Dogs and All about Them eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 437 pages of information about Dogs and All about Them.

Dogs and All about Them eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 437 pages of information about Dogs and All about Them.

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HEAD—­Long, with flat skull, but not too broad between the ears, narrowing slightly to the eyes, free from wrinkle; stop hardly visible, and cheeks free from fullness; jaw deep and powerful, well filled up before the eyes; lips light; ears V-shaped with a side carriage, small but not out of proportion to the size of the dog; the nose black; the eyes small and dark in colour, not prominent, and full of terrier expression; the teeth strong and level.  The 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.  HIND-QUARTERS—­Strong and muscular, with no drop; hocks well let down; the tail set on high and carried gaily, but not curled over the back.  LEGS AND FEET—­Legs perfectly straight, with plenty of bone; feet small and round with good depth of pad.  COAT—­Hard and wiry, and not so long as to appear ragged; it should also be straight and close, covering the dog well 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 a darker shade than the rest, the legs up to the thigh and elbows being also tan, the body black or dark grizzle.  WEIGHT—­Dogs 40 lb. to 45 lb., bitches slightly less.

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At the time of the formation of the Southern club the state of the Airedale was critical; possessed of perhaps unequalled natural advantages, lovely dog as he is, he had not made that progress that he should have done.  He had not been boomed in any way, and had been crawling when he should have galloped.  From the moment the new club was formed, however, the Airedale had a new lease of life.  Mr. Holland Buckley and other keen enthusiasts seem to have recognised to a nicety exactly what was required to give a necessary fillip to the breed; they appear also to have founded their club at the right moment, and to have offered such an attractive bill of fare, that not only did everyone in the south who had anything to do with Airedales join at once, but very shortly a host of new fanciers was enrolled, and crowds of people began to take the breed up who had had nothing to do with it, or, indeed, any other sort of dog previously.

Some few years after the foundation of this club, a junior branch of it was started, and this, ably looked after by Mr. R. Lauder McLaren, is almost as big a success in its way as is the parent institution.  Other clubs have been started in the north and elsewhere, and altogether the Airedale is very well catered for in this respect, and, if things go on as they are now going, is bound to prosper and become even more extensively owned than he is at present.  To Mr. Holland Buckley, Mr. G. H. Elder, Mr. Royston Mills, and Mr. Marshall Lee, the Airedale of the present day owes much.

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Dogs and All about Them from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.