Non-Sporting Dogs
Thursday, April 16, 2020
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Among the nine members of this catchall category are several of the more attractive and stylish breeds available today. Here is found the fabulously successful Poodle, far and away the world's most popular breed. Here is the taut, briskly animated Boston Terrier, the most favored of America's few original canine creations. Here are the beautifully ugly Bulldogs, the one from France, the other a gentled but still game version of the terror of England's fighting pits. And here is the uniquely spotted Dalmatian, the Coach Dog that trotted the king's highways under the axletrees of swaying carriages and stages. Three unusual dogs complete the roster: Keeshond and Schipperke, faithful guards of the canal barges; Chow Chow of China.
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| Non-Sporting Dogs |
The Poodle is very chic these days. He always has been an intelligent and attractive dog, but recently he has been rediscovered and become the most popular pure-bred dog in the nation. His virtues are many. He has the beauty, brains, and unsurpassed style to be a desirable pet and an effective show dog. He is a star of obedience competition and, if need be, a rugged field dog, although his uses as a hunter have dwindled. He does not need much exercise and thus can adapt successfully to city living. His only drawback is his elaborate coat clip. Probably more money is spent on grooming the Poodle than on any other breed. Yet undeniably his bracelets and pom-poms and rosettes add greatly to his appeal.
He acquires his name from Dalmatia, today a province along the Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia. That much everyone agrees on. For the rest, no one is sure. He may well have been in existence before there was a Dalmatia, Early Egyptian art depicts spotted dogs following chariots that may have been Dalmatians, for wherever he began, he has come through the centuries unchanged. His nicknames are many: Fire-House Dog, English Coach Dog, Carriage Dog, Spotted Dick, and Plum Pudding Dog. All bespeak his looks or several of his many functions. He is quite possibly the most utilitarian dog of all the purebreds. He has been used in wat as a guard or sentry dog, he has been a draft dog and a shepherd. Sportsmen have found him entirely capable as a bird dog, a trail hound (although he is not a hound), and a retriever. He is both intelligent and trainable, and has therefore, made a fine performing dog in circuses and vaudeville.
No one ever has shown the Bulldog to be a product of any country but Britain, with the large, strong, broad-mouthed war dogs of the early Britons probably his earliest forebears. The name came from the cruel sport of bullbaiting, which required tenacity and extraordinary courage. There is a record of butchers' dogs fighting bulls in 1209. The equally barbaric sport of dog fighting was a natural outgrowth of bullbaiting although the dogs used were quite different from the Bulldogs of today. They were higher in leg, lighter in bone, smaller in head, longer in muzzle, and not so wide in front. Dog fighting eventually was forbidden by law in 1835 and with it went the Bulldog's usefulness as a sporting dog. Extinction might have followed if efforts had not been made to preserve the breed's fine qualities while eliminating the old ferocity. Through breeding, the English Bulldog became one of the finest of physical specimens with an appearance of immense strength and courage, but with an affectionate, docile nature.
There is a story which says that the Chow Chow's name derives from the pidgin English expression for bric-a-brac-the miscellaneous curios brought to Europe from the Orient. As early as the mid-eighteenth century these goods were called chow chow" much as we apply the term to mixed pickles" today and eventually it came to mean the dog, as well. The Chinese named him more sensibly. They call him Black Tongue or Blackmouthed Dog, which, unlike any other breed in the world, he is The Chow Chow is a lordly dog, massive, powerfully built, and aloof in nature. His solidity is emphasized by his dense, woolly coat. particularly the great ruff around his neck. Clothed in a shining offstanding coat." proclaims the Standard, the Chow is a masterpiece of beauty, dignity, and untouched naturalness. His coat often is red, but may be any solid color. The Chow Chow breed is at least 2,000 years old.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century, the Netherlands was split by internal political strife On one side were the partisans of the Prince of Orange, on the other #people's party calling itself the Patriots. The leader of the Patriots was Cornelis de Gyselaer, and he had a pet dog that became the party mascot. Some say the dog's name was Kees, others that that simply was the Dutch nickname for Cornelis. In any event the dog has become the Keeshond-pronounced "Case-hond." Plural Keeshonden Partnership with the Patriots almost proved fatal to the breed. When the Prince of Orange won out, it became a distinct embarrassment to have a Keeshond and great many Patriots began disposing of their dogs.
French Bulldog has prominent bat ears, rather than the rose cars-small, drop ears of the Englishman. The bat ears are broad at the base, elongated, and well rounded at the top. They are spread fairly wide apart and carried erect. When the breed first became popular in France, both rate and bat ears were permitted. The bat ear as a distinctive feature of the breed came from American breeders late in the last century.
The bright, energetic and tautly strung Boston Terrier has always stood high in popular favour in the United States. He generally has been among the first ten in the annual American Kennel Club registrations, and well he might be. He is one of America's few native breeds. He was developed in and about Boston from English and French bulldog stock crossed with terriers. As in the case of many older breeds dates have a way of blurring, but an important one is 1965, when Robert Hooper of Boston imported an English crossbred named fudge that was mostly Bulldog and part terrier, He became the foundation sire. Another recorded date is 1889. when there was a sufficient number of fanciers to form the American Bull Terrier Club and show the breed as Round Heads or Bull Terriers. In 1891 the breed was renamed the Boston Terrier.
He is not primarily a sporting dog, but he has been used successfully to hunt rabbits, moles, and vermin. Unaccountably, he is fond of horses and likes to be in their company. He is suspicious of strangers. Schipperke was made the official designation in 1888, after a parent club was formed. Some say the same was chosen to honor the owner of a Brussels-Antwerp barge company who had many "little Captains" on his boats and was also instrumental in promoting the breed. The dog made his first appearance in the United States in 1988, and was first admitted to AK.C. registration in 1904. - The Schipperke's appearance is distinctive. He resembles no other breed. The body is short and thickset, the head foxy, the expression keen -almost mischievous. He is a cobby dog whose chestiness is accentuated by a thick, neck-and-shoulder ruff. He also has a long culotte-the hair on the back of the thighs. He often is born tailless, but if not, must be docked to no more than 1-inch length. His coat is harsh. Solid black is his only color. He should not weigh more than 18 pounds.