LONDON DOG SHOW.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIV, Issue 2, 4 January 1910, Page 7

LONDON DOG SHOW.

THREE THOUSAND ENTRIES

Dogs are notorious gossips, and tli Crystal Palace was filled with a. gla noise on the 19th October, for 328 dogs had gathered there for the Ken nel Club's 54th show. The noise would not have been sdeafening, the Chronicle's representa

tive considered, if dogs were content to gossip with their immediate neighbours. But you never knew a dog satisfied to chat. with the dog next door. He always wants to whisper scandal at the top of his voice to a dog in the next road; and so it was at the Palace. Each dog ignored his neighbour on the bench, and unburdened his jolly little mind to some dog at the other end of the centre transept. Noise apart, the show is a real delight to the dog-lover. Perhaps you are not interested in the "points" that enchant the judges, for the real dog-lover is often contrary enough to lose his heart to some impertinently cheerful little mongriel. Many a pleasant hour can be spent studying the varying demeanour of the dogs. You will find that the big dogs are horribly bored by the whole business. Of course, they do not know that this is a dog show. To them, it is a man and woman show, at which they have secured front places, and they eye the passing throng with mingled good-nature and boredom Then there are the tiny toy dogs, fussy little beasts, with pretty faces and proud hearts 3 who takes the smiles and sarcasm of the spectators as compliments, and comfort their selfish souls with the thought that they are the most important things in the whole world. Perhaps they are, in the homes they come from. From the corner of the benches where the real dogs are chained a big bloodhound caught sight of a microscopic animal, like, a hungry rat, being carried past. "Wen, I'm —," and then the bloodhound saw; a lady standing by^— swell, I'm bothered," he finished. It is .certain that the small, dogs are visited out of curiosity. It is the big dogs to which one turns as chums

This year the special prizes number 886, and the aggregate value of the awards is more than £7000. A new departure is the presence of ladies in the judging ring, Miss C. Rosa Little judging pugs, Mrs Graves judging toy spaniels, arid Miss Maude A. Bland judging Pomeranians. The King secured a first prize for the only'dog he'exhibited, a Clumber spaniel named Sandringham Shot, entered in the novices class. The Queen showed six Basset hounds, Sandringham Loo, Sandringham Dido, and Sandringham Gravity, in the smooth class, and Sandringham Vulcan, : Sandringham Vejro, and Sandringham Valour in the rough. A first prize went to Gravity and a second to Dido. The Royal dogs were much photographed, but bore the admiration and publicity With true high-bred courtesy. . Mr Lewis Harcourt, M.P., also obtained prizes with his golden retrievers. '..,.'■' A curious feature is that the bull terrier Section, as compared with last year, shows a diminution of one-half of the number of exhibits, only- 44 being penned, as compared with 84 last year. •

Entries in the Airedales, Basset hounds, black and tan (miniatures), bull r dogs, bull-terriers, collies (both rough and smooth), dachshunds, Dalmatians, deerhour.ds, greyhounds, wire-haired fox terriers, and Irish terriers showed a falling off. On the other hand, Pomeranians had increased, and" so have Rorbois, miniature bull-dogs, Ghow-Chows, foreign dogs, smooth-coated „ ;fox terriers, great Danes1, Italian greyhounds, Japanese mastiffs, pointers, Pekingese poodles, pugs, St. Bernards, Schipperkes, Scotch terriers, Skyes, Spaniels, and whippets.