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FOREST AND - STREAM. 



(Nor. 23, 1896. 



Cropping and the A. K. C. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



At the next meeting of the American Kennel Club, to 

 be holden in December next, there will come before the 

 members of that club, to be voted upon by them, a reso- 

 lution tbat the rules of the club be changed, and that no 

 dog whelped after a date to be fixed and with cropped 

 ears can be shown in competition at any bench show held 

 under the recognition of the American Kennel Club. 



The discussion of the question of prohibition of cropping 

 versus non-prohibition in the public press has been carried 

 on up to this time chiefly by those opposed to cropping, 

 and by gentlemen not interested in any breed of dogs 

 which will be affected by the proposed resolution. The 

 arguments advanced in favor of the proposed change are: 

 that the practice is cruel and that cropping is prohibited 

 in England. 



I have not yet seen expressed by those interested in 

 the breeds affected, at any length in print, the re- 

 sults which the proposed resolution would have upon 

 these breeds. 



I believe that the effect of such a resolution is more 

 far-reaching in the case of, and inimical to the inter- 

 ests of, the great Danes than to those of any other breed, 

 and that such a resolution, if passed at this time, would 

 result in the general abandonment of the breeding of 

 great Danes. 



The great Dane stands in a different position from 

 almost every other breed of dog. In almost every breed 

 either there are now owned in this country as good 

 dogs of that breed as can be found in any country 

 of the world, or such dogs as are imported for the 

 improvement of the breed are imported from 

 England, where cropping is prohibited; with the 

 great Dane this is not the case. This breed is compara- 

 tively a new one in this country and we have not here as 

 good dogs as can be found elsewhere. The quickest way in 

 which to improve the breed is by the importation of dogs 

 for that purpose, and in this breed such dogs are not im- 



Eorted from England, but from Germany. The great 

 »ane is, I think, the only dog customarily cropped which 

 is not imported from England, and will, therefore, be 

 more affected by the proposed legislation than any other 

 breed of dog. 



I have found very few among those who advocate the 

 prohibition of cropping who even claim that the prohibi- 

 tion of cropping in this country is likely to produce any 

 modification of the practice in Germany, where the great 

 Dane has been cropped from time immemorial; and that 

 the proposed resolution will not have the slightest effect 

 on breeders of great Danes in Germany is conceded by 

 all those who are without prejudice on the question. 



"While the German breeders have paid great attention 

 to the purity of the breed, they have paid little attention 

 to registering and recording the pedigree of their dogs, 

 and for years Americans have urged that this negligence 

 be corrected, so that when great Danes are imported into 

 this country it may be done without the payment of duty, 

 without producing any material change in the practice 

 of the German breeders; and if we have been unable to 

 induce the German breeders to cater to our needs to this 

 extent, and in this very important matter, it is idle to say 

 that if we wish dogs with uncropped ears they will cease 

 their practice with regard to cropping. 



The great Dane is an expensive dog to import; his size 

 and the difficulties already mentioned, which lie in the 

 way of importing him. without the payment of duty, make 

 him so. Wins which the dog has made in competition in 

 Germany have very little if any effect in making his 

 services sought for, as a stud, in this country. In order 

 that the services of the dog be in demand here, he must 

 be shown, and win prizes here. A man who intends to 

 import a great Dane from Germany, as a sire, will not 

 import an untried, immature puppy, of six months or less 

 in age. If he imports an older dog than that he imports 

 a dog with cropped ears. Now if the proposed re- 

 solution applies to that dog, the importer goes to his 

 great expense, trouble and risk, knowing that he cannot 

 show his dog in competition in this country; that he can 

 win no prizes with him in this country; that the dog will 

 be unknown to other breeders interested in the breed in 

 this country; that the services of that dog as a sire will 

 not be in demand, and that he will be unable from stud 

 fees to recoup himself in any measure for the expense he 

 has incurred in importing the dog. Who, if this resolu- 

 tion be passed and under such circumstances, will import 

 a great Dane for the improvement of the breed? 



Objection may be made that the rule will only prohibit 

 the importation of great Danes whelped after a certain 

 date, and that dogs whelped before that date may still 

 be imported and shown in competition with cropped ears. 

 This is still in effect a prohibition of importation. A 

 short time in the life of a man is a long time in the fife 

 of a dog. In a very few years, perhaps two, the rule is 

 in effect prohibitory. The importer would be limited to 

 bringing to this country "has beens," dogs who are 

 growing old, who were once good, but who have in Ger- 

 many been supplanted by other younger, better dogs. 

