The original BYBers?

[Boemy]

So I was reading up on the history of the Boston Terrier of Wikipedia and it said one of their ancestors was the now-extinct White English Terrier.

I followed the link to the White English Terrier, expecting an old breed that was lost due to unforeseen circumstances. But no, it turns out the White English Terrier was "created" specifically for dog shows when they were the "in" thing--possibly by breeding together a fox terrier and an Italian Greyhound! Apparentally creating your own breed was all the rage . . .

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).

I've got to admit I'm a bit shocked to find the "labradoodle" habit goes back so far.

The White English Terrier became extinct, by the way, because they were unsuccessful as rat hunters (being all white, many were deaf) and the public was unenthralled with their health problems.

[sp0322]

Wow.. that is shocking.. I can't believe that it goes that far back

[mrose_s]

wow... so i gues its a people trait to want to create new breeds and name them

[Miakoda]

The crossing of breeds is how others came to be.

It's just nowadays we pretty much have breeds that can do any given task & enough "bred to be pets" breeds that we don't need to create any more. The only reason people are creating these new mutts is for money & status. Nothing more.

[Boemy]

The crossing of breeds is how others came to be.

I agree, but the English White Terrier article is refering to breeds created specifically for the show ring . . . Not for actually hunting rats or other animals or even as companion animals, but simply so that the breeders could gain notoriety and make money. (The article also says they were riddled with health problems, which is why they weren't popular with the general public.) That makes them BYBers, IMO. If a farmer crossed two different terriers trying to develop a better rat-hunting dog, well, that's different.

[PixieSticksandTricks]

The White English Terrier

( Originally Published 1920 )


This is a comparatively new breed, and is the only Terrier that bears the national name. There is no evidence to show where it originally sprang from, who produced it, or for what reason.

Before the institution of dog shows the generic term "Terrier" was applied to all earth dogs, and it would be difficult to prove that a white Terrier resembling those now under consideration existed at that time. There is little difference between the white English Terrier and the Manchester blackwhite-and-tan, except in color, for they are of similar shape and general character.

The standard as laid down by the White English Terrier Club is as follows:

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 upward 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 harefooted.

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. COLOR.-Pure white; colored marking to disqualify.

CONDITION.-Flesh and muscles to be hard and firm.

WEIGHT.-From 12 t0 20 pounds.