Historical Notes
Excerpt from: British Dogs-Their Varieties, History, Characteristics, Breeding Management and Exhibition
By Hugh Dalziel
Published in 1879There has been an attempt made by recent writers to circumscribe the national character of this dog [the Colley] by calling him the Highland colley, as though he were peculiar to the north of Scotland. There appears to me to be even less justification for this than for calling the old English black and tan terrier the Manchester terrier, for at least Manchester has done something special in making the modern black and tan terrier what he is... (page 200)
Group III
Vermin Destroyer: The Terriers
Some of the varieties included in this group differ widely from each other in physical characteristics. On the one hand we have the light and nimble black and tan, with a long head and gradually tapering jaw, and on the other the low-slung Dandie Dinmont, with a comparatively large and wide head of truncated muzzle. All of them, however, resemble each other in the work they are mostly kept to, and which, as it is their legitimate business, they take to with most readiness and zest.
All of them have been, doubtless, much modified from the native terrier of Britain of some centuries ago, and many of them are admittedly manufactured by the admixture of other kinds with terrier base, yet as every class of them possesses marked qualities in common and are, above all things, vermin destroyers, and in a variety of ways used for that purpose, they thus form a natural group on the lines we laid down for classifying dogs upon which we treat these pages. (page 289)
Chapter XXI -- The Black and Tan Terrier
As far back as the history of dogs we have mention of the terrier, the dog that went to earth after fox and badgers, and by "conceaved fear drove them out of their hollow harbours."
I have written of them in the past tense, for in the multitudinous varieties now called terriers there are many altogether unfitted for the work which gave the breed the generic name.
Justice compels me to say the modern black and tan, after the refining processes of the Manchester and Birmingham showmen, is one of those that would make a poor figure at underground work. The legs and feet are too slender and elegant for digging, and their satin-like coat is not the sort of covering in which to face wet grass and dank woods.
Whilst on the subject of the coats of Terriers, I must notice a rather curious and, I think, erroneous supposition of Youatt's should be noticed on the subject. He says : "the rough terrier possibly obtained his shaggy coat from the cur, and the smooth terrier may be derived from the hound." The cur he elsewhere describes as a cross between the sheepdog and the terrier, but there are rough-coated as well as smooth-coated hounds, and the terrier was placed by Caius among the hounds-between the Harrier and the Bloodhound, in fact-and he stated him to be the "smallest of the kind called Sagax." Now, if there always have been Hounds, both smooth and rough, it is surely quite as likely that there have always been Smooth and Rough Terriers.
Caius says nothing about the length of coat or the colour of his Terriers. Daniels, in his "Rural Sports," makes special mention of the elegant and sprightly smooth-coated Terrier, black in body, and tanned on the legs ; and in Foxhound kennels of the early part of the last century Terriers of all colours are kept--red ones, brindled, brown pied, white pied, pure white and black with tanned faces, flank feet and legs, and all of these were kept for work and not for show--working requiring the strength, ardour, fortitude and indomitable pluck of a genuine Terrier, for a working Terrier worthy of the name should be as hard as nails, active as a cat and lively as a cricket.
The old style of black-and-tan terrier was stronger than, but not so elegantly built as, his modern representative, and still we may occasionally see the stouter-limbed, broader-chested, thicker-headed and coarser-coated that illustrates the original form from which our show dog has sprung. Dog shows have, no-doubt, had much to do with transforming the rather "cloddy" rough and tumble black-and-tan into the graceful and refined animal of our show benches; and noted among breeders who have had a large hand in producing this "dog of the day" stands the name of the late Mr. Samuel Handley, who in the early years of dog shows successfully exhibited and became general recognised as the greatest authority and most expert judge of this breed especially, although also many other varieties in which he took an interest.
I do not know that any cross has been resorted to in bringing this terrier up to the mark, but the great length of the head, the tendency to show a tucked-up flank, and a something in the general contour, gives one the impression that Greyhound blood is in the breed ; and if so it was probably obtained through the Whippet. The skull is certainly much narrower in proportion to length and to size of the dog thn in the greyhound, and rumour says this end is obtained by continued compression with wet bandages during puppyhood.
