St. Landry democrat., 1880-09-11

gospel truth the vague but boastful
statement Of the breeder that he is
" the finest stock in America"
Everybody Of any experience knows
that every mai who has q litter OF
pups claims that they are from Gin
ported" stock of The ''tinest blood in
America and 'pure" setter or point
er; and it is equally well known that
in nine cases out Of ten, when the
owner is pressed for particulars, he
knows literally nothing OF the stock
for more than one Or two genera
tons, CT what is discovered Giscloses
a cross Of pointer, setter and hound.
| do not mean to say, by any
means, that there are not good dogs
whose pedisrees are unknown Ell
tirely. On the contrary, the dog
taking first prize i'll small pointers
at New York in 1870 was of unknown
stock, and ] know a great many eX-
cellent animals whose antecedents
are of the vaguest sort, and yet
whose owners know them to be adj
mirabIo dogs: but at the present
day, when dogs OF pure blood and
well authenticated stock are easily
ohtainable, the preference will al
ways be given to such by gentlemen
who are up in such matters. Low
a puppy will turn out is, at best,
problematical. The purest and best
bred dogs throw a great number OF
.!weeds ;"but it is equally true that
unknown dogs do the same. My OBJ
servation Of dog breeding is that not
one puppy in ten comes up to the
standard and whether we get a blue
blood or scrub, a native or imported,
we are taking large odds that disease
may nip him in the bud, or our own
bad management Or neglect let him
turn out worthless.
But be our dogs ever so good,
whether native or imported, it is
much more satisfactory to ourselves
and to our friends, if we raise them
for pleasure, and it is demanded if
we raise them for sale, that the rec
orls show what they are.
| keep a regular pedigree-book
1t is not below the dignity CT a gen
tleman to do this sort Of thing. John
Randolph kept the stock OF every
hound he owned in regular book
for the purpose. 1t is little or nc
trouble to DO this Oh the contrary:
it is a great pleasure and innocent
diversion. [ don't turn up my nose
at dog because | cannot obtain al
endless pedigree, but if take one |
first satisfy myself that it comes OF
good stock, and then record all
know of it. [ find out the sire and
dam from theman who gives the dog
to me, and put that down. [ then
see the breeder Of sire and dam, and
put down all | can learn OF them.
then learn all | can Of those, and sc
on, until | exhaust every line of III
curry. Then, although the animal
has never had q printed pedigree,
lay the foundation Of such. When
| breed such, | take care that | get
d dog with as good pedigree as my
bitch, and record the pedigree Of the
pup. Three or four generations
hence, breeding carefully, MY dogs
will have pedigrees that will satisfy
any professional, besides being most
satisfactory to myself. Stonehenge,
iii his ''Dogs Of the British Isles,
says: "With the exception of some
few fox-hounds and grey-hounds,
there is not a dog in England whose
pedigree reaches back beyond the
year 1900" The celebrated Lave.
rack settlers i'll England only trace
back to 1922 with any authenticity,
as all Mr.. Laverack could say Of his
Ponto and Old Moll, who founded
his stock, was that he obtained them
from Mr.. Harrison, who said he
had owned the stock for thirty years
or more.
Now, gentlemen breeders ought
to take some little trouble in these
matters. 1t may turn out that after
all their trouble they will have very
poor dogs, but if they should get
good dogs, why then, instead Of Civ.
ing loose sort of rambling account
Of what he is to a friend if they give
him away, or losing sale of him
because a purchaser wishes to know
what he is buying, they can send
with the dog a neat, satisfactory
and Ineligible history.
l know d dog to-day, owned by 9
gentleman near the town in which
live, with every mark of thorough
bred, and ofperformance unsurpass
ed by any | ever laid eyes on;
dog, moreover, whose blood, as fal
as known, is excellent, and whose
reputation is more than local. Well
the owner of several thoroughbred
bitches, aware of the intrinsic ex
cellence of this dog, was most an
xions to breed from him, but deter
red from doing so because he sells
his whelps, and purchasers nova
days demand something more detin
tie than mere neighborhood reputa
ton. A little care on the part O.
the gentlemen who owned his ances
tors for several generations bach
would have made a perfectly salts
factory record Of his purity.
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