Before concluding this chapter it may not be out of place to say a few words as to the breeding and rearing of Fox terriers.

In the first place, never breed from an animal whose pedigree is not authenticated beyond a shadow of a doubt; and remember that while like may beget like, the inevitable tendency is to throw back to former generations.  The man who elects to breed Fox-terriers must have the bumps of patience and hope very strongly developed, as if the tyro imagines that he has only to mate his bitch to one of the known prize-winning dogs of the day in order to produce a champion, he had better try some other breed.  Let him fix in his mind the ideal dog, and set to work by patient effort and in the face of many disappointments to produce it.  It is not sufficient that, having acquired a bitch good in all points save in head, that he breeds her to the best-headed dog he can find.  He must satisfy himself that the head is not a chance one, but is an inherited one, handed down from many generations, good in this particular, and consequently potent to reproduce its like.  So in all other points that he wishes to reproduce.  In the writer’s experience, little bitches with quality are the most successful.  Those having masculine characteristics should be avoided, and the best results will be obtained from the first three litters, after which a bitch rarely breeds anything so good.  See that your bitch is free from worms before she goes to the dog, then feed her well, and beyond a dose of castor oil some days before she is due to whelp, let Nature take its course.  Dose your puppies well for worms at eight weeks old, give them practically as much as they will eat, and unlimited exercise.  Avoid the various advertised nostrums, and rely rather on the friendly advice of some fancier or your veterinary surgeon.

Take your hobby seriously, and you will be amply repaid, even if success does not always crown your efforts, as while the breeding of most animals is a fascinating pursuit, that of the Fox-terrier presents many varying delights.

CHAPTER XXXIII

THE WIRE-HAIR FOX-TERRIER

The wire-hair Fox-terrier is, with the exception of its coat, identical with the smooth Fox-terrier—­full brother in fact to him.  The two varieties are much interbred, and several litters in consequence include representatives of both; and not only this, but it is quite a frequent occurrence to get a smooth puppy from wire-hair parents, although for some generations neither of the parents may have had any smooth cross in their pedigrees.