Part 29

BODY.—Very long, deep in chest, well ribbed up; back perfectly level.

COAT.—Very long, perfectly straight, free from curl or waviness; very glossy and silky in texture (not linty), and without any pily under coat.

COLOR.—Dark blue to light fawn, the various shades of blue—dark blue for preference, but without any approach to blackness or sootiness. Color of head, beautiful silvery blue, which gets darker on ears; the back, various shades of dark blue, inclining to silver on lower parts of body and legs. Tail is generally the same shade or a little darker than the back.

TAIL.—Perfectly straight, not too long, carried almost level with back; nicely fringed or feathered.

LEGS AND FEET.—Legs short and straight, well set under body, both legs and feet well covered with silky hair. (In a good specimen the legs are scarcely seen.)

THE TERRIER (DANDIE DINMONT).

KELSO COUNT.]

ORIGIN.—Mentioned in 1800 by Davidson as springing from Tarr, reddish and wire-haired (a bitch), and Pepper (shaggy and light), which shows true terrier blood.

USES.—An essentially vermin-dog, “dead game;” and when a fox, otter, etc., is to be bolted it is unsurpassed. It is a curious fact that when unearthing its game it generally does its fighting on its back, tearing and scratching its opponent’s throat with tooth and nail.

* SCALE OF POINTS, ETC.

Value. Head 10 Eyes 5 Ears 5 Neck 5 Body 20 Tail 5 Legs and feet 10 Coat 15 Color 5 Size and weight 10 General appearance 10 --- Total 100

HEAD.—Strongly made and large, with muscles well developed; skull broad between ears, growing less toward eyes; forehead well domed. Head covered with soft, silky hair, not confined to a mere topknot. Cheeks have a gradual taper toward muzzle, which is deep and strong and about 3 inches in length. Muzzle covered with darker hair than topknot, the top part being generally bare for about 1 inch from back of nose, where it is about 1 inch broad. Nose and inside of mouth black or dark-colored. Teeth strong and very large, level in front, the upper ones overlapping the under ones. “Swine mouth” is objectionable, but not so much so as the bulldog mouth. Eyes wide apart, full, large, round, bright, full of determination, set low and prominent, and of a rich, dark hazel. Ears large, pendulous, set well back, wide apart, and low on skull, hanging close to cheek, tapering to a point, the tapering being mostly on the back part. They are covered with soft, straight brown hair (sometimes almost black), with a feather of light hair about 2 inches from tip. The feather does not show, sometimes, till the dog is 2 years old. Leather rather thin. Length of ear 3 to 4 inches.

NECK.—Very muscular and strong, and well set into shoulders.

BODY.—Long, strong, and flexible; ribs well sprung; chest deep; back rather low at shoulder; a slight, gradual droop from loins to root of tail.

TAIL.—Rather short (8 to 10 inches), covered on upper side with wiry hair, darker than on body; a feather of about 2 inches, getting shorter as it nears the tip; simitar-like, not curled nor twisted and when excited carried gaily above the level of the body.

LEGS AND FEET.—Fore legs short, immense muscular development and bones set wide apart; feet well formed, not flat. “Bandy legs” objectionable. Hair on fore legs and feet of blue dog should be tan; on a mustard dog a darker shade than on head, which is creamy white. Hind legs are rather longer than front ones, rather wide apart, with feet smaller than front ones, without feather and dew-claws; claws should be dark.

COAT.—Very important. Hair should be 2 inches long, and that from skull to root of tail a mixture of hard and soft hair. The hard hair should be wiry, the coat being pily, that under body being softer and lighter in color than on top.

COLOR.—Pepper or mustard. The pepper ranges from dark blue black to a light silver gray; the mustards from a red brown to pale fawn, the head being creamy white, with legs and feet darker than head. Claws are dark as in other colors. Nearly all Dandies have some white on chest and white claws.

SIZE.—Eight to eleven inches at shoulder. Limit weight, 24 pounds.

LENGTH.—From top of shoulder to root of tail should be twice the dog’s height.

THE TERRIER (FOX, SMOOTH-COATED).

CHAMPION BLEMTON VICTOR II.]

ORIGIN.—Evidently a very judicious cross between a beagle and a bull-terrier.

USES.—Essentially a vermin-dog of the highest order, and capable of worrying a fox when it has taken to earth. It is used by the operatives in some parts of England for coursing rabbits.

* THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE HEAD, BODY, ETC.

SCALE OF POINTS BY RAWDON B. LEE.

Value. Head, jaws, and ears 20 Neck 5 Shoulders and chest 10 Back and loins 10 Stern and hind quarters 10 Legs and feet 15 Coat 10 Size, symmetry, and character 20 --- Total 100

HEAD.—Skull flat, moderately narrow, gradually decreasing in width to eyes. Not much stop, but there should be more dip in profile between forehead and top jaw than in the greyhound. Cheeks must not be full. Ears V-shaped, small, of moderate thickness, drooping forward close to cheek, not hanging by side of head. Jaws strong and muscular, of fair punishing strength. There should not be much falling away below eyes. This part of head should be moderately chiseled out, but not like a wedge. Nose tapering and black. Eyes dark, small, rather deep set, full of fire and intelligence; nearly circular in shape. Teeth nearly level.