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Light eyes, once a bugbear of the Airedale Terrier breeder, have almost disappeared, as has also the need for the extensive trimming on neck and jaws.

"Waterside Terrier " was, no doubt, an applicable name to this at that time rough-and-tumble dog, who is equally happy wet or dry, and is especially useful, by reason of his strength and his hardihood, to work in and about the rapid streams of hilly Yorkshire. It had the disadvantage, however, of being too general in its application, as being descriptive of work also done by other quite distinct varieties of Terriers.

The Airedale Terrier (Fig. 94) gives one the impression of being

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FIG. 94. MR. W. H. JOHNSON'S AIREDALE TERRIER BRIARWOOD.

a sort of giant relation of the Dandie Dinmont and the Bedlington, with more than a dash of Otterhound in his composition. That he has a lot of hound blood in him, whether the infusion be recent or remote, there can be no doubt, and this was particularly noticeable in the dogs that one met with even ten years or so ago: the breeder, however, has changed all that, and it is the exception rather than the rule to meet with a big-eared specimen in the present day. This Terrier is considerably larger than his near relatives, ranging from 40lb. to 45lb., very strongly built, the ribs rounder, and the haunches wider and more muscular than the Bedlington, and he is much longer in the leg, and, consequently, proportionately shorter in the body, than the Dandie; he is, like the latter, very strong in the

jaw, and the whole head is large; the ears fall close to the cheeks, rather wider and shorter for the size of the dog than in either of the other two breeds; the neck is rather strong than neat; the whole body stout and compact, and good muscular shoulders, over useful, straight, strong legs and good feet. The hindquarters are firm and square, finished off by a thick, rather coarse tail, docked to about half or a little more. The coat is a right useful one, short, and broken, much harder to the feel than it looks, being a good mixture of hard and soft hair, and, in fact, just the coat to get dry after an immersion with a few good shakes and a roll in the grass; the prevailing colour is grizzle of various shades, with tan, variously distributed, but showing a saddle back with tan legs, tan about face, etc.

Here it may be stated that the Old English Terrier, that at one time was provided with a classification by the Kennel Club but now deprived of varietal rank, was correctly either an Airedale Terrier or a Welsh Terrier. The Kennel Club is, therefore, to be congratulated in no longer bolstering up a breed that had no distinguishing characteristic to entitle it to the dignification of a variety.

Novices called upon to make a selection of a young puppy and knowing only the adult dog would doubtless be surprised to find an animal more resembling the smooth-coated Black-and-tan Terrier than the hard, wiry coat of the mature Airedale Terrier. Alike, therefore, as regards coat-colour and texture the young Airedale Terrier has to undergo a gradual but complete change after about the fourth month. As a rule, the darker the puppies the greater the promise for a good adult coat; while in addition the novice should look for a puppy with a small ear, straight, well-boned fore legs, and dark eyes.

Airedale Terriers are generally good-tempered dogs, bold and resolute in work, very hardy-the day never being too wet, too cold, or too long if there is sport; and whether for rat or otter, duck or waterhen, they are equally good, eager at questing, and as game as obedient. For size there is only one other Terrier to compare with this variety-the Bull-terrier; but whereas the latter is an excellent guard to person and property, by reason of his scanty coat he cannot perform with indifference the outdoor offices in all weathers that the Airedale Terrier can.

On the other hand, "Stonehenge" was informed by gentlemen who had purchased Airedales in considerable numbers on the strength of newspaper reports as to their excellence, that the breed was worthless, wanting in gameness, and, in fact, such arrant cowards that the Airedale Terrier was pronounced a failure. The truth will be found to lie between the two extremes of unmeasured praise and wholesale condemnation. Naturally there are bright and dull specimens in all breeds.

The name Terrier, applied to the Airedale, is admittedly a stretching of the term far beyond its original meaning, for this dog is generally too big for the work associated with the group; but when it was mooted that the word Terrier should be omitted, there was so much objection shown by the "Fancy" that the Kennel Club did not deem it politic to make the alteration suggested. As a water-dog there is only one other variety of Terrier that can be mentioned with him-the Bedlington Terrier.

Of present-day breeders, some of the strongest kennels are those of Mr. G. H. Elder (whose prefix of Tone is so familiar); Mr. Clarkson, Mr. Sachse, Messrs. Bromhead and Sharpe, Messrs. Mills and Buckley. A few years back Mr. C. J. Whittaker, Mr. E. N. Deakin, Mr. H. M. Bryans, Mr. W. Tatham, Mr. Maud Barrett, Mr. Bairstow, and Mr. J. B. Holland, with a few others, were to the fore.

The following is the description of the Airedale Terrier as agreed upon by the Airedale Terrier Club :

:

Head.-Long, with flat skull, not too broad between the ears and narrowing slightly to the eyes, free from wrinkle. Stop hardly visible, and cheeks free from fulness. Jaws deep and powerful, well filled up before the eyes; lips tight. Ears V-shaped, with a side carriage, small, but not out of proportion to the size of the dog. The nose is black. The eyes are small, and dark in colour, not prominent, but full of Terrier expression. The teeth are strong and level.

Neck. Should be of moderate length and thickness, gradually widening towards the shoulders, and free from throatiness.

Shoulders and Chest.-Shoulders long, and sloping well into the back; shoulder-blades flat. Chest deep, but not broad.

