THE AUSTRALIAN TERRIER

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 52, Issue 3771, 19 June 1936, Page 3

THE AUSTRALIAN TERRIER

A RECOGNISED CLASSIFIED BREED. The only canine product of Australia to receive recognition by the Kennel Club, England, as a classified breed, is the Australian terrier. The process of development may be traced back for'sixty years, and is composite of English Black and Tan, Yorkshire, Cairn, Dandie Dinmont, and other varieties of terrier. The original idea was to evolve a companion able terrier, not too big for a house dog or too heavy in coat for the climate. The object also was to retain real terrier characteristics as opposed to toys, though smaller than the existing Irish, Scottish, and fox terriers. Even at the present time the breed is not a particularly prominent one af Australian shows. There is really no more uniformity of type than there was thirty years ago. One of the most typical dogs I have ever seen was Monaro Glenara, owned by Mr George Johnson, and was shown consistently between 1906 and 1912. 1 am certain there are not many dogs of his class being shown to-day. The then Governor-General (Lord Hopetoun) wanted to buy this dog, but Mr Johnson would not sell. The only' standards originally worked upon were inconsistent due to what appears to have been jealousy between breeders in Victoria and New South Wales. NOT A PURE BREED. I agree with my old friend, Mr C. Court-Rice, of Sydney, that it was impossible to accept the Australian terrier as a dog of pure breed, not because he was new, but because both Australian and so-called SydneySilky terriers appeared in the same litter. Notwithstanding the number of years which have elapsed, the same charge can be substantiated. The breed, if one may flatter them by calling them breeds, is in the hands of those who, while claiming separation, and and who have formulated standards, nevertheless are willing enough to mate them together, presumably to retain colour, and still claim that Australian terriers and Sydney Silky terriers are separate breeds! In other words, they persist in mongrelising the very dogs they profess to foster ! The main idea is to breed a rather low-set, compact, active terrier of an average weight of 10 or 12 lbs, jacketed with straight, hard hair, about 2 inches in length. Many present-day winners are soft in coat. The head should be long with flat skull, full between the eyes, with soft hair topknot, jaws long and powerful, though it is a popular delusion that a long jaw is necessarily powerful. Most muzzles I have seen are pointed, and this may be right, though it is equally possible that a square muzzle is what is wanted. Ears are either pricked or dropped, small and free from long hairs. Here again I comment that surely this is the only terrier in which pricked and dropped ears are allowable. And should they be wide or narrow at the base, pointed or rounded at the tips, if set high on the skull ? The forelegs should be straight and well set under the body, the hind legs strong at thigh, hocks and stifles bent. The feet should be small, clean, and well padded. The. body rather long in proportion to height, well ribbed up, back straight. The tail should be docked, but how long ? Should it be like a fox terrier’s or like a stumpy-tailed cattle dog’s tail? Uniformity in the caudal appendage would be an advantage. The colour in order of preference is blue or grey body with tan on legs and face, the richer the better, topknot blue or silver; second, clear, sandy, or red. It is also observed that pups are born black, which is a peculiarity seen in .Dandie Dinmonts and Yorkshires.