 The American, when he imports, wants to and does buy 

 the best, often without any regard to expense, and it is 

 due in large measure to this that after he has imported 

 dogs of any breed for a few years it will generally be 

 found that the best dogs that there are of that breed are 

 in this country. 



The passing of this resolution would seriously affect 

 this breed in another way. In all probability, more than 

 one^half of the great Dane dogs owned in this country 

 are owned by Germans, or those of German descent. A 

 German is, in my experience, very often positive, not to 

 say obstinate, in his likes and dislikes; and a man is more 

 likely to be so, and perhaps with good reason, in matters 

 which concern his pleasure than in those which concern 

 his business. The German who keeps great Danes has 

 been accustomed to having the ears of his dogs cropped, 

 and often does not care to continue to keep the dog if the 

 entire character and appearance cf his head is to be 

 changed. Many owners of great Danes, German or of 

 German descent, have told me that if they could not 

 show their dogs in competition with cropped ears they 

 would not care to continue to keep the dogs at all. With 

 so strong a feeling against owning uncropped great Danes, 

 held by a large class which now owns and supports tl e 

 breed, it is evident that, if the proposed resolution be 

 passed, the number of those who will own dogs of this 

 breed will be greatly lessened, and the demand for and 

 sale of puppies of this breed will be greatly restricted. 



This is not a matter of sentiment, but is a serious condi- 

 tion which we may expect. 



Eelying in the past that the ears of this breed would be 

 cropped, breeders have paid very little attention to the 

 shape of the ear, and have only tried to get an ear which 

 was strong at the root, and would stand up easily when 

 cropped. The ear of most great Danes is not a thing of 

 beauty, and changes entirely the expression which has 

 come to be considered characteristic of the breed. That 

 it is possible with time to breed the great Dane or any 

 other dog with an ear of any particular shape, or with 

 no external ear at all, may be conceded, but it could not 

 be done at once, and the appearance of the dog would in 

 the meantime be greatly injured. 



The opposing of cropping, and gross exaggerations as to 

 the amount of suffering which the dog undergoes in the 

 operation, is at the present time the popular fad in the 

 kennel world; it is popular, and for that reason alone advo- 

 cated by many who have no interest in the question one 

 way or the other. A nervous toy dog, whose ears are cut 

 to a long sharp point, suffers much more in the operation 

 than the great burly Dane, all muscle and with few nerves, 

 whose ears are cut to a shorter point, or simply cropped 

 Bhort with no point at all, and what may be great cruelty 

 in the case of another is simply a temporary inconvenience. 

 Let us not go wild on this subject simply because it is 

 temporarily popular. 



It may be conceded however that some suffering attends 

 the cropping of the ears of any dog, and the Society for 

 the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is within its prov- 

 ince in urging the adoption of the proposed resolution, 

 but this society has not for one of its objects the improve- 

 ment or advancement of any breed of dogs; in seeking to 

 have the resolution passed it is simply seeking its own 

 ends, worthy as they may be, and without any regard or 

 consideration whether their attainment means the ceas- 

 ing of the breeding of any one breed, or of all breeds, of 

 dogs or not. The objects of that society and those for 

 which the American Kennel Club and the different 

 specialty clubs were formed were entirely different, and 

 may and in this case do conflict; and when they do con- 

 flict that society will look after its own interests and seek 

 its own ends only, and the American Kennel Club must 

 look after its own interests and those of the element 

 which supports it, and to advance whose interests it was 

 formed and exists. 



It seems to me that this question, which involves the 

 type of several breeds of dogs, is one to be dealt with in 

 the case of each breed by the specialty clubs which devote 

 their time and attention to that breed, and should be left 

 to be dealt with by them. And when you come right 

 down to brass tacks, what right have the St. Bernard men, 

 the spaniel men, the pointer men, the setter men, the bull- 

 dog men, the collie men, the poodle men and others to 

 say what the type of hounds, great Danes and terriers 

 shall be, and the condition and shape in which they shall 

 be shown in competition at bench shows. We do not 

 drive pegs between the teeth ot'our great Danes, we do not 

 break their noses, we do not inflict on them heavy coats 

 of hair under which an Esquimau would faint, we do not 

 fire bird shot into them, either fine or coarse, we do not 

 use spiked collars on them, and we do not do to them a 

 great many other things which breeders and owners of 

 many other kinds of dogs do, or are said to do, to their 

 dogs. There are some remarks about beams and motes in 

 the eye, and about casting the first stone, which were 

 written a great many years ago, which are accessible to 

 all, and which it would be a good thing for some people 

 to read and bear in mind. Some people are said not to 

 know on which side their bread is buttered until it falls 

 on the floor. 