Body.-Back short, strong, and straight. Ribs well sprung.

Hindquarters.-Strong and muscular, with no droop. Hocks well let down. The tail is set on high, and carried gaily, but not curled over the back. Legs and Feet.-Legs perfectly straight, with plenty of bone.

round, with a good depth of pad.

Feet small and

Coat.-Hard and wiry, and not so long as to appear ragged; it should also be straight and close, covering the dog well all over the body and legs.

Colour. The head and ears, with the exception of dark markings on each side of the skull, should be tan, the ears being of a darker shade than the rest. The legs up to the thighs and elbows are also tan. The body is black or dark

grizzle.

Size.-Dogs, 40lb. to 45lb.; bitches slightly less.

It is the unanimous opinion of the Club that the size of the Airedale Terrier as given in the above standard is one of, if not the most, important characteristics of the breed. All judges who shall henceforth adjudicate on the merits of the Airedale Terrier shall consider under-sized specimens of the breed severely handicapped when competing with dogs of the standard weight. And that any of the Club's judges who, in the opinion of the Committee, shall give prizes or otherwise push to the front dogs of a small type, shall be at once struck off from the list of specialist judges.

No scale of points has been issued by the Airedale Terrier Club.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE FOX TERRIER

IF the Fox-terrier is not the most popular of all breeds, at any rate he occupies a very exalted position in the hearts of the dog-loving public; while equally certain is it that he embodies most of those qualities that go to make up an ideal Terrier. There are, however, individuals who, in their over-zealousness for the breed whose cause they have espoused, would go, and do go, a step farther, and assert that he is the only true Terrier. Still other admirers are there who, while they are ready to recognise that there may be other breeds with some slight claim to the name and qualities of a Terrier, to compare any one of them with the Fox-terrier is absurd. This breed-worship is by no means confined to the Fox-terrier fancier, but applies with almost equal force to the enthusiastic section of every variety of dog.

There is scarcely any breed whose evolution has been more hotly discussed than that of the Fox-terrier. Some writers are inclined to take the whole of the credit for the perfected form of the dog for the modern fancier; but the majority appear to think that half a century or more ago as good dogs were to be found.

Mr. T. H. Scott, who contributed the article on the Fox-terrier to the First Edition of "British Dogs," and whose opinions are entitled to great respect, wrote thus in connection with the early history of the breed: "Among all those who have written on Foxterriers of late years, none appears to have been inclined to go to the root of the matter, and tell us anything of the origin and early history of this breed. A general idea seems to prevail that Foxterriers are a production of modern times, and this idea has, no doubt, been fostered by the way in which spurious imitations of them have been from time to time manufactured, and by the ignorance of judges who have permitted various and very opposite types to find favour. The Fox-terrier proper is not a modern breed, and perhaps there were as good dogs fifty years ago as there are now."

Mr. J. A. Doyle, in his contribution to Vero Shaw's "Book of

the Dog," says: "The antiquity and the precise origin of the modern Fox-terrier are involved in considerable obscurity."

Both writers just quoted recognise the difficulties in the way of clearing up the origin of this breed by tracing it to its sources, knowing that there are missing links in the chain of evidence very near to the end of it which we now hold.

Though a good many practical writers claim the modern Foxterrier as a descendant of the Hound for the fox and the badger of Dr. Caius, none insists on direct descent without intermixtures of blood, but rely on the inference drawn from the fact that, through all the centuries since Caius, as probably for many more centuries before his time, the Terrier was used for the same work; and it is, and has been, the practice to use the animals we have suited to our several purposes, whilst ever attempting to improve them. Such attempts result in some modifications, but the work of the dog remains the same. The fox and the badger in their form, nature, and habits being unchanged, the dog used to follow them into their "terriers" would, of necessity, be kept of certain character or type, however modified in trivial points.

The word Terrier as applied to dogs is from the French terrier, out of the Low Latin terrarium, and this again from the Latin terra, clearly indicating that the dog is one that burrows, or goes to earth after his quarry. The suitability of the term is also enhanced when it is recollected that the hole, berry, burrow, or earth of rabbit, fox, or badger, is also called in French a "terrier." The prefix "fox to this particular variety shows him to have been selected from others as specially suited to bolt that animal.

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Dr. Caius disappointingly gives us no description of the Terrier. He, however, gives us a fair picture of the dog at work. Writing of Hounds, he sandwiches the Terrier between the Harrier and the Bloodhound in these words: "Another sorte there is which hunteth the foxe and the badger or greye onely, whom we call Terrars, because they (after the manner and custom of ferrets in hunting for connyes) creepe into the grounde, and by that means make afrayde, nyppe and byte the foxe and the badger, in such sorte, that eyther they teare them in pieces with theyre teeth, beying in the bosome of the earth, or else hayle and pull them perforce out of their lurking angles, dark dongeons, and close caves, or, at the least, through conceived feare, drive them out of their hollow harbours, insomuch that they are compelled to prepare speedy flight, and being desirous of the next (albeit not the safest) refuge, are otherwise taken and intrapped with snares and nettes layde over holes to the same purpose."

It is to be regretted that Dr. Caius did not write a description of these Terriers. There were, however, several writers about dogs contemporary with Caius, or very near his time, among them being

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