With improved elegance of form was introduced gradually a finer coat, and richer and more decided contrast in colours ; and when Nature is not so kind as desired in this respect, some of the votaries of the breed assist her. I believe, however, that staining, dyeing and painting is not much resorted to now-a-days; careful breeding has done so much towards perfecting the dog that there is less need to introduce low tricks, which cannot be too severely censured.
Although the modern Black-and-Tan Terrier is unfitted for the hard rough work at which his progenitor was so adept, it must not be inferred from anything that I have said that he is a useless dog ; on the contrary he is game enough and death to vermin as all the terrier tribe are, but he is simply not fitted to stand rough weather. He is also a remarkably active and cheerful companion, and makes a first-rate house-dog, being generally quite free from any objectionable smell, and does not harbour fleas, or carry dirt on wet days into the house, as rough-coated dogs do.
The black-and-tan is sometimes called the Manchester terrier, but there is no sound reason for it; this I pointed out in an article on the breed, which I contributed to "Dogs of the British Islands," and made it a cause of complaint against the Kennel Club that in their stud books they give countenance to this misnomer and I see in the volume of the Stud Book since issued the entires of these dogs are not called Manchester, but simply black and tan terriers, and this is as it should be, for far more good ones have been bred outside of Manchester than in it and the dog is really an old English terrier.
There is considerable difficulty in breeding dogs with all of the desirable points, and when a specimen is found nearing perfection in shape, colour and markings, very long prices are given for it.
Another point (of course, artificial, yet great stress is laid on it) is the cutting of the ears--unless this is what is euphemistically and most erroneously called artistically done, it mars the chance of an otherwise first rate winning dog.
This is a custom I most strongly deprecate and I hope to see it done away with as it has been in the case of pugs, Dalmatians, and others. Whether it improves the dog's appearance is a matter of opinion ; I think it does not, and I do not think without better reasons than I have ever heard given we are justified, for a mere whim or fancy, in exposing to all weathers one of the most delicate organs of the body, which nature has specially protected, thus leaving the poor beast easily liable to canker, deafness, and other evils. The following are the points required in a first rate specimen:
The head must be long and narrow, clean cut, tight skinned, with no bulging out at the cheeks ; the skull flat and narrow.
The muzzle should be long, lean, and tapering, with the teeth level, or the incisors of the upper jaw just closing over the under ones. The nose must be quite black.
The eyes are black, bright and small, neither sunk in the skull nor protruding.
The ears are, for exhibition purposes, invariably cut, and much importance is is attached to the result of this operation. It is required that the ears correspond exactly in shape and position with each other. They must be tapered to a point, stand quite erect, or slightly lean towards each other at the tip. This is a practice I strongly deprecate, and never miss an opportunity of protesting against ; and I believe there is a general feeling arising against it. Among others who strongly condemn it I may name the late Mr. S Handley. The supporters of the practice cannot offer a single valid argument in its favour, whilst there are many strong reasons against it. It is sheer nonsense to say the dogs look better cropped. It is not many years since people thought pugs looked better with their ears shorn off by the roots but nobody thinks so now l and the practice as regard terriers could be effectually stopped by a resolution of the Kennel Club to the effect that no dog with cut ears would be eligible to compete at any of their shows after 1879. There is this practical evil too in cropping, that it places the dog with naturally defective ears on an equality in competition with the dog born with perfect ears if they have been skillfully manipulated. The natural ear is of three kinds--the button or drop ear, like the fox terrier; the rose ear, that is half folded back, so that the interior of the ear can be partially seen; and the prick or tulip ear. But I have never seen the last named kind except in coarse specimens. The leather of the ear is thin, and generally finest in best bred dogs.
The neck must be light and airy, well proportioned to the head, and gradually swelling towards to shoulders; there should be no loose skin or throatiness. The shoulders are not so muscular as in some breeds, but nicely sloping.
The chest must be deep, but not wide; the latter would indicate a bull cross, which would also be shown in the head and other points. The body is short, the ribs rather deep than round, the back ones pretty well let down.
The loins are strong and muscular; with this formation there is an absence of the cut up flank which the whippet and Italian greyhound crosses give.
The legs are straight, light of bone, clean as a racehorse's and the feet long, with the toes well arched, and the claws jet black.
