The Sealyham Terrier - A Complete Anthology of the Dog

By Read Books Ltd.

The Sealyham Terrier - A Complete Anthology of the Dog gathers together all the best early writing on the breed from our library of scarce, out-of-print antiquarian books and documents and reprints it in a quality, modern edition. This anthology includes chapters taken from a comprehensive range of books, many of them now rare and much sought-after works, all of them written by renowned breed experts of their day. These books are treasure troves of information about the breed - The physical points, temperaments, and special abilities are given; celebrated dogs are discussed and pictured; and the history of the breed and pedigrees of famous champions are also provided. The contents were well illustrated with numerous photographs of leading and famous dogs of that era and these are all reproduced to the highest quality. Books used include: Dogs And How To Know Them by Edward C. Ash (1925), Dogs Of The World by Arthur Craven (1931), The Book Of Dogs by Stanley West (1935) and many others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Jan 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9781447483427

Book preview

1938

[By the courtesy of Capt. Jocelyn Lucas.]

CAFT. JOCELYN LUCAS PUTTING A SEALYHAM IN A BADGER HOLE.

[By the courtesy of Capt. Jocelyn Lucas].

CAPT. LUCAS’ TEAM OF SEALYHAMS DRAWING THE RIVER WREAK FOR AN OTTER, WHICH THEY KILLED AFTER A LONG HUNT.

(The pack consisted of 12 couples of bitches and 1 couple of dogs. Two couples came from the stoat-hunting pack of the late Mr. C. J. Gladdish Hulkes.)

THE SEALYHAM TERRIER

In 1890 Mr. Rawdon Lee tells us that the Sealy Ham Terriers were little known outside the Welsh borders, and that they seldom appeared on the show bench. In Mr. Theo: Marples’ Show Dogs (second edition) the following account of the origin of the breed is given. As I am very much opposed to cruelty to animals, I refrain from comment. The account, which is anonymous, reads:—

"The origin of the Sealyham is more or less wrapped in obscurity, but there are several features of interest which I think I am in a position to lay before my readers, and which will give an approximate idea of how the Sealyham was first evolved and came to be recognised as a distinct breed. Captain John Edwardes was an eccentric sporting gentleman of noble birth, and resided at Sealyham, an attractive country mansion situate between Haverfordwest and Fishguard, and which is now in the occupation of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Higgon, the latter a well-known breeder and judge, and chairman of the Sealyham Terrier Club since its formation in January, 1908. The Terrier is called after the residence of its founder. Captain Edwardes, as I have just stated, was a great sportsman, and he conceived the idea that the mongrel dog of sixty or more years ago which he was obliged to use in his numerous sporting excursions was not quite the kind of animal for bolting the fox or otter, or digging out the badger, which he wished for. There seems little doubt that the Terrier of that date was more or less a nondescript kind of creature, with no pretension to beauty or breeding, nor with the least claim to uniformity of type. It will therefore be apparent that to evolve a short-legged, smart, workmanlike Terrier which, above all other considerations, must be dead game, was a problem not easy of solution, and only a man possessed of indomitable courage and tenacity would have persevered in his efforts to realise an ideal which repeated failures must sometimes have indicated was incapable of accomplishment. But Captain Edwardes, in his lonely country mansion, plodded on, and by careful selection and judicious breeding eventually established a short-legged, rough-haired Terrier capable of facing any vermin then prevalent in the county. At this period the polecat was fairly plentiful in the dense woods abounding in the vicinity of the Captain’s residence, and the old gent made it a sine qua non that no dog should be given lodging at Sealyham which would not dispose of a full-grown specimen of the Putorius fœtidus; and anyone who has seen these denizens of the forest will at once realise that the standard of pluck fixed by the gallant Captain was by no means insignificant.

"His method of testing the young dogs, which took place when they were about a year old, was as follows: A live polecat was dragged across a field, and then enclosed in a small pit, roughly a couple of feet deep, with an entrance about the size of an ordinary badger’s hole. The quarry was secured