SPORTING GRIFFONS AND OTHER BREEDS

Which Receive Less Attention Than They Deserve

Unless you are well informed regarding the points of a dog, you are apt to be sold a mongrel at the price of a thoroughbred. It will save you a lot of trouble and expense if, before making your purchase, you will write to the Dog Mart of Vanity Fair, explaining your needs.

This department, which appears on pages 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24. is in the hands of experts, who are not only capable of advising you, but who can buy a dog, or many dogs, for you. Consult them at your convenience. Their services are free of charge.

THOSE who have followed the career of the show dog in this country for even a decade or two need not be reminded of the many fluctuations in popularity through which one breed or another has profited or suffered. Fickleness is not an admirable quality any more in the dog-loving public than in the individual in his human relations. Yet it may be said to have had its benefits as far as the canine world is concerned. It has led to the introduction of new breeds or sub-breeds and the awakening of interest in old and half-forgotten varieties and thus brought about a considerable increase in the number of varieties put upon the bench.

In some instances, of course, the new stars in the canine galaxy have been of little brilliance and short life; hardly more than the product of a whim or a desire to create a new market based on a fad. Of these it is not necessary to speak here. On the other hand, really valuable additions to the great dog family have been brought about by the persistence of a lone exhibitor or a very small group of breeders in rehabilitating a breed whose merits had been lost sight of.

That there is still a fertile field in this country for this sort of endeavor is shown by the importation in recent years of several varieties. Of course, as there are no native American breeds save the Boston terrier and the Chesapeake Bay dog, importation must be the chief source of novelty.

ONE of the varieties confined to comparatively few kennels on this side of the water is that excellent hunting breed, the wire-haired pointing griffon, which attracted no little attention at the Westminster Kennel Club show this year where a moderately filled class was judged by Jay Gould. The sporting griffon is well known in Europe, especially in France, and there is reason to believe that it is one of the really old breeds, harking back, perhaps, to the Spanish pointer. There is also something of the hound in the breed and the gun dog of this type of the present shows a good deal of the old French or Norman hound blood. The strong liver color of the breed smacks of the pointer while the grizzled, grayish markings are a reminder of the otter hound.

There are doubts about the origin of the word " griffon," some authorities holding that it is derived from the griffon, or bearded vulture of Africa. At any rate, probably the first mention of it as applied to a dog is in a letter from Henry IV of France to Count Montmorency, dated April 12, 1596. The griffon is also mentioned in 1598 in a book called "The Conference of the Falconniers," by Charles d'Arcussia. At least three major groups of this breed are recognized in Europe: the Spinone of Italy, the Stickelhaar of Germany, and the Griffon a Foil Dur of France, which is closest to the sporting griffon of this country. The most favorably known strain is that of the Korthals-Griffon founded in 1870 by Edward Karel Korthals of Holland, and bred by him to its finest point later at the kennels of Prince Albrecht de Solins-Braunfels at Wolfsmuhle. There are many griffon clubs in Europe.

THE dog is characterized by medium stature with well-knit symmetry of form, and by the harsh hard overcoat with a dense, soft under-coat, giving great protection against cold and dampness. The head should be a true hunting head, not too broad, the muzzle long and square, with the lips of a good scenting dog. There should be a good mustache and eyebrows, the latter not hiding the brown or yellow eyes, however, and a brown nose. The clog should show strength and endurance in build with rather long sloping shoulders, deep chest and well developed loins and the feet round and strong with the toes well closed. The tail is often docked to three-quarter length in Europe. It should be wire-haired and without feather. The true color is steel gray with brown patches or self colored brown, often with gray hairs. Some specimens of this interesting breed which is well worthy of cultivation are shown in this issue.

THE most active griffon breeders and exhibitors are Louis A. Thebaud, who introduced the breed here, G. Dan Morgan, H. A. Morse, Edward P. Thebaud and Arthur Duane. C. K. G. Billings has recently purchased one of the best dogs bred in America and is breeding them for his quail shooting in the South and woodcock shooting in the North. Mr. Louis A. Thebaud has recently added his seventh importation of these dogs to his kennels, a young specimen, Rataplan des Balmes, picked up for him in France after a deal of trouble by Percival L. Rosseau, the painter of sporting dogs. A good class of griffons was benched at the recent Newport show where Mr. Morgan's Kob de Merlimont won.

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ANOTHER breed of dog, far removed in genealogy from the pointing griffon which is deserving of much more attention than it has received in America is that commonly known as the smooth coated collie. There are signs, albeit they are not very convincing, that the breed is soon to come into its own. Two rather good specimens which have been winning at recent shows where there was a class for them to enter are shown in this issue,

Rutherford Stuyvesant's Silver and Lady.

It is at least open to question whether this variety should bear the cognomen "collie" at all. The late James Watson, whose information on the dog was of the widest, always maintained stoutly that the term "collie" should apply solely to the rough Scotch variety and that the short-coated dog of similar conformation should be known as the smooth sheep dog.

