GOING TO THE DOGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 134, 8 June 1929, Page 7 (Supplement)

GOING TO THE DOGS.

SOME PROBLEMS OF

PEDIGREE.

WHAT BREEDING CAN DO.

THE BEST PETS FOR CHILDREN

The ancient wisdom commanded the sluggard to go to the ant and consider her ways; and the modern wisdom might well advise the anti-evolutionist to go to the' dogs (writes Professor J. Arthur Thomson). For has there ever been a more picturesque proving of evolutionary possibilities, and.all in the tick of the geological clock since Neolithic man turned a wolf into a trusty partner? It is likely enough that different kinds of wolves were domesticated in different countries, and some authorities would also give credit to the jackal; but these are minor points. The big fact is that out of a lupine 6tock it was given to our ancestors to educe the domesticated dog, and from the early dogs to evolve the bewildering variety of size and shape, coat and character, that we admire at the dog show. In the history of doge we see a forceful fountain of change—sometimes joyously exuberant! Amid all the noise of the dog show we hear the eloquent bubbling of the well of life—an inexhaustible well of surprises. What might not man achieve if he gave himself a little more of the eugenic care that he devotes to hie dogs? A second impression, as we look round at the diversity of terriers, is that the creative genius is in the dog, not in the breeder. For just as man cannot start •or stop the disintegration of the atoms of a radio-active substance, so the breeder must wait for the noveltiee which the germ-cells produce. It is true that the breeder can try to provoke variations by crossing or by deeply penetrating nurtural influences, but on the whole he must, as yet, wait for what up. Then comes his opportunity for sifting and singling, and stabilising the new departures.

A New Arrival. The first place must be given to fox terriers for constitution, cleverness and character, for varininty qualities and gentlemanliness. Whether smooth or wire-haired, the fox terrier has been going strong for sixty years, and it gets better and better every decade. It is the best sporting terrier in existence.

The popular Sealyham ie relatively a newcomer, to whose excellences the fox terrier, the Dandie Dinmont, and the bull terrier eeem to have contributed. It is essentially a working earth-dog, with nimble .wits and any amount of gameness. The Welsh terrier, somewhat like a small Airedale, is hardy, good-tempered, reliable and docile. For the companionship of children it would be difficult to find a more suitable animal.

The Scots terrier, which has been to the fore for five centuries, is true to its native heath, for it has soundness of constitution, endurance and pluck, "combined with perseverance and Jiardihood, to the last degree." It is virile from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. "Its movements show vivacity, alertness, durability, and a degree of gameness second to none."

The Skye terrier represents specialisation in shortness of leg, in strength of compact body, and in length of hair. But if it is not spoilt by pampering or by inbreeding from poor stock, it ie hardy and game. The expert' tells iis that it should riot have a bath more than four times a year!

The Dandie Dinmont. The Dandie Dinmont is a Border variety of terrier, first brought into prominence in "Guy Mannering" (1814), but a little out of fashion ju6t at present. It is quite able to take care of iteelf if attacked, but it is not quarrelsome. For intelligence it has no superior, and is strongly recommended as a good "pal" for young and old. A fine instance of what breeding can do in a short time may be found in the Airedale terrier, which is known to have arisen in the Valley of the Aire in 1853. The native terriers —chiefly black and tan —were crossed with the otterhound and bull terrier, and possibly the Irish terrier, the result being an amalgam of high utility and promise. The Airedale is the largest of our terriere, a waterloving dog and a good companion. But it has a very, complex inheritance, and, as always, there must be careful breeding from tHe best.

One of its rivals is the Irish terrier, hardy, companionable and highly intelligent, but —well —just a little given to saying: "Iβ this a private quarrel, or may a gintleman join in?" We have not nearly finished our appreciations of theee dogs, but we cannot close without a reference to the bull terrier, which emerged about the beginning of the nineteenth century, superseding the bulldog, which was proving itself too clumsy and heavy for the fashionable amusemente of those days. We mention the bull. terrier partly for its own eake, but also because it hae outlived its original function, a. fact that assures us that while doge have been progressing much, man has been advancing a little.

Long live terriers. If we had more of them, we should have fewer rats.