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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
48
The
picture
was
painted
in
1838,
and,
as
almost
everyone
knows,
represents
a
white
and
black
Newfoundland.
The
dog
portrayed
was
typical
of
the
breed,
and
after
a
lapse
of
over
seventy
years,
the
painting
has
now
the
added
value
of
enabling
us
to
make
a
comparison
with
specimens
of
the
breed
as
it
exists
to-day.
Such
a
comparison
will
show
that
among
the
best
dogs
now
living
are
some
which
might
have
been
the
model
for
this
picture.
It
is
true
that
in
the
interval
the
white
and
black
Newfoundlands
have
been
coarser,
heavier,
higher
on
the
legs,
with
an
expression
denoting
excitability
quite
foreign
to
the
true
breed,
but
these
departures
from
Newfoundland
character
are
passing
away--it
is
to
be
hoped
for
good.
The
breed
is
rapidly
returning
to
the
type
which
Landseer's
picture
represents--a
dog
of
great
beauty,
dignity,
and
benevolence
of
character,
showing
in
its
eyes
an
almost
human
pathos.
Some
twenty-five
to
thirty
years
ago
there
was
considerable
discussion
among
owners
of
Newfoundlands
in
this
country
as
to
the
proper
colour
of
the
true
breed,
and
there
were
many
persons
who
claimed,
as
some
still
claim,
that
the
black
variety
is
the
only
true
variety,
and
that
the
white
and
black
colouring
indicates
a
cross-breed.
Again
Landseer's
picture
is
of
value,
because,
in
the
first
place,
we
may
be
almost
certain
that
he
would
have
selected
for
such
a
picture
a
typical
dog
of
the
breed,
and,
secondly,
because
the
picture
shows,
nearly
half
a
century
prior
to
the
discussion,
a
white
and
black
dog,
typical
in
nearly
every
respect,
except
colour,
of
the
black
Newfoundland.
There
is
no
appearance
of
cross-breeding
in
Landseer's
dog;
on
the
contrary,
he
reveals
all
the
characteristics
of
a
thoroughbred.
Seventy
years
ago,
therefore,
the
white
and
black
variety
may
be
fairly
considered
to
have
been
established,
and
it
is
worthy
of
mention
here
that
"Idstone"
quoted
an
article
written
in
1819
stating
that
back
in
the
eighteenth
century
Newfoundlands
were
large,
rough-coated,
liver
and
white
dogs.
It
is
clear,
also,
that
in
1832
Newfoundlands
in
British
North
America
were
of
various
colours.
Additional
evidence,
too,
is
provided,
in
the
fact
that
when
selecting
the
type
of
head
for
their
postage
stamp
the
Government
of
Newfoundland
chose
the
Landseer
dog.
Therefore,
there
are
very
strong
arguments
against
the
claim
that
the
true
variety
is
essentially
black.
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