New-York tribune., 1907-04-29
SOME FACTS ABOUT DOGS
Only Tsco Ne5o Species Produced TN
america,
2Jrd SfreeL

AmCflCd,
In snite OF the dsdainful and patrican express
sions on the canine countenances at modern ooe
show, indicative Of countless generations OF SUE sot
supremacy in the animal kingdom. the acIua4
origin OF the dog is completely shrouoeo IN
obscurity than that OF any Of the domestic ami
mails Naturalsts are still wrangling over his
parent stock. arguing that It is almost impossiois
for the 1S5 known varieties to be all descenueu
from one kind whatever 1t might have beer Ihe
world OF dog lovers IS indebted 10 America Tor the
production OF only two new species
Best known Of these two is the Boston terrier
the little. round headed. brndled bull terrier which
IS good for nothing except ornamentation- little
more than thirty years ago Robert G Hooper or
Boston, purchased a nondescript little dog from
William O'Bren. also of Boston. The newcomer
was a halfbreed bull and terrier OF the fighting
type. dark brindls IN color. with blazed face
With this material Mr. Hooper went 10 work 10
produce new type, and by adding golden color
a miIder lip and regulating the marking on the
head he at last produced the Boston terrier This
breed is altogether American. but II has been ad-
mited 10 the shows only during the last ten years
For q long time II scornfully referred 10 by
the owners OF the purer breed that little bullet
headed pup from Massachusetts" Whether from
patriotism genuine appreciation. the Boston ter
Tier is now the most popular dog in America, ex-
cept the collie
The other dog which America has produced IS
the Chesapeake Bay retriever the birth OF which
IS as accidental and even more obscure than the
Boston terrier. These dogs great favorites at
the Carroll Island Club near Baltimore. they
water retrievers and be used for duck
shooting General Latrobe. who has charge Of the
dogs OF the Carroll Island Club gives this story
! OF their origin: "A number Of years ago a vessel
1 from Newfoundland aground estate
/ called Walnut Grove. the shores of the Chesa-
! peake. The estate belonged 10 George Law mem
/ ber Of a we'll known Maryland family On board
were two Newfoundland dogs. which given
to Mr. Law by the captain in return for his hos
/ pitality. The Chesapeake Bay retriever is a
! between those two dogs and the black and tan
! hounds, dogs. of that section" This dog
Is enormously popular in the West. particularly in
Portland, Seattle and other points along the Pa
cihc Coast.
America has done much to push the fad for the
modern bulldog, for the word has gone 70 dog
fanciers Of every land that they cannot be too
monstrous distorted 10 please the judges Of an
American dog show. Each year their legs get
further apart and their faces uger IL that IS pos
sibe. Dog fanciers predicting a reaction
in bulldog breeding, which shall seek 20 re-estab
lsh the original type Of short-nosed mastR which
fought bulls in Spain and England In 1900. then fell
into such bad repute in 1885. The first presentable
bulldog shown in this country sent from Eng
land in 1880.
General Lafayette sent the first St. Bernard dogs
20 America. When he back here in 1924 he
met J. F. Skinner, ex-Assistant Postmaster Cen
eral, who At that time greatly interested in
dogs. With the aid of General Lafayette he brought
/ 20 America some eACeuent SIanlels, ana IN 1890
General Lafayette sent him two big st. Bernards
They were the first of their kind that America had
seen and the fad for them was instantaneous. The
prices big dogs Of all kinds Immediately SCARED.
/ and as soon ST Bernards were established the
/ puppies sold fo- several hundred dollars, and the
| full grown dogs were proportionatey high priced.
/ Now IL is difficult 10 get $50 for a st. Bernard
PUPPY and 800 is a price 20 get for any of the
! breed.
Il is from this class that all the biggest dogs
come. The largest canine Of which there is any
| record a st. Bernard named Giant Rector.
who measured six and a half feet from the tip of
his nose tip OF his tail and measured thirty
four and a half inches to the top Of HIS shoulder.
He was displayed all over the country as the big
| gest dog in the world. When he Is compared with
the smallest Of all the toy dogs. Mexican poodle
| which measures seven inches from tip to tip and
! weighs only few ounces, it is indeed cause for
/ wonder II they from the same parent stock.
The Great Dane Is prime favortte with Ameri-
| cans and there are moro Of them IN this country
| than OF any other breed. When the Prince of
Wales left this continent after his memorable visit
| he was presented with enormous Great Dane
] the biggest that had been at that time
The highly cultivated dogs in this country rep
resent a considerable investment OF American cap
ital and some of the kennels shelter canine kings
which are almost priceless. Until 1880. $1,000
was the highest price that had ever been paid
for imported dog. John r. Thayer giving that
Cor fox terrier. but later Richard Croker bought
a white English bull which cost him $4,000 J.
Pierpont Morgan has the finest collection collies
IN the world. The collie is undenably the peer
OF dogs In America. and has for years enjoyed un-
challenged supremacy Mr.. Morgan's kennels con-
tain OF the most perfect specimens OF the
fancier's art and patience. His exhibits with
those OF Samuel Untermyer. of Yonkers. N. Y. are
sufficient TO crowd the halls OF any show
The toy dogs nave never gained the footing here
which they maintain IN other countries particu-
larry IN France. though some OF the very small
poodles constant visitors 20 the shows Jap
anese poodes perhaps most favored. They
were brought here fifty years ago by Commodore
Perry when he returned from HIS expedition to
Japan. Dogs are among the things which are IN
dispensabe imperial presents. and among the
gifts brought by Commodore Perry from the
Mikado 10 the American President were four little
japanese poodles. They and their children were
used as sleeve dogs and weighed scarcely two
pounds The cause for dogs being popular gifts
among royal persons dates back. it Is said to the