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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
117
Seven-and-twenty
years
ago
Captain
Graham
drew
up
a
list
of
the
most
notable
dogs
of
the
last
century.
Among
these
were
Sir
St.
George
Gore's
Gruim
(1843-44),
Black
Bran
(1850-51);
the
Marquis
of
Breadalbane's
King
of
the
Forest,
said
to
stand
33
inches
high;
Mr.
Beaseley's
Alder
(1863-67),
bred
by
Sir
John
McNeill
of
Colonsay;
Mr.
Donald
Cameron's
Torrum
(1869),
and
his
two
sons
Monzie
and
Young
Torrum;
and
Mr.
Dadley's
Hector,
who
was
probably
the
best-bred
dog
living
in
the
early
eighties.
Torrum,
however,
appears
to
have
been
the
most
successful
of
these
dogs
at
stud.
He
was
an
exceedingly
grand
specimen
of
his
race,
strong
framed,
with
plenty
of
hair
of
a
blue
brindle
colour.
Captain
Graham's
own
dog
Keildar,
who
had
been
trained
for
deerstalking
in
Windsor
Park,
was
perhaps
one
of
the
most
elegant
and
aristocratic-looking
Deerhounds
ever
seen.
His
full
height
was
30
inches,
girth
33-1/2
inches,
and
weight,
95
lbs.,
his
colour
bluish
fawn,
slightly
brindled,
the
muzzle
and
ears
being
blue.
His
nearest
competitor
for
perfection
was,
after
Hector,
probably
Mr.
Hood
Wright's
Bevis,
a
darkish
red
brown
brindle
of
about
29
inches.
Mr.
Wright
was
the
breeder
of
Champion
Selwood
Morven,
who
was
the
celebrity
of
his
race
about
1897,
and
who
became
the
property
of
Mr.
Harry
Rawson.
This
stately
dog
was
a
dark
heather
brindle,
standing
32-3/8
inches
at
the
shoulder,
with
a
chest
girth
of
34-1/2
inches.
A
few
years
ago
breeders
were
inclined
to
mar
the
beauty
of
the
Deerhound
by
a
too
anxious
endeavour
to
obtain
great
size
rather
than
to
preserve
the
genuine
type;
but
this
error
has
been
sufficiently
corrected,
with
the
result
that
symmetry
and
elegance
conjoined
with
the
desired
attributes
of
speed
are
not
sacrificed.
The
qualities
aimed
at
now
are
a
height
of
something
less
than
30
inches,
and
a
weight
not
greater
than
105
lbs.,
with
straight
fore-legs
and
short,
cat-like
feet,
a
deep
chest,
with
broad,
powerful
loins,
slightly
arched,
and
strength
of
hind-quarters,
with
well-bent
stifles,
and
the
hocks
well
let
down.
Straight
stifles
are
objectionable,
giving
a
stilty
appearance.
Thick
shoulders
are
equally
a
blemish
to
be
avoided,
as
also
a
too
great
heaviness
of
bone.
The
following
is
the
accepted
standard
of
merit.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
