Dogs and All about Them

Take your hobby seriously, and you will be amply repaid, even if success does not always crown your efforts, as while the breeding of most animals is a fascinating pursuit, that of the Fox-terrier presents many varying delights. CHAPTER XXXIII THE WIRE-HAIR FOX-TERRIER The wire-hair Fox-terrier is, with the exception of its coat, identical with the smooth Fox-terrier--full brother in fact to him. The two varieties are much interbred, and several litters in consequence include representatives of both; and not only this, but it is quite a frequent occurrence to get a smooth puppy from wire-hair parents, although for some generations neither of the parents may have had any smooth cross in their pedigrees. The North of England and South Wales (to a lesser extent) have ever been the home of the wire-hair, and nearly all the best specimens have come originally from one or the other of those districts. There is no doubt that there was excellent stock in both places, and there is also no doubt that though at times this was used to the best advantage, there was a good deal of carelessness in mating, and a certain amount in recording the parentage of some of the terriers. With regard to this latter point it is said that one gentleman who had quite a large kennel and several stud dogs, but who kept no books, used never to bother about remembering which particular dog he had put to a certain bitch, but generally satisfied himself as to the sire of a puppy when it came in from "walk" by just examining it and saying "Oh, that pup must be by owd Jock or Jim," as the case might be, "'cos he's so loike 'im," and down he would go on the entry form accordingly. However this may be, there is no doubt that the sire would be a wire-hair Fox-terrier, and, although the pedigree therefore may not have been quite right, the terrier was invariably pure bred.