Stable and Kennel 
“Until within the last halt-century sheep clogs 
without tails were exempt from taxation, it being 
supposed that no one would keep a tailless dog who 
could afford to pay the tax. As a conse(]uence 
almost every sheep dog had its tail cut off and 
owing to this cause the tailless 
sheep dog, still met with in 
some localities, is supposed to 
have arisen.” 
The real authorities say that 
the hohtail has existed in Knp;- 
land for the last hundred and 
thirty years. They come to 
this conclusion from an engra¬ 
ving of a painting, here repro¬ 
duced,of the Duke of Buccleuch 
with his dog, by Gainsborough, 
1771, also from the reproduc¬ 
tion of a painting by Philip 
Reinagle published in the 
“ Sportsman’s Cabinet” in the 
year 1803. 
In 1835 Sidney Cooper 
painted a picture of a bob- 
tail, wonderfully well proportioned throughout, in 
fact the type of the dog we are trying for at the pres¬ 
ent time. 
It was not until i 888, however, that much interest 
was taken in the breed. In that year a few enthu¬ 
siasts headed by Mr. W. G. Weager formed the Old 
Knglish Sheep Dog Club with Mr. Freeman Lloyd 
as secretary. Since then the hohtail has been push¬ 
ing himself into prominence in England and with the 
help of the Old English Sheep Dog Club of America, 
will soon be one of the popular breeds of this country. 
He is probably a descendant of the bearded collie, 
of Scotland, except as regards the tail, which, in the 
sheep dog, is generally a matter of amputation. The 
custom, it is said, originated with the drovers who 
cut their tails to avoid the 
tax and the continued prac¬ 
tice resulted in dogs being 
frequently horn without tails. 
This is disputed by biologists, 
but the fact remains that Old 
English sheep dogs are horn 
with and without tails even in 
the same litter. Three fourths 
of them, however, are horn 
with tails. 
Ele is sagacious, and with 
early handling, will make an 
excellent drovers’ dog, either 
for cattle or sheep, being an 
ideal companion and having 
innate good manners. He 
is devoted to his master, an 
excellent guard and house dog, 
and is endowed with a gentlemanly instinct for 
moving about a room with the least possible 
noise or fuss. His heavy coat is a drawback, but 
his comradeship is well worth the five minutes 
trouble of giving him a rough dry before he settles 
himself on your hearth-rug. In his quaint, unob¬ 
trusive way be will make himself at home in a draw¬ 
ing-room, railway carriage, hansom cab or on the 
show bench, being sensible, even tempered, pictur¬ 
esque and never ridiculous. Ele is courageous and 
“ KENVIL BLINKERS ” 
Owned by Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Berryman 
Succasunna, New Jersey 
OLD ENGLISH SHEEP DOG 
After Gainsborough 
SHEEP DOG “DOLLY GRAY ” 
An English Champion 
181 
