Dogs and All about Them

CHAPTER XXXI THE BULL-TERRIER The Bull-terrier is now a gentlemanly and respectably owned dog, wearing an immaculate white coat and a burnished silver collar; he has dealings with aristocracy, and is no longer contemned for keeping bad company. But a generation or two ago he was commonly the associate of rogues and vagabonds, skulking at the heels of such members of society as Mr. William Sikes, whom he accompanied at night on darksome business to keep watch outside while Bill was within, cracking the crib. In those days the dog's ears were closely cropped, not for the sake of embellishment, but as a measure of protection against the fangs of his opponent in the pit when money was laid upon the result of a well-fought fight to the death. For fighting was the acknowledged vocation of his order, and he was bred and trained to the work. He knew something of rats, too, and many of his kind were famed in the land for their prowess in this direction. Jimmy Shaw's Jacko could finish off sixty rats in three minutes, and on one occasion made a record by killing a thousand in a trifle over an hour and a half. The breed is sufficiently modern to leave no doubt as to its derivation. In the first quarter of the nineteenth century attention was being directed to the improvement of terriers generally, and new types were sought for. They were alert, agile little dogs, excellent for work in the country; but the extravagant Corinthians of the time--the young gamesters who patronised the prize-ring and the cock-pit--desired to have a dog who should do something more than kill rats, or unearth the fox, or bolt the otter: which accomplishments afforded no amusement to the Town. They wanted a dog combining all the dash and gameness of the terrier with the heart and courage and fighting instinct of the Bulldog. Wherefore the terrier and the Bulldog were crossed. A large type of terrier was chosen, and this would be the smooth-coated Black and Tan, or the early English White Terrier; but probably both were used indifferently, and for a considerable period. The result gave the young bucks what they required: a dog that was at once a determined vermin killer and an intrepid fighter, upon whose skill in the pit wagers might with confidence be laid.