In his comprehensive work, "The Dog Book," Mr. Watson adduces many quotations from the early sporting writers and the poets to show that the smooth sheep dog was a distinct breed and an older breed than even that third variety of English dog used for the tending of the flock which is now called the Old English Sheepdog or Bobtail. In the time of Dr. Caius, that is in 1570, we find in his "Treatise of English Doggcs" a reference to the sheep dog, of which he says:—

"Of dogs under the coarser kind we will deale first with the shepherdes dogge, whom some call the Bandogge, the Tydogge or the Mastyne, the first name is imputed to him for service, Quoniam paslori famulator, because he is at the shepherds his masters commandment. The seconde a Ligamento of the band or chain wherewith he is tyed. The third a Sagina of the fatnesse of his body."

Shortly after Caius, in the "Foure Bookes of Husbandrie," 1586, there appeared this passage:

"The shepherdes Masty, that is for the folde must neither be so gaunt nor so swifte as the greyhound, nor so fatte nor so heavy as the Masty of the house; but verie strong, and able to fighte and follow the chase, that he may beat away the woolfe and other beasts; to follow the theefe, and to recover the prey. And therfor his body should be rather long than short and thick; in all other points he must agree with the ban-dog."

It seems to be quite clear from the old prints of sheep dogs that the variety of two to three centuries ago was one and the same—with such minor modifications as time would naturally make—as the so-called smoothcoated collie of today. This view is borne out also by the description in Caius of the duties of the shepherd dog.

THE first kinde, namely the shepherdes hounde," he says, "is very necessary and profitable for avoyding of harmes and inconveniences which may come to men by means of beastes. Our shepherdes dogge is not huge, vaste and bigge, but of an indifferent stature and growth, because it hath not to deale with the bloudthirsty wolfe, sythence there be none in England. This dogge either at the hearing of his master's voyce, or at the wagging and whisteling in his fist, or at his shrill and horse hissing bringth the wandering weathers and straying shcepe, into the selfsame place where his masters will and wishe, is to have them, whereby the shepherd reapeth this benefite, namely, that with little labour and no toyle or moving of his feete he may rule and guide his flocke, or to stand still, or to drawe backward, or to turn this way, or to take that way."

Unfortunately, the smooth dog fancy has been rather overridden by that of the this side of the water. Much more is paid to the breed in England than here. A fine specimen, however, is worthy the attention of any dog lover and is quality all over, while the very fact of the short coat makes the smooth dog better suited to our hot climate than his Scotch rival. Mr. Jarret of Chestnut Hill was the first to show smooth sheep dogs in America. He sold out his dogs of the breed to Mr. Rutherford of Allammuchy, N. J. The leading kennel for some time was that of Mrs. J. L. Kcmochan, which was afterward bought by T. King of Hempstead, L. I.

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In England the majority of smooths arc of black and tan color with some roan and merled specimens. The china or wall eye is allowable in this breed in the odd colored specimens. The standard all through is much the same as that for the rough collie, save as to coat, but the smooths have the peculiarity that the dogs are apt to be much larger than their mates. The English standard calls for a short, dense, flat coat with an abundance of under-coat. As in the collie the head is of vital importance. It must not be too broad between the ears, the stop slight and the muzzle of consistent strength, not running too fine or the dog gets a snipy expression which is by all means to be avoided.

While shepherd dogs are under discussion, it may be noted that one of the finest kennels of collies in the country is being dispersed rapidly following the death of Thomas P. Hunter. This famous Knocklayde string, including Champion Knocklayde King Hector has been eagerly snapped up by the collie fancy. James Mortimer of Hempstead has been elected vicepresident of the Collie Club of America in Mr. Hunter's place.

MENTION has been made in these pages heretofore of efforts to introduce whippet racing more generally in this country. That there is interest in the whippet breed is shown by the benching of specimens at some of the Summer and early Autumn shows. The winners in this class at Newport, Colin Barrett's Barrett Prince and Flying Fox, first and reserve respectively, are shown in this issue. The dogs arc judged on the lines of the greyhound but it is common to have more or less feathering on the tails. Much evidence of an Italian greyhound cross is far from desirable, as the true whippet is a staunch little fellow with a purpose and in no sense a toy. The difficulty with whippet racing as a sport has been the class of handlers and hangers-on which it has always carried with it. It was this factor which killed the attempt to make a serious feature at Ranelagh of whippet racing It is to be hoped that the efforts to combine it with some horse shows and bench fixtures in this country will meet with better success. It is the very meat and drink of the Lancashire and Yorkshire workman and has flourished feebly in transplantation in such towns as Fall River. But it is capable of better things.