The question of whether the Great Dane Club should or 

 should not change its standard so as to prevent the crop- 

 ping of great Danes was brought up and discussed by 

 that club long before it Was considered, and esteemed a 

 vital question which must be settled before they could 

 sleep by men who are not affected by it. And the club 

 then expressed its opinion that the action was too radical 

 and could not then be taken with respect to our dog, but 

 great Dane men were warned that they must prepare for 

 such a change in the standard and breed with reference 

 to it. According to the standard great Danes may be 

 shown either with or without cropped ears, and several 

 great Danes were shown with uncropped ears at the last 

 Westminster Kennel Club show. 



Sentiment is a good thing; mixing with common sense 

 and discretion improves it. 



I would furthermore say that I have at different times 

 owned foxhounds, beagles, pugs, fox-terriers and great 

 Danes, and that I have never had the ears of a dog crop- 

 ped, also that I have no dogs for sale. I may therefore 

 be believed when I say that I write without prejudice on 

 the subject, and only from a deep conviction of the disas- 

 trous effects which the prohibition of cropping will have 

 upon my favorite dog, the great Dane. 



' Clifford Wood. 



New York, Nov. 15. 



Bridgeport Bench Show. 



The Bridgeport Kennel Club have added the following 

 classes to their premium list: Challenge class, foxhounds, 

 dogs and bitches, first, $5; puppy class, St. Bernards, dogs 

 and bitches, first, $4; second, $2. 



The following is a list of judges; in your mention there 

 was an error in the names: Dr. James E. Hair, Bridge- 

 port, Conn., for pointers, English, Irish and Gordon set- 

 ters and beagles; German Hopkins, Hempstead, L. I., all 

 terriers, foxhounds, greyhounds and whippets; R. K. 

 Armstrong, Highland Falls, N. Y., bulldogs and collies; 

 James Watson, New York, all other classes. 



Entries close Nov. 16. E. M. Oldham, Supt. 



Collie Field Trials. 



New York, Nov. 18.— Editor Forest and Stream: My 

 committee at the last minute, at my earnest request have 

 consented to hold field trials for sheep dogs, at our com- 

 ing show of cattle, sheep, etc., to be held at Madison 

 Square, Nov. 25 to 30. If you will kindly make this fact 

 known through your widely-read paper, you will be con- 

 ferring a great favor on me personally (as it has been my 

 pet idea), and also on the society. We shall put up liberal 

 prize money and charge no entry fee. Entries can be 

 made to me at Madison Square Garden. 



James Mortimer, Asst. Sec'y and Supt. 



THE E. F. T. C. TRIALS. 



The Members' Stake. 

 The competition between the six starters of the Mem- 

 bers' Stake began on the afternoon of Nov. 16. The 

 judges were Messrs. S. C. Bradley and W. S. Bell. Mr. 

 N. Wallace, who had consented to act as judge with 

 Messrs. Bell and Bradley, was detained at home by press- 

 ing business. 



The weather was delightfully pleasant. The sun shone 

 brightly, and but the gentlest of warm breezes stirred at 

 intervals. It was a day of sunshine and warmth, 

 such as one may experience in June in the North, though 

 each is set in widely different colors. While the weather, 

 warm and balmy, was pleasing to the unusually large 

 group which followed the competition, it added greatly 

 to the work of the dogs, making it in itself more labori- 

 ous and the birds more difficult to find. Among those in 

 attendance were three ladies, Mrs. and Miss PhelpB and 

 Mrs. Meares, who honored and graced the event. It is 

 auspicious for the future of field trials when the ladies 

 enhance them by their presence, and it is better for the 

 ladies too, for there comes from it good health, and from 

 good health comes color to the cheeks, bright eyes and 

 wit and vivacity. 



Birds were lazy and disinclined to fly even when found, 

 the warmth of the temperature seeming to provoke a 

 most marked indolence in them, and as they were not 

 moving it added to the dogs' labors. The numbers found 

 were nevertheless satisfactory, although the point work is 

 meager. 



The entrance to the sweepstake was $10, divided into 

 two prizes, 65 per cent, to first, 35 per cent, to second. As 

 is well known, each member handled his own dog. 



In the matter of quiet and gentlemanly handling the 

 stake was worthy of the careful consideration and emu- 

 lation of many professionals and amateurs; in the matter 

 of skillful handling it ranked very high. There was an 

 entire absence of loud and prolonged whistling or effort 

 to take any unfair advantage. 



Joyful, the. winner, exhibited great judgment and a 

 rare knowledge of the best manner of working on birds, 

 with at the same time a most trustworthy observance of 

 work to the gun. 



