The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-12
WORKING DOG NOW
PET OF SOCIETY
Scottish Terrier in Favor as
Sportsman, House Dog
and Companion.
Is GAME AND WATCHFrL

picturesque appearance is In keeping
with the bea utiful surroundings of his
native glens. and from an aesthetic point
Of view no prettier little canine can be
found.
From being a mere working dog a
quarter OF n century ago. the Dteha I'd
as he Is often called has become n great
society %favorite. He Is growing moro
and more the style ard increasing in
popularity every day The reasons are
not hard to find. when 10 his afore-
mentioned attractive qualities are added
his fascinating ways and his pa
trician manners. Though a favorite OF
society. petted aud even idolized. he
never loses his hereditary gameness and
watchfulness. His instincts for the pro-
lection OF property and person always
remain the same. Whether his lot in
life be that Of a sta Die dog or inversely
that Of a pampered pet OF some over
l indulgent gentlewoman who assigns to
him the cosiest OF fireside rugs and the
downiest Of carriag. cushions. his char
acter remains the same. Many In
stances OF his wonderful sagacity are
recorded. In more homely words. he ls
Indeed "a wiselike beastie" inasmuch
as hs can often find his way home over
strange ground more easily than a hu-
man being.
The Scotca terrier is not an easy
dog 10 rear successfully. He requires
To he very carefully and constantly at
tended to AS a puppy IL he IL TO attain
any victories OH the show bench. Once
full grown however. he II very hardy
and with his fine warm winter coat not
incommOded by cold weather.
The predominant features IN a Scot
fish terrier should he power and proper
ton he s-ould sho great muscle and
] fFanNEf ~ 4. = ,aftbnt,t linn hAYs
and this strength should be In proper
ton. The short, compact body, will
broad. deep chest and muscular loin,
must be- balanced by a powerful head
and Jaw The standard Is emphatic on
the subject. Muzzle. very powerful
nose 4 good size neck. thick and mus
,ular. strongly set chest. broad. pro-
p~ortlona'ely deep. body. exceedingly
strong In hlniquarters legs. very heavy
In bone thighs. very muscular. feet.
strong general appearance. compact
possessed or great muscle In hlndquar-
ters and lastly. that excellent conclu-
sion In fact. a Scottish terrier, though
essentially a terrier cannot he too
powerfully put together.
So many breeds have gone aStraH
through eXaGgerat!ng desired qualities
that the claus essentially a terrier
must be OF great Importance and shcnld
signify alertness and activity. n that
there Is \ limit 10 the breadth of the
chest or the strength Of the head. II
a dog Is TO retain It's proportion excessive
breadth of chest would recessita;e undue
heaviness in headquarters with the re-
sulting cloddiness. while II We get the
skull too tiick. IL will he out Of proper
ton TO an active. compact body. on the
other hand, We must avoid a too fine
mead, as II VIII appear weak In compare
son with the muscular body. and to re-
tain correct proportion would require a
narrow chest and weak h~indauarters
with the consequent loss of the char
acteristic OF power.
IL ~ not uncommon in some breeds
that a Judge will confess that he made
his awards m the merits Of the head
This method is most absurd in a breed
like Scottish terriers. where grea,
strength IN small compass IL desired.
as unless the head is in proportion to
the body II Is described as a bad head.
whatever its merits may be were IL de-
capitated. for without proportion we
are likely to get abnormality. Although
a pocket Hercules is not desired, an
active. muscular dog. quick. keen and
strong. and "A sense Of proportion saves
W. from either strength without beauty
or beauty without strength.
That the trainers OF the standard ware
OF this opinion Is shown by the scale
Of points. FOR the skull receives : points
and the muzzle 5-one-tenth Of the
whole between them-and II we add 4
for eyes and 10 for ears ]e-ouarte OF
the whole is made up. The English
standard deducts : points from ears
and divides them between muzzle and
skull. but both agree in considering the
head. including eyes and ears, should
only he valued ~ one quarter of the
total points. Size and coat are con-
sidered OF as much value. yet few Judge
place the same importance upon size
as they do upon the skull and muzzle
combined, which is the Scottish stand
ards appreciation of their respective
merits. Body receives ~ points. neck 3.
chest ) and legs and feet 10. in all 81
points. or as ! Is to . in comparison with
the head properties. The remaining 40
points include Is for coat. 10 for size.
10 for general appearance and : be-
tween tail and color and. ella Ssing these
together, We get the relative values
ms = to these. I to body and : to head.
Judging by points has never been
popular. as IT seems 10 he impractical .
but this is no reason for neglect OF
any standard, and the scale OF points
as showing the comparative Importance
of the various parts should not be over
looked. According TO the Scotch scale
the following are considered OF equal
Importance, each being valued at 10
points. or one-tenth Of the whole skull
and muzzle, ears. neck and chest, legs
and feet, size and general appearance.
The two individually most important
points are body and coat, each valued at
IS points, Though eyes only receive
: points, l!Sht eyes are a very severe
handicap In the show ring, but even
judged by poigts it's open TO the judge
TO consider that "A light eye ruins the
general appearance and so TO deduct
a further 10 points. These points for
general appearance are a huctuating
quantity. ard a Judge who desired to
give different features the value at
ttched to them in the standard could
make use OF them to emphasize his OBJ
lection to any particular falling.
But, as has been said. Judging bv
points seems to be obsolete for many
excellent reasons. one of which IL that
a dog might exist which could score
heavily point by point and yet he a per-
feet horror. So that IL the scale OF
points were used In judging. il would
he necessary to give a larger number
~ points 10 general appearance ard "A
good percentage to expression. The
value of the scale Of points is to keen
the fancy free from faddiness or getting
carried away by one particular feature.
Power must he definitely dealt with
when the standard is examined, and the
above regarding the scale OF points il
circumstantial evidence of the necessity
OF proportion,
harvester Derby Candidate.