Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-11
By James Watson.

1Acuici ASSOSidtiOI VI <AHieiiCd ditcA ieS O"h
collapse. Unlike the old Pet Dog Club. the
annual show of the Toy Spaniel Club is con-
fined to what may legitimately be consid-
cred pet or toy dogs. going outside the do
main OF toy spaniels wherever possible. In
fact, II there were no other breeds than
toy spanieis admitted 1t would be very
slim exhibition to invite the public to. At
the fourth show of the club, held at the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York on
election day and the day following. the
total number Of dogs entered was 1874, OF
which A were English toy spanieis. in the
four varieties OF King Charles. Blenheim,
tri-color and ruby. Considering that this
was specially the show of those particu-
larly interested in these varieties the ex-
hibit can point to only one conclusion, and
that Is that these toy spaniels are not by
any means SO popular as many of the other
toy dogs. The Pekinese really did better
with total of thirteen dogs. thanks to the
good entry of Mrs Guyer Of Philadelphia
uted very large majority of the entry.
The Japanese seem to have lost the grip
they had at one time and their total was
but eight while there was nothing of moro
than passing merit entries for sale pur-
poses being somewhat conspicuous.
The first good entry of the show was in
Pomeranians and this in the face of most
~dlscouraging classification originally con-
fined to but three classes and then enlarged
to five, whereas at least ten would not have
been too many. The Poms mustered thirty
dogs, with a total of forty-one entries and
that without any division of color. This
was an exceptionally good collection and
quite the best display of any of the breeds.
Another surprisingly good entry was in the
quaint little Chiffon BruXeliois, the monkey
faced little rough toy terrier. Sixteen en-
tries in two classes was far more than could
be expected, and the average was quite
good, not a single exhibit falling below
n icvl,I ,Iad ~ f1o frtdp I'd
< The Boston Terriers. q
The Boston terrier classes were Increased
in the same way as the Poms had been,
but with three added classes. These six
classes had thirty-one dogs entered, with
total Of forty-siX entries. 1t Is fair to say
that only Boston terriers under seventeen
pounds were admitted. but as the object
of these references is to note the trend of
fashion, 1t Is very evident that Pomera-
mans are In the ascendant again. Some
seven years ago they promised to take a
long lead of all other toys Then came
period of stagnation, followed by but slight
increases. until within the past year. when
a decided Improvement set in in a manner
which clearly demonstrates that of the
genuine toy dogs they are the leaders. Ths
old exhibitors are still true to the breed,
and there have been some satisfactory ad-
ditions Of late to their number. The Pom
eranian undoubtedly possesses many eX-
cellent features that are very captivating.
In the first place there Is such an air of
smartness and saucy pertness about a good
Pom, with Its neat, little, erect ears, sharp
eye and engaging little face. When in
good coat 1t has no equal-perhaps that is
a little strong, for fancies differ-but a
good coated Pom is certainly a most at
tractlve little dog In it's active. electric
movements there is nothing that it can be
compared to but the squirrel
Although called Pomeranians. and there
fN.o 20 ~ A. A11
time Spitz which. in turn. is the modern
lied descendant Of the fierce sheepdog OF
Pomerania and that section of the Baltic
provinces, it is very doubtful il that is cor
rect. The Pom was a favorite pet of the
Greek and Roman ladies. and is found rep
resented in their mural tablets in numbers
sufficient to show that 1t was quite a COM
mon dog. The first introduced to England
were those the late Queen Victoria brought
back from Florence after one of her winter
| trips to Italy. Their close resemblance to
the old Pomeranian of about twenty pounds
was marked that they were at once
known as toy Pomeranians That there are
and were dogs of this variety throughout
Germany does not alter the fact that there
Is no evidence to show that they are an Old
breed there. while we do know that they
are represented in Greece and at Rome In
ancient statuary. The dock-tailed Schp-
perke of Holland is merely the smooth
northern Pomeranian, low-caste dog until
taken up some years ago as a curiosity,
ana, unQOuDleUly, improved since lnen, as
Is also the Pom since its introduction into
England and having received the attention
in its breeding and selection that is the
custom among fauciers in that kingdom.
The Chihuahua Breed.
There seems to be a slight increase Of in
terest in the one exclusively native North
American dog. the Chihuahua of Mexico.
The best exhibit of this diminutive breed
was made at the st. Louis exposition show
two years ago. where there were a number
Of them from Ell Paso. The owner told me
that to keep down the size they resorted
to incestuous breeding and this made them
delicate. This Is a foolish plan and the
experiences in other breeds where diminu-
tive size Is aimed at shows that 1t Is not
essential, but that small ones can be bred.
When excessive delicacy Is the accompanl-
ment of very small size the latter is q
drawback, for no one wants an invalid for
pet. What is far more essential in the
small dogs, many Of which I fear are only
Chihauhaus in name, is the special charac-
teristic of the breed. the orifce In the
skull. This should be made an absolute
essential in Judging, but it Is not always
taken into account, judges looking upon
them as merely very small terriers, which
when they do not have the orifce, is WHIST
they probably are. This orifce is at the
junction of the four quarters Of the skull.
and no explanation has ever been made OF
why it Is found in this breed. In a scien-
tifc- work there is reference 20 one such
skull in Japanese spaniel, but that must
have been exceptional case, whereas IN
the Chihuahua it is an essential, or should
be so recognized.
The Arizona Dog.
A still greater rarity than the smooth
Chihuahua is the oily coated variety, of
which I have seen but one specimen,
which l bought at Ell Paso in 1885, 1t was
recognized by a boy who was helping at
the San Francisco dog show where 1 had
placed it on exhibition, and he exclaimed
'Oh, this is Arizona dog" He told
me he had lived with Indians In Arizona
and they had them and made pets of them
After that a gentleman met me in Ger
mantown and spoke about tbe--dog, and he
also said he had seen them in Arizona, but
all efforts to secure further Information or
another specimen have failed. The ono
referred to was about four and one fourth
pounds weight and rese-nbled nothing more
completely than a Pomeranian. except that
it's coat was more like beaver fur in tex
ture well color. This little dog had
all the vivacty and sprightiness of the
Pomeranian, and if 1t was good sample of
any breed existing in Arizona that breed
certainly deserves preservation. At the
time this dog was obtained the toy Pom
had not been exploited in England much
less here, hence any connection between
these two breeds is out OF the question.
r. III