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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
201
The
coloured
Field
Spaniel
has
now
almost
invariably
at
the
principal
shows
special
classes
allotted
to
him,
and
does
not
have
to
compete
against
his
black
brother,
as
used
to
be
the
case
in
former
years.
The
systematic
attempt
to
breed
Spaniels
of
various
colours,
with
a
groundwork
of
white,
does
not
date
back
much
more
than
a
quarter
of
a
century,
and
the
greater
part
of
the
credit
for
producing
this
variety
may
be
given
to
three
gentlemen,
Mr.
F.
E.
Schofield,
Dr.
J.
H.
Spurgin,
and
Mr.
J.
W.
Robinson.
In
the
early
days
of
breeding
blacks,
when
the
bitches
were
mated
either
with
Sussex
or
liver
and
white
Springers
or
Norfolk
Spaniels,
many
parti-coloured
puppies
necessarily
occurred,
which
most
breeders
destroyed;
but
it
occurred
to
some
of
these
gentlemen
that
a
handsome
and
distinct
variety
might
be
obtained
by
careful
selection,
and
they
have
certainly
succeeded
to
a
very
great
extent.
The
most
famous
names
among
the
early
sires
are
Dr.
Spurgin's
Alonzo
and
his
son
Fop,
and
Mr.
Robinson's
Alva
Dash,
from
one
or
other
of
whom
nearly
all
the
modern
celebrities
derive
their
descent.
Those
who
have
been,
and
are,
interested
in
promoting
and
breeding
these
variety
Spaniels
deserve
a
large
amount
of
credit
for
their
perseverance,
which
has
been
attended
with
the
greatest
success
so
far
as
producing
colour
goes.
No
doubt
there
is
a
very
great
fascination
in
breeding
for
colour,
and
in
doing
so
there
is
no
royal
road
to
success,
which
can
only
be
attained
by
the
exercise
of
the
greatest
skill
and
the
nicest
discrimination
in
the
selection
of
breeding
stock.
At
the
same
time
colour
is
not
everything,
and
type
and
working
qualities
should
never
be
sacrificed
to
it.
This
has
too
often
been
done
in
the
case
of
coloured
Field
Spaniels.
There
are
plenty
of
beautiful
blue
roans,
red
roans,
and
tricolours,
whether
blue
roan
and
tan
or
liver
roan
and
tan,
but
nearly
all
of
them
are
either
cocktailed,
weak
in
hind-quarters,
crooked-fronted,
or
houndy-headed,
and
showing
far
too
much
haw.
In
fact,
in
head
and
front
the
greater
number
of
the
tricolours
remind
one
of
the
Basset-hound
almost
as
much
as
they
do
in
colour.
It
is
to
be
hoped
that
colour-breeders
will
endeavour
to
get
back
the
true
Spaniel
type
before
it
is
too
late.
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