The Clumber Spaniel is the largest of the land spaniels, the weight in males ranging from fifty-five to sixty-five pounds, the females from thirty-five to fifty pounds. He is a strong, sturdy, compact dog, with profuse coat, but a smaller ear of the V-shaped variety. In color he must always be white and lemon or white and orange, ticks on the head or fore legs add to his beauty. He should have few, if any markings on his body. This variety is not very numerous in this country, though in many parts of England he is used quite regularly as a sporting dog.
The Sussex is another variety of the large land spaniels, smaller, however, than the Clumber, weighing from thirty-five to forty-five pounds. In color he is a rich golden liver. In this country he is practically unknown, but he is numbered as among the oldest of breeds in England.
The Irish Water Spaniel scarcely comes within the province of this book. He is a large dog, standing well up on the leg. It is said that he is a cross between the Irish setter and the large poodle, but this may be all conjecture. At all events he stands as high at the shoulder as an Irish setter. In color he is liver; any white except on chest or toes, disqualifies. His coat is a mass of short curls back to his tail which should be entirely free from feather. On his skull he has a well-defined top-knot; indeed, this is one of the distinguishing marks of the breed. As a house dog he is almost too large though for wild fowl retrieving under any and all weather conditions, he is par excellence.
THE CHOW, LORD CHUMLEY.
Among the non-sporting medium-sized breeds, the Chow Chow stands preeminently to the forefront. He is a Chinese breed, like the Pekingese, and considering that he breeds very true to type, it is possible that he is of more ancient origin than many of our much lauded “pure breeds” of England. The chow is given credit for being a very intelligent animal; he is a good house dog and a faithful companion. In size he is about like the old-fashioned Spitz dog from which the Pomeranian is descended. In color he should be either black, red, yellow, blue, or white, but the shade should run uniform except that the underpart of the tail and inside of thighs are frequently of a lighter shade. He carries his tail curled over his back; his coat should be abundant, dense, straight and somewhat coarse in texture, with a soft, wooly undercoat. His ears are carried erect. He has a rather peculiar sour expression and his eyes are dark and small in all but the blues, in which a light color is permissible. One of the distinguishing features of a chow is his tongue, which in pure specimens is blue-black. His nose should also be black, large and wide.
The chow became popular about a quarter of a century ago, then for a time the interest lagged, but of late years his popularity seems to be increasing once more. The dog is perhaps among what one might call the high-priced varieties, but it is always possible to buy a “waster” which will answer the same purpose for a companion as the perfect show dog. A breeder of chows once said to me: “This breed has all the oriental mysticism about it that one finds in everything that comes from the Far East; they seem to know what you are thinking about and at times, as they lie there on the rug, one imagines they are actually going to speak and tell you what they have on their minds. But once your friend, a chow is always your friend.”
THE FRENCH BULLDOG, CH. GUGUSSE, JR.
The French Bulldog is another breed that has come into great popularity during the past fifteen years, especially among the ladies. As far as his actual usefulness is concerned, we cannot say much, although his admirers might probably take one to task if this statement were made in their presence. He makes a delightful companion, smooth of coat and clean in his habits. For the house he is probably one of the most desirable breeds among the many, even though his real utility might be questioned. However that may be, the dog is popular and good specimens command high prices.