The coat must be short and close, it should look fine and glossy but not soft in texture.
The colour and markings are in this breed--which is now essentially a fancy dog--important. No other colour than black and tan or red is permissible, the least speck of white is fatal to winning chances, and it is in the richness, contrast, and correct distribution of these that excellence consists. The black should be intense and jet-like, the tan a rich, arm mahogany the two colours in all points where they meet being abruptly separated--not running into each other. On the head the tan runs along each jaw, on the lower jaw running down almost to the throat; a bright spot on the cheek, and another above the eye, each clearly surrounded with black and well-defined; the inside of the ears slightly tanned, spots of tan on each side of the breast, the forelegs tanned up to the knee; feet tanned, but the knuckles with a clear black line called the "pencil mark" up their ridge; and in the centre of the tan, midway between the foot and the knee there must be a black spot called the "thumb mark" and the denser the black and the clearer the outline the more it is valued. The inside of the hind legs are tanned and also the underside of the tail ; but tan on th thighs and outside, where it often appears in a straggling way, producing the appearance called "bronzed" is most objectionable. The vent has also a tanned spot, but it should be no larger than can be well covered by the tail when pressed down on it.
The tail must be long, straight, thin and tapering to a point. Its carriage should be low, and any curl over the back is a great defect.
The symmetry of this dog is of great importance as this point is developed to as great an extent as in any other breed, not even excepting the greyhound.
The subjects of our engravings are Mr. F.W. Parry's Saff, acknowledged by most judges to be the best bitch of the breed living. Saff is perfection in symmetry, possesses all the points of the breed, and is remarkably rich in colour. In the engraving the head is depicted as being held rather high ; in a lower position the neck would have shown to a greater advantage, but on the whole Mr. Moore has most successfully portrayed Saff, who well represents the breed.
Our other engraving represents Mr. Howard Mapplebeck's (now Mr. Vicary's) Wasp, a good specimen and fairly successful in the show ring.
The following will show size and dimension of a few good specimens:
Mr. F.W. Parry's Saff: Age, 2 years, 9 months ; weight 19 1/2 lbs. ; height at shoulder 15 inches; length from nose to set on of tail, 24 inches ; length of tail 9 inches, girth of chest 20 inches, girth of loin 15 1/2 inches, girth of head 11 inches, girth of arm 1 inch above elbow, 6 1/2 inches ; girth of leg 1 inch below elbow, 4 1/2 inches ; length of head from occiput to tip of nose, 7 1/2 inches; girth of muzzle midway between eyes and tip of nose, 6 1/2 inches ; colour and markings, black and tan.
Mr. W.K. Taunton's Swift (KCSB 8631): Age 2 years ; weight 24 lbs. ; height at shoulder 16 inches; length from nose to set on of tail, 27 inches ; length of tail 9 inches, girth of chest 21 inches, girth of loin 16 inches, girth of head 13 inches, girth of arm 1 inch above elbow, 5 inches ; length of head from occiput to tip of nose, 7 1/2 inches; girth of muzzle midway between eyes and tip of nose, 6 1/2 inches
Mr. W.K. Taunton's Black Bess (KCSB 8635): Age 2 years ; weight 16 1/2 lbs. ; height at shoulder 13 inches; length from nose to set on of tail, 25 inches ; length of tail 8 inches, girth of chest 17 1/2 inches, girth of loin 13 inches, girth of head 11 inches, girth of arm 1 inch below elbow, 4 1/2 inches ; length of head from occiput to tip of nose, 7 inches; girth of muzzle midway between eyes and tip of nose, 5 3/4 inches
Mr. W.K. Taunton's Stella, by General (KCSB 2943)--Saff II (KCSB 3024): Age 2 years and 2 months ; weight 18 lbs. ; height at shoulder 14 1/2 inches; length from nose to set on of tail, 26 inches ; length of tail 7 1/2 inches, girth of chest 19 1/2 inches, girth of loin 15 1/2 inches, girth of head 11 1/2 inches, girth of arm 1 inch below elbow, 4 1/2 inches ; length of head from occiput to tip of nose, 7 inches; girth of muzzle midway between eyes and tip of nose, 6 inches.