Following is the order of running: 



Mr. Pierre Loriliard, Jr.'s, b., w. and t. setter dog Shad 

 (Eugene T.— Lou) with Eldridge Kennels' 1. and w. pointer 

 bitch Graceful II. (Duke of Hessen— Concave). Mr. C. E. 

 Phelps, handler. 



Mr. Fred Hodgeman's liv. and w. pointer dog Arthur 

 (Graphic— Meally) with Eldridge Kennels' b.,w. and t. 

 setter bitch Antonia (Antonio — Miss Nellie Y.). 



Mr. W. B. Meares's white setter dog Joyful (Dion C. — 

 Natalie) with Mr. Pierre Loriliard, Jr.'s, b. b. setter bitch 

 Antoinette (Antonio— Daisy Hunter). 



First Series. 



Shad— Graceful II. were started at 1:30. The range 

 of both was lacking in judgment. Shad pointed ; nothing 

 found. Graceful pointed a bevy nicely. Shad pointed 

 one of the scattered birds. Mr. Loriliard killed it and 

 Graceful retrieved it nicely. Shad pointed near a bevy in 

 the open. A wounded bird fluttered before him, tempt- 

 ing him on, resulting in flashing several others. Up at 

 2:14. 



Arthur— Antonia were started at 2:22. Both worked 

 industriously, though the pointer was rather slow in his 

 gallop. Some work was done on a bevy by Antonia 

 which we could not see. Some of the spectators said it 

 was a good point on a bevy, pnd it had every appearance 

 of being so. Following down a valley in corn, Antonia 

 flushed a single and the rest of the bevy flushed. Up at 

 3:24. 



Joyful— Antoinette began their heat at 3:30. Joyful 

 pointed a bevy in thick cane, a most difficult piece for 

 a dog to work in. The birds were flushed a few yards 

 from his point by a horseman, and several of them 

 dropped back in nearly the same place, but wisely no fur- 

 ther work was attempted on them in the dense weeds, 

 briers and cane. Sent on, Joyful next pointed a bevy 

 nicely in thick grass. Antoinette flushed one as she came 

 up, then stood. Up at 4:10. Joyful showed excellent 

 "bird sense," obedience and an honest purpose to work to 

 the gun. 



Second Series. 



Gracefol II.— Antonia were cast off at 4:21. Both 

 dogs made game, but being urged on too fast, the hand- 

 lers flushed the birds. Graceful flushed a bevy and An- 

 tonia pointed on the footscent of it a few moments later: 

 Graceful backed. Up at 4:42. Both worked diligently: 

 their range was middling. 



Antoinette— Antonia began at 5:01. Antoinette stop- 

 ped to a point after flushing a bird or two of the bevy. 

 The birds were followed into woods. Antoinette made 

 two points on singles and one point to which nothing was 

 found, and Antonia made one point. Up at 5:30. 



The judges announced the winners as follows: First, 

 Joyful; divided second, Antonia and Antoinette. 



[Special to Forest and Stream,] 



Newton, N. C, Nov. 19.— There are fourteen starters 

 in the Derby as follows: Arapahoe, Ranee, Gleam's Ruth, 

 Domino, Virginia, Sister Sue, Tory Fashion, India, Marie's 

 Sport, Patrician, Mazeppa, Nabob, Kent B., Fen Follet. 



The first series and one brace of the second were com- 

 pleted yesterday. In second series are Tory Fashion, 

 Gleam's Ruth, India, Marie's Sport, Nabob, Arapahoe, 

 Ranee, Domino. 



The All-Age has nineteen starters: Tick Boy, Brighton 

 Tobe, Sanford Druid, Elgin's Dash, Jingo, Joyful, Cyno- 

 sure, Harold Skimpole, Tippoo, Belle, Palona, Joe Bow- 

 ers, Tory Dotlet, Lady Mildred, Rod's Top, Revenue, Min- 

 nie T., Gleam's Pink and Tony Boy. 



The weather is too warm for best work. Birds have 

 been found in fairly good numbers, enough to determine 

 the competition so far. There is a good attendance of 

 noted visitors. B. Waters. 



Bird Supply for U. S. Trials. 



Newton, N. C, Nov. 14.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Birds are not so scarce as has been said on the trial 

 grounds, and it is a lucky thing for field trials that the 

 unwarranted report of one man has not succeeded in 

 stopping the United States trials, as was first intended. 

 If it had been carried, it would have been a death blow at 

 the prestige of clubs, and that only on the unofficial re- 

 port of one man. G. Muss-Arnolt, 



