50 
House 
& Garden 
THE TWO FOX TERRIERS 
Whether of the Wire-Coated, or Smooth Variety , a Fox Terrier Will Enliven Any 
Household and Win His Way to the Hardest of Hearts 
ROBERT S. LEMMON 
Levick 
A champion wire-hair , in 
every respect typical of the 
breed 
Paul Thompson 
W HY the name Smooth-coated against 
Fox Terrier? wire, and the ringside 
Simple ' enough—he betting evm 
went to earth {terra, 
as Caesar used to say) after foxes, a hundred 
years or so ago. And he was in the habit of 
getting them, too. 
But the fox terrier has lost his original job. 
Not, I fancy, because of any waning of courage 
on his part, but rather because of changing 
customs in England, the land of his develop¬ 
ment. The fox hunting enthusiasts began to 
breed their hounds and horses for greater 
speed; the stocky little terrier couldn't stay 
with the chase until the fox holed up and his 
chance came. Then his friends tried putting 
more speed into him by giving him longer legs, 
but they did it at the expense of his stamina 
and general underground hunting qualities. 
And finally, foxes became less numerous, and 
when the hound pack did run one to earth it 
was considered proper to leave him there to 
catch his breath in safety. 
His Perennial Popularity 
It would have been an irreparable loss to 
the dog world if the fox terrier had sunk into 
oblivion with the setting of his bright particu¬ 
lar hunting star, for he is much too attractive 
and healthy a little rascal for us even to con¬ 
template the thought of losing him. Indeed, 
his admirers have made him even more popular 
than in the old days of fighting foxes, and he 
has become standardized as an all around small 
dog guaranteed to win his way into the coldest 
and hardest of hearts. 
Someone has truly said that a good fox 
terrier is a combination of the saucy, self-re¬ 
liant cleverness of the street dog with the fine 
instincts, perfect carriage and good looks of the 
best of thoroughbreds. He is what is known 
as “corky"—nimble and superlatively light on 
his feet, quick and direct in every thought and 
action. Sometimes, indeed, his high spirits 
lead him into mischief, but he’s so plausible 
afterward that he’ll make it all right with you 
-—oh, yes, quite all right; and the chances are 
you'll love him all the more for his little 
transgressions. 
Between the natures of the two varieties of 
the breed—the wire-coated and the smooth— 
there are really no differences. Their appear¬ 
ances, of course, are quite dissimilar. The 
smooth-coated is the Beau Brummel of the two, 
almost exquisite in his clean-cut neatness; 
while the wire is the rough-and-ready sports¬ 
man, no whit less gentlemanly than his cousin. 
If they wore clothes, you would expect the 
smooth fox terrier to affect a cutaway and a 
gardenia, while the wire would be more at 
home in Piccadilly custom-made tweeds. The 
smooth sheds his coat rather badly in spring 
and fall, but he is easier to groom; the wire 
does not shed so noticeably, but he needs more 
brushing to keep his coat in good condition. 
If you prefer the looks of the smooth, choose 
him—he is the better one for you; and if the 
wire appeals more, you'd better select him. 
That’s really about all there is to it, for they’re 
both mighty fine little dogs brimful of true 
terrier traits. 
It has been charged that a fox terrier is 
snappy, noisy and a general nuisance around 
the house. Well, in nine cases out of ten this 
is the fault of the person who brought him up. 
You can take a dog of almost any breed, treat 
him like a scatter-brain (and act like one your¬ 
self !), and get scatter-brain results. The great 
majority of faults such as these are directly 
traceable to the dog’s trainer or those with 
whom he comes most in contact, and should 
not be charged against the breed. 
Some Outstanding Traits 
The fox terrier’s claims to a place in the 
family are many. He is bright and keen (just 
Saucy, self-reliant cleverness 
combined with gentlemanly 
carriage 
The wire-coated fox ter- look at the photo- 
rier is a rough-and-ready graphs on this page); 
sportsman learns trkkg with a 
minimum of teach¬ 
ing and a maximum of results; is small enough 
to fit in anywhere; is sure death to rats and all 
similar nuisances, including alley cats, if the 
truth must be told; and is a good” pal for chil¬ 
dren. Y\ hat he lacks in size he makes up in 
courage, and there are far worse watch-dogs 
than he. 
Buying a Dog 
From time immemorial it has been consid¬ 
ered clever, when referring to some homely 
mongrel dog, to say, “He’s awfully bright, 
though; he’s just a mut, you see—that’s the 
reason!” 
Now, it is perfectly true that a pup with a 
pedigree ranging from pointers to Pomeranians 
often has brains galore. But it’s just as true that 
the dog with a spotless ancestry is no whit less 
gifted in gray matter, and he has looks to boot. 
Even more—you know what you’re getting. 
The wise dog buyer goes to a reliable breeder 
or dealer and gets a dog with a genuine pedi¬ 
gree. Blood really does tell, and heredity counts. 
Don t buy a “pig in a poke,” however good- 
looking he may be. Beware the seedy individual 
who stands on a street corner and offers to sell 
you a coming champion at a ridiculously low 
figure. I he chances are the dog has been stolen, 
or has some serious but temporarily concealed 
defect—the ways of the dog-fakir are dark in¬ 
deed. And shun, too, the dingy dog-shop whose 
very atmosphere suggests that the proprietor is 
running a “fence" whither other people’s van¬ 
ished pets are brought in secrecy and sold again 
to a partially unsuspecting public. 
It need not be said that the established 
breeder or dealer will treat you squarely. He 
has a reputation built on fair dealing which is 
as much a part of his stock-in-trade as are the 
dogs themselves. He knows ajl about his dogs’ 
lineage and individual peculiarities. He will 
charge you a good price, but the dog will be 
worth it. Economy in dog buying is likely to 
prove a costly procedure. 
Whether to get a puppy or a mature dog 
depends largely on the amount of time you are 
willing and able to devote to his training. 
