If a tiger brindle is wanted, take a gray brindle bitch and mate to a dark mahogany dog.  Steel and gray brindles are in so little demand and are so easy to produce that we shall not notice them.

In regard to seal brindles.  A great many breeders who do not understand proper breeding to obtain them have fallen into the same pit as the others.  In their desire to obtain the dark seal brindles they have mated very dark dogs to equally dark bitches, which has resulted in a few generations in producing dogs absolutely black in color, with coats that look as if they had been steeped in a pail of ink.  A visit to any of the leading shows of late will reveal the fact that quite a number of candidates for bench honors are not real brindle, except possibly on the under side of the body, or perchance a slight shading on the legs.  A considerable number are perfectly black, and are called by courtesy black brindles.  As well call the ace of spades by the same name.  A serious feature in connection with this is, that the longer this line of breeding is persisted in, the harder will be the task to breed away.  In fact, in my estimation it will be as difficult as the elimination of white.  One important fact in connection here is that black color is more pronounced from white stock than from brindle.  I recently went into the kennels of a man who has started a comparatively short time ago, and who has been most energetic in his endeavors to produce a line of dark seal brindles, and who is much perplexed because he has a lot of stock on hand, while first rate in every other respect, are with coats as black as crows and not worth ten dollars apiece.  He seemed very much surprised when I told him his mistake, but grateful to be shown a way out of his difficulty.  A visit to another kennel not far from the last revealed the fact that the owner was advertising and sending largely to the West what he called black brindles, but as devoid of brindle as a frog is of feathers.  His case was rather amusing, as he honestly believed that because the dog was a Boston terrier its color of necessity must be a brindle.  He reminded me a good deal of a man who started a dog store in Boston a number of years ago who advertised in his windows a Boston terrier for sale cheap.  Upon stepping in to see the dog all that presented itself to view was a dog, a cross between a fox and bull terrier.  When the man was told of this, he made this amusing reply:  “The dog was born in Boston, and he is a terrier.  Why is he not a Boston terrier?” Upon telling him that according to his reasoning if the dog had been born in New York city he would be a New York terrier he smiled.  Fortunately I had “Druid Pero” with me and said:  “Here is a dog bred in my kennels at Cliftondale, Mass., that was a first prize winner at the last New York show, and yet he is a Boston terrier.”  After looking Pero carefully over he exclaimed:  “Well, by gosh, they don’t look much like brothers, but I guess some greenhorn will come along who will give me twenty-five dollars for him,” and on inquiring a little later was told the green gentleman had called and bought the dog.