The greatest care should be taken in first entering terriers, as with hounds. If a deerhound is not properly entered, he will seize the haunch of a stag, and there hold him. A well-known keen sportsman tells me that he used to wound most severely a deer, get up to him, and sit on the body if he could, and then enter the hound at the neck only. The dog would always afterwards seize that part. So with fox terriers, if entered on large rats, or on a very savage dog fox, or on a vixen with cubs, they never do well The teaching should be gradual till the dog has confidence in his own abilities.

With the exception of some foxhounds and greyhounds, there is not a dog in England with an authentic pedigree that will go back to the year 1800; but with regard to fox terriers their pedigrees are specially obscure, and it is singular that most of those which became noted at the commencement of the popularity of the breed had no known reliable pedigrees, though they had specific parentage given to them. The establishment of the "Kennel Club Stud Book " has to some extent remedied this defect, but there are still grave doubts as to the lines in some of the best dogs.

The following are the points of the fox terrier, chiefly as settled by the club specially formed for his improvement. I have not altered the numerical value, but in the description of one or two points I have changed the wording without greatly interfering with the sense.

Points Of The Fox Terrier

Grand Total 100.

1. Head And Ears (Value 15)

1. Head and ears (value 15) : a. The skull should be flat and moderately narrow; broader between the ears and gradually decreasing in width to the eyes. Not much "stop" should be apparent; but there should be more dip in the profile, between the forehead and top jaw, than is seen in the case of a greyhound.

b. The ears should be Y-shaped, and rather small; of moderate thickness, and dropping forward closely to the cheek, not hanging by the side of the head, like a foxhound's.

c. The jaw should be strong and muscular, but not too full in the cheek; should be of fair punishing length, but not so as in any way to resemble the greyhound or modern English terrier. There should not be much falling away below the eyes; this part of the head should, however, be moderately chiselled out, so as not to go down in a straight slope like a wedge.

d. The nose, towards which the muzzle must slightly taper, should be black.

e. The eyes should be dark rimmed, small, and rather deep set; full of fire and life.

f. The teeth should be level and strong.

2. The Neck (Value 5)

2. The neck (value 5) should be clean and muscular, without throatiness, of fair length, and gradually widening to the shoulders.

3. Shoulders And Chest (Value 15)

The shoulders should be fine at the points, long, and sloping. The chest deep and not too broad.

4. Back And Loin (Value 10)

The back should be straight and strong, with no appearance of slackness behind the shoulders; the loin broad and powerful (and particularly so if the back is long), and very slightly arched. The dog should be well ribbed up with deep back ribs, and should not be flat-sided.

5. The Hind Quarters (Value 5)

5. The hind quarters (value 5) should be strong and muscular, quite free from droop or crouch; the thighs long and powerful; hocks near the ground, the dog standing well up on them, like a foxhound, without much bend in the stifles.

6. The Stern (Value 5)

6. The stern (value 5) should be set on rather high, and carried gaily; but not over the back, or curled. It should be of good strength, anything approaching a pipe-stopper tail being especially objectionable.

7. The Legs (Value 10)

7. The legs (value 10), viewed in any direction, must be straight, showing little or no diminution in the size of the ankles when viewed in front. They should be of strong bone throughout, the elbows working freely just clear of the sides. Both fore and hind legs should be carried straight forward in travelling, the stifles not turning outwards.

8. The Feet (Value 10)

8. The feet (value 10) should be round, compact, and not too large, the toes moderately arched, and turned neither in nor out. There should be no dew claws behind.

9. The Coat (Value 5)

9. The coat (value 5) should be smooth, but hard, dense, and abundant.

10. In Colour (Value 5)

10. In colour (value 5) white should predominate. Brindle or liver markings are objectionable. Otherwise this point is of little or no importance.

11. Symmetry, Size, And Character (Value 15)

The dog must present a generally gay, lively, and active appearance. Bone and strength in a small compass are essentials; but this must not be taken to mean that a fox terrier should be cloggy or in any way coarse. Speed to some extent, and endurance, must be looked to as well as power, and the symmetry of the foxhound taken as a model The terrier, like the hound, must on no account be leggy; neither must he be too short on the leg. He should stand like a cleverly-made hunter - covering a lot of ground, yet with a broad and powerful loin, as before stated. He will thus attain the highest degree of propelling power, together with the greatest length of stride that is compatible with the length of the body. Weight, within certain limits is not a certain criterion of a terrier's fitness for his work. General shape, size, and contour are the main points; and if a dog can gallop and stay, and follow his fox up a drain, it matters little what his weight is to a pound or so, though, roughly speaking, it may be said he should not scale over 201b. in show condition.

In my opinion the weight should be little, if any, over 16lb.