STILL another breed which is all too seldom seen at our bench shows or afoot, the black and tan, or Manchester, terrier. This breed was well established in England more than a century ago and is referred to by Daniel in 1803 when he says, " No species of dog will fight the badger so resolutely and fairly as terriers, of which there are two kinds; the one is rough, shortlegged, long-backed, very strong and most commonly of a black or yellowish colour, mixed with white; the other is smooth-haired, and beautifully formed, having a shorter body and more sprightly appearance, is generally of a reddish brown colour, or black with tanned legs." An even more exact description is given by Captain Brown twenty years later in his "Anecdotes."

The black and tan of this period was not infrequently used with the fox hound pack to unearth the game and there are old illustrations showing black and tans of very good type running with the hounds in full cry. The sobriquet Manchester was given this gamy terrier from the fact that that city was the center of the fancy in England, and the first English stud book shows nearly half the entry in this breed as hailing from that vicinity. The variety is a difficult one to breed true to standard as a double necessity is imposed on the breeder, symmetry, especially of head, and a very definite and clear cut color marking. This is proved by the original Black and Tan Terrier Club standard which says of color:

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"JET black and rich mahogany tan, distributed over the body as follows: On the head the muzzle is tanned to the nose, which, with the nasal bone, is jet black; there is also a bright spot on each cheek and above each eye; the under jaw and throat are tanned, and the hair on the inside of the ears Is of the same color; the forelegs are tanned up to the knee, with black lines up each toe, and a black mark above the foot; inside the hind legs are tanned but divided with black at the hock joints; under the tail is also tanned and on each side of the chest."

Edward Lever of Philadelphia was the first exhibitor in the United States to take up the breed to any great extent, while the most persistent early breeder was Dr. H. T. Foote of New Rochelle. The dog is much stronger in Canada, especially in the Ottawa district, than on this side of the border. There have been several attempts to get cropping out of the breed standard—but they have met with poor success on this side of the Atlantic. The black and tan is a true terrier and worth cultivating.

Among the notable show winnings during the last few weeks, was the capture of the award for best dog in the show at Newport by Mrs. Rainey's wire hair. Guycroft Salex, making his third win of the kind in the present season; Mrs. Thomas Hastings' wins at the Atlantic City show with her Pekes, Bagatelle Chin Chin and Bagatelle Wang Tai; and the triumphs in England of Wycollar Boy, son of the famous Wire Boy of Paignton, and of Mrs. Aston Cross' great Pekingese, Chu-Ty of Aldcrbourne.

ONE of the successful shows of this month was the annual event at Islip where the show committee consisted of Raymond Belmont, Franklin L. Hutton, Morris Kinney, W. Ross Proctor, William Ziegler Jr., and Burnet R. Ruggles. Several judges new to the ring officiated and the entry was a large one. For the

nth time during the past dog show season, the blue ribbon for best dog in the show was awarded to a wirehaired fox terrier. In fact, this breed seems to win prizes easier than almost any other, for which reason many people who formerly showed other breeds have transferred their affections.

At Islip, a young Lochinvar wire hair, handicapped by the somewhat mixed up cognomen, Oxford Ridgeway Dorothy, was the fortunate incumbent. This one and a half-year-old bitch have but recently come out of the West, with a long list of Western victories trailing along behind her, and is owned by J. B. Able of Tappan, New York. She was mentioned in despatches from the Newport show held earlier in the month. At Islip she managed the difficult feat of beating several dogs who had won at the Garden, last winter.

The fox terriers, both smooth and wire-haired, were shown before George W. Quintard, himself the owner of some of the most famous specimens of these breeds that exist anywhere. The occasion marked Mr. Quintard's début as a judge in the show ring, and he acquitted himself in that difficult capacity with much aplomb. Needless to say, none of his own dogs was entered. If some had been—but that doesn't really matter, because they weren't.

IN the winners' class for smooth fox terriers Oxford Stormcloud, a kennel-mate of Oxford Ridgeway Dorothy, won first. But in the regular class for smooth haireds Remswiek Radiance, George Raper's unbeaten bitch, scored her fourth consecutive victory.

Mrs. Harby's Pekingese, one of which—Nanking Pao Kwei—was shown recently in Vanity Fair, were declared winners in their classes. Nanking Pao Kwei, it may be remembered, created astonishment at the Southampton Show by beating its renowned kennel mate, Chu Yen of Toddington. Mrs. Pultz's Pomeranian Champion, St. Julien, which has been a frequent winner here in the East, kept its record clear by winning the blue for Pomeranians.

Another surprise and, in a way, an innovation was furnished by the foxhound competition. It was the first time in the history of one-day Long Island shows that a competition of this sort had been included in the programme.

G. Muss Arnolt took care of many breeds at the successful benching of the Delaware State Fair Dog Show Association a little later in the month.

Unless you are well informed regarding the points of a dog, you are apt to be sold a mongrel at the price of a thoroughbred. It will save you a lot of trouble and expense if, before making your purchase, you will write to the Dog Mart of Vanity Fair, explaining your needs.

This department, which appears on pages 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24, is in the hands of experts, who are not only capable of advising you, but who can buy a dog, or many dogs, for you. Consult them at your convenience. Their services are free of charge.