One other interesting fact remains to be told with regard to the way Dr. Ker hit off the pigeon-blue colour. He had been breeding blue grizzle with blue grizzle for several years, hoping to produce the coveted pigeon-blue, but to his chagrin the puppies came darker with each succeeding generation, and smaller likewise. The thought then struck him of Jockey to get the size back - never dreaming about colour. Jockey was then mated to Dame Margery, and she bred two dog puppies at fourteen years old. One of these was of the long-coveted colour - he became Sir Caradoc; whilst the other was nearly white, with blue ears and a tan cheek.

A great portion of the above was printed in my book on the collie, but since it was published a couple of years ago, few really good specimens of the old English sheep-dog have appeared on the show bench; nor has the character or style of the dog been altered. The best of these have been Mr. Weager's Wall-eyed Bob and Brave Tory, Messrs. Birch's Invincible, Dr. Ker's Dame Caven-. dish, Mr. A. H. Megson's SirTatton, Mr. Freegard's Mayor of Newport, and Dr. McGilPs Watchboy (one of the finest dogs I ever saw of the kind, some think him too big). Mr. T. E. Rees, Cardiff; Mr. R. Abbot, Norfolk; Mr. D. P. Thomas, Pontypridd; Mr. Freeman Lloyd, London; Mr. J. Thomas, London; Mr. A. C. Jackson, Bath, have also from time to time exhibited excellent specimens of the old English sheep dog.

The following is the scale of points allowed in judging this variety:

Scale Of Points

Grand Total 100.

Disqualifications: soft, curly, poodle-like coat, black and tan and brindled colours.

The special club to promote the interests of the old-fashioned English bob-tailed sheep dog was established in 1888, and, not to be behind similar institutions, forthwith compiled a list of rules, and submitted the following description of the dog as he ought to be, with the scale of points by which he is to be judged. How far they coincide with what Dr. Ker has contributed, and what I have written, will, no doubt, be observed by those who trouble themselves to peruse this chapter.

The description and points of the "Old English Sheep Dog," as adopted by the club, of which Dr. Edwardes-Ker, Woodbridge, Suffolk, is the secretary, are as follows:

Skull

Capacious and rather squarely formed, giving plenty of room for brain power. The parts over the eyes should be well arched, and the whole well covered with hair as defined in "coat".

Jaw

Should be fairly long and square. The "stop" should be defined, but not to a great extent.

Eyes

These, of course, vary in different colours of dogs. In the dark blue shades they should be dark brown. In the lighter colours they will be found to follow them, and become paler in shade, while where white predominates, a wall or marble eye may be considered very typical.

Nose

Always black in colour, fairly large and capacious.

Teeth

Strong and firm, and should be evenly placed in the jaw. Working dogs often have their incisors broken off. This is in no way detrimental.

Ears

Medium sized and carried close to the head, coated with hair of a moderate length.

Legs

The fore - legs should be straight and possess plenty of bone. They should remove the body a medium height off the ground, without approaching legginess. They should be well-coated all round.

Feet

Moderately large; round; toes well arched and pads capacious and hard.

Tail

This is a most important point in the Old English sheep dog. Without a doubt many dogs are bred without the slightest approach to a caudal appendage, while, on the other hand, some in the litters will be found with half, three-quarters, and whole length tails. The breeding of those without tails should be encouraged and persevered with, and be given preference to in judging, providing the dogs are good elsewhere. A tail of any length takes away the appearance and the corkiness of the dog. A docked dog can generally be detected by the bluntness at the end of stump.

Neck And Shoulders

The neck should be fairly long, arched and graceful, and well coated with hair. The shoulders should be set on slopingly, and the dog generally be found to stand lower at the shoulders than on his hind quarters.

Body

Rather short and very compact. The ribs should be well sprung, and brisket deep and capacious. The loin should be very stout, and to a certain extent arched, while the hind quarters should be bulky, and the hams densely covered with coat, very often of a softer and more woolly description than is to be found on other parts of the body.

Coat

Profuse and of good texture, i.e., fairly hard and strong. There should also be a double or under coat.

Colour

Varies, but preference should be given to dark blue, light or pigeon blue, and steel grey dogs. The colours are generally intermixed with white, which imparts to the dog a more attractive appearance. White collars, legs, chest, and face should be encouraged.

Height

Fair stand and measurement of the shoulder from 20 inches upwards. The bitches, of course, smaller than the dogs. Great height is not to be encouraged, for it takes away the corkiness and cobbiness of the dog.

General Appearance

He is a strong, compact-looking dog, profusely coated all over. He generally gallops with his head down, having a peculiar springing style of movement, and his whole make and shape of body should strike one as being very much after the style of a bear, an animal which people, not conversant with the breed, will generally quote as an analogy.

Scale Of Points

Grand Total 100.

The above description has not been received with any great degree of favour in some quarters, still I consider it, together with the scale of points, worth printing here. At any rate, they give some amount of completeness to what has been written on the subject. Without going into any minute criticisms of the matter the club has put together, I may take exception to what is said about the feet being moderately large, and also their particulars as to the tail. Personally I believe a skilful operator can reduce the stern of a puppy in such a manner as to make it an absolute impossibility for even an expert to tell whether this shortening be natural or otherwise, and we must not forget that natural "bob-tails" are less common than the artificial production.