There is a tendency nowadays towards excess of size in the Bedlington.  It is inclined to be too long in the body and too leggy, which, if not checked, will spoil the type of the breed.  It is, therefore, very important that size should be more studied by judges than is at present the case.  The faults referred to are doubtless the result of breeding for exceptionally long heads, which seem to be the craze just now, and, of course, one cannot get extra long heads without proportionately long bodies and large size.  If it were possible to do so, then the dog would become a mere caricature.

As a sporting terrier the Bedlington holds a position in the first rank.  He is very fast and enduring, and exceedingly pertinacious, and is equally at home on land and in water.  He will work an otter, draw a badger, or bolt a fox, and he has no superior at killing rats and all kinds of vermin.  He has an exceptionally fine nose, and makes a very useful dog for rough shooting, being easily taught to retrieve.  If he has any fault at all, it is that he is of too jealous a disposition, which renders it almost impossible to work him with other dogs, as he wants all the fun to himself, and if he cannot get it he will fight for it.  But by himself he is perfect.  As a companion he is peculiarly affectionate and faithful, and remarkably intelligent; he makes a capital house-dog, is a good guard and is very safe with children.

Bedlingtons are not dainty feeders, as most writers have asserted, nor are they tender dogs.  If they are kept in good condition and get plenty of exercise they feed as well as any others, and are as hard as nails if not pampered.  They are easy to breed and rear, and the bitches make excellent mothers.  If trained when young they are very obedient, and their tendency to fight can in a great measure be cured when they are puppies; but, if not checked then, it cannot be done afterwards.  Once they take to fighting nothing will keep them from it, and instead of being pleasurable companions they become positive nuisances.  On the other hand, if properly broken they give very little trouble, and will not quarrel unless set upon.

CHAPTER XXXVI

THE IRISH TERRIER

The dare-devil Irish Terrier has most certainly made his home in our bosom.  There is no breed of dog more genuinely loved by those who have sufficient experience and knowledge to make the comparison.  Other dogs have a larger share of innate wisdom, others are most aesthetically beautiful, others more peaceable; but our rufous friend has a way of winning into his owner’s heart and making there an abiding place which is all the more secure because it is gained by sincere and undemonstrative devotion.  Perhaps one likes him equally for his faults as for his merits.  His very failings are due to his soldierly faithfulness and loyalty, to his too ardent vigilance in guarding the threshold, to his officious belligerence towards