Dogs and All about Them

The coat of the Welsh Terrier slightly differs from that of the wire-hair Fox-terrier in that it is, as a rule, not so abundant, and is, in reality, a different class of coat. It is not so broken as is that of the Fox-terrier, and is generally a smoother, shorter coat, with the hairs very close together. When accompanied with this there is a dense undercoat, one has, for a terrier used to work a good deal in water, an ideal covering, as waterproof almost as the feathers on a duck's back. The other difference between the Fox and Welsh Terrier--viz., type--is very hard to define. To anyone who really understands Welsh Terriers, the selection of those of proper type from those of wrong type presents little if any difficulty. As a show-bench exhibit the Welsh Terrier is not more than twenty-two years old. He has, however, resided in Wales for centuries. There is no doubt that he is in reality identical with the old black and tan wire-haired dog which was England's first terrier, and which has taken such a prominent part in the production and evolution of all the other varieties of the sporting terrier. There are several people living in or about Carnarvonshire who can show that Welsh Terriers have been kept by their ancestors from, at any rate, a hundred to two hundred years ago. Notable among these is the present master of the Ynysfor Otterhounds, whose great grandfather, John Jones, of Ynysfor, owned Welsh Terriers in or about the year 1760. This pack of Otterhounds has always been kept by the Jones of Ynysfor, who have always worked and still work Welsh Terriers with them. From this strain some good terriers have sprung, and this although neither the present master nor any of his ancestors have concerned themselves greatly about the looks of their terriers, or kept anything but a head record of their pedigrees. They are all, however, pure bred, and are set much store on by their owner and his family, just as they always have been by their predecessors.