Dogs and All about Them

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.