English White Terrier

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White English Terrier
Alternative names
English White Terrier
Old English Terrier
Country of origin
Britain
Classification and breed standards
This breed of dog is extinct

The White English Terrier also known as the English White Terrier or Old English Terrier[1][2][3] is an extinct breed of dog.

Contents

The English White Terrier is the failed show ring name of a pricked-ear verion of the white fox-working terriers that have existed in the U.K. since the late 18th Century.

The name "English White terrier" was invented and embraced in the early 1860s by a handful of breeders anxious to create a new breed from a prick-eared version of the small white working terriers that were later "improved" into the Fox Terrier, the Jack Russell Terrier, the Sealyham Terrier and later in America - the Rat Terrier.

In the end, however, the Kennel Club hierarchy decided the "English White Terrier" was a distinction without a difference, while the dog's genetic problems made it unpopular with the public. Within 30 years of appearing on the Kennel Club scene, the English White Terrier had slipped into extinction.

[edit] Breed History

Small red working terriers have existed in the U.K. since at least the late 18th Century. These dogs have always been quite variable in terms of size and shape, with dogs ranging in size from 10 to 15 inches, and with both drop ears and prick ears, smooth, broken, and rough coats.(Burns, 2005)

With the rise of dog shows in the 1860s, breed fancy enthusiasts raced to name and "improve" every type of dog they could find, and terriers were at the very top of their list. From the long-extent white-bodied working terriers came the Fox Terrier, the Jack Russell Terrier, the Parson Russell Terrier, and the Sealyham Terrier.

In the rush to create and claim new breeds, competing groups of dog breeders sometimes came up with different names for the same dog, and it was very common for entirely fictional breed histories to be cobbled up as part of a campaign to declare a new breed and create a bit of personal distinction for a dog's originator (to say nothing of sales).

In the 1860s and 1870s, a small group of dog show enthusiasts tried to claim that prick-eared versions of white working terriers were an entirely different breed from those same dogs with dropped ears. The problems with this claim were legion, however. For one thing, prick and drop-eared dogs were often found in the same litter, while entirely white dogs had a propensity for deafness and were therefore nearly useless in the field. (Briggs, 1894)

In 1894, Rawdon Briggs Lee wondered, in his book "Modern Dogs," about the relatively recent origin of the "English White Terrier" and noted that, "It has been surmised that the original English white terrier had been a fox terrier crossed with a white Italian greyhound" (i.e. a toy breed).

Lee noted that at the London dogs shows where the breed first appeared in 1863-1864, the dogs was presented in two classes: "one being for dogs and bitches under six or seven pounds weight, as the case may be; the other for dogs and bitches over that standard."

In 1894, about the time that English White Terrier finally disappeared from the Kennel Club scene (it was always a pet and show dog, and never a working dog), Lee noted that "The most recent London-bred specimens I have seen have been comparative toys, under 10lb. in weight, and with a rounded skull, or so-called 'apple head," which so persists in making its appearance in lilliputian specimens of the dog -- an effect of inbreeding."

Though Lee included a club description of the dog claiming the dog could be found as heavy as 20lbs in weight, Lee (a noted Kennel Club judge and Kennel Editor of The Field sport hunting magazine) took the trouble to note that "As a matter of fact, I do not ever remember seeing a really so-called pure English white terrier up to 20lbs, the maximum allowed by the club."

Lee describes the English White Terrier as "the most fragile and delicate of all our terriers," noting that "he is not a sportsman's companion," but that he "makes a nice house dog" but "requires a considerable amount of cuddling and care."

Lee notes that at some of the early dog shows "some of the specimens were shaped more like an Italian greyhound than as a terrier" and that the dog "is particularly subject to total or partial deafness."

Though the dog still existed as a breed in 1894, Briggs could seen the writing on the wall and did not bemoan the possible extinction of this show-ring failure: "While regretting extremely the decay of the White English Terrier, I am afraid they must bow to the inevitable, and give place to dogs better suited to the wants and conveniences of the present day than they unfortunately are."

[edit] Appearance

From "Modern Dogs" by Rawdon Lee Briggs (1894):

The description of the white English terrier is drawn up by the club as follows; the table of points is not issued by the club, but the figures, in my opinion, indicate the numerical value of each property as nearlt as possible.
  • HEAD–Narrow, long and level, almost flat skull, without cheek muscles, wedge-shaped, well filled up under the eyes, tapering to the nose, and not lippy.
  • EYES–Small and black, set fairly close together, and oblong in shape.
  • NOSE–Perfectly black.
  • EARS–Cropped and standing perfectly erect.
  • NECK AND SHOULDERS–The neck should be fairly long and tapering from the shoulders to the head, with sloping shoulders, the neck being free from throatiness, and slightly arched at the occiput.
  • CHEST–Narrow and deep.
  • BODY–Short and curving upwards at the loins, sprung out behind the shoulders, back slightly arched at loins, and falling again at the joining of the tail to the same height as the shoulders.
  • LEGS–Perfectly straight and well under the body, moderate in bone, and of proportionate length.
  • FEET–Feet nicely arched, with toes set well together, and more inclined to be round than hare-footed.
  • TAIL–Moderate length, and set on where the arch of the back ends, thick where it joins the body, tapering to a point, and not carried higher than the back.
  • COAT–Close, hard, short, and glossy.
  • COLOUR–Pure white, coloured marking to disqualify.
  • CONDITION–Flesh and muscles to be hard and firm.
  • WEIGHT–From 12 lb. to 20 lb.
Old English Terrier with Black and Tan Terrier
Old English Terrier with Black and Tan Terrier

[edit] Silvio

Alfred Benjamin, owned a male Old English Terrier, named 'Silvio' (b. 1876). It was well-shown and considered a prime specimen of the breed. In 1877 Silvio won conformation shows at Bath, Royal Agricultural Hall, Darlington, Alexandra Palace and in 1878 at Wolverhampton. Silvio weighed nineteen pounds with the following measurements:

Silvios' Measurements
Area Inches
Nose to stop 3
Stop to occiput 4.5
Length of back 15
Girth of muzzle 7
Girth of skull 12
Girth of brisket 19
Girth round shoulders 19.5
Girth of loin 16
Girth of forearm 3.75
Girth of pastern 3
Height at shoulders 18
Height at loin 18.5

[edit] Judging

Scale For Judging Old English Terriers
Area Value
Head, including jaws, nose, ears and eyes 10
Legs 5
Feet 5
Body 5
Colour 10
General appearance 10
Action 5
TOTAL 50

[edit] References

  1. ^ Britannica Concise - Terriers
  2. ^ Depaco
  3. ^ Old English Terrier

[edit] Further reading

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