — they 

 bring joy and companionship to the thousands 

 of people who own them. And they do harm 

 to none, unless it be to those very few foolish 

 people who lose all sense of values and make 

 themselves the slaves of their canine pets. 



As companions, even little dogs are far pref- 

 erable to cats. They love with an unselfish 

 love, which cats do not. and they are guiltless 

 of the slaughter of the millions of useful birds 

 which are destroyed by cats in the United 

 States alone every year. If we keep pets, it 

 is our duty to keep those which are not peren- 

 nially destructive to useful things. 



One of the most popular toy dogs in this 

 country and in England is the Pomeranian, 

 which from his general appearance, including 

 the bushy tail curled over the hind quarters, 

 would appear to be descended, long ago, no 

 doubt, from the Samoyed dog of the north 

 (see page 225). Their more recent forefather 

 is the spitz (see page 224), and today the chief 

 difference between a spitz and a Pomeranian 

 is in size. 



As a result of careful breeding, many 

 "Poms" are less than five pounds in weight : 

 and in addition to black and white we now see 

 several beautiful colors, including blue, brown, 

 sable, red, orange, and fawn. 



The best, or at least most desired, class scale 

 under eight pounds. They are deep-furred, 

 kitten - footed, round-headed, pointed - nosed, 

 prick-eared, mincing little toy dogs, and they 

 come in all colors, but the parti-colored ones 

 are not so desirable and are seldom seen. 



The coat consists of a deep, soft, fluffy 

 underfur. through which protrudes a plentiful 

 overfur of long, straight, glossy hair covering 

 the whole body, being especially full and abun- 

 dant on the throat, chest, neck, rump, and hind- 

 quarters. The tail is a pompon flowing over 

 the back. The legs are straight and delicate, 

 and the dog in action is exceedingly light and 

 "steppy." 



