Nieuwe pagina 2

Sealyham Terrier

History

The Sealyham was named after the Welsh family estate of its creator, Captain John Edwardes, who set out to develop the ultimate working terrier - one fast and fearless enough to work with his Otterhounds as a hunt terrier as well as tough and agile enough to slip down a badger hole in pursuit. Edwards kept no records but experts assume the breeds that went into the development of the Sealyham included the Corgi, Dandie Dinmont, Flanders Basset plus the West Highland White, Wire Fox, Old English White and Bull Terriers. After Edwardes' death in 1891, others continued the strain and produced a breed as powerful and determined but more docile than the original. The Sealyham Terrier is of Welsh origin, having been developed by Captain John Tucker Edwardes (1808-1891) around the year 1860. He was an avid sportsman who desired a dog to work with his hunting pack of Otterhounds and go to ground for badger, otter or fox. The white color was desired so that the other hounds involved in the hunt would not mistake the Sealy for the prey. The name came from Captain Edwardes mansion, Sealyham, near the Sealy river in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. He wanted a dog with great courage, stamina, and agility, all necessary to complete its task. The Sealyham was to "give tongue" to signal the hunt diggers of the badger location. The Sealys did not kill the badgers, just keep them occupied and in one location so the diggers could do their work. As you can see from the following photograph, a badger is a formidable foe! There are questions to this day as to the dog breeds that were used to develop the Sealyham Terrier. Mentioned have been the Welsh Corgi, Cheshire Terrier (now extinct) or White Bull Terrier, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Wire Fox Terrier, West Highland White Terrier, and the Jack Russell Terrier. Sealyhams were first exhibited at a dog show in Wales in 1903. A short five years later, a record entry of 600 were exhibited at the same show. Originally they were shown as a Terrier, Sealyham variety but in 1911 the English Kennel Club recognized the Sealyham as a separate breed. Also in 1911, the American Kennel Club recognized the Sealyham Terrier and a year later, the first Sealyham was shown in the United States. The American Sealyham Terrier Club was founded in 1913 in New York City. Over the years, the popularity of the Sealyham Terrier has ebbed and flowed. Currently there are less than 100 dogs registered with the AKC each year. During the 1920's and 1930's, the breed achieved it's greatest popularity. Famous owners were Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Richard Burton and Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock's own Sealyhams can be seen in cameo appearances in his films "The Birds" and "Suspicion".

General Appearance *** Free-moving, active, balanced and of great substance in small compass. General outline oblong, not square-This description could apply to many breeds. It might give a clearer picture if it were altered to 'should be that of a strongly built, free moving and active dog, low to the ground, standing four square, alert and fearless. Each part should be in proportion to every other part. In the overall British Standard, it is important to point out that precise measurements are specifically avoided. The approved standard focuses on how a balanced Sealyham should appear rather than narrowly focusing on a specific measurement in one particular area or another.

Characteristics *** Sturdy, game and workmanlike.

Temperment *** Alert and fearless but of friendly disposition.

Head and Skull *** The skull slightly domed and wide between the ears. Cheek bones not prominent. Punishing jaw, powerful and long. Nose black.-the head must be balanced with the foreface in proportion to the skull. Precise measurements are luckily not used in the breed but as a rough guide the length of the jaw should be not less than that of the head. This standard encourages a headpiece which is much longer and less broad in the skull. The words 'slightly domed' are important. A flat skull usually has prominent cheek bones which make the skull coarse. The square jaw is sometimes lost sight of. A long snipy jaw is wrong as there is insufficient room for the stong level teeth and so the bite will suffer.Few people will condemn a small patch on the nose. This nearly always fills in with maturity. The pale discolored nose is a more serious fault as it seldom becomes black and spoils the appearance, although, of course, it will have no adverse effect on the dog's working ability.

Eyes *** Dark, well set, round and of medium size. Dark, pigmented eye rims preferred but unpigmented tolerated-The reason for these points are worth consideration. Apart from the appearance of the dog and the foreign expression that a light eye gives, it is of no importance from the working point of view. A really dark brown eye usually gives a typical expression. A hazel eye is allowed by a yellow eye is a fault and is very ugly as well as being strong hereditary. The shape of the eye is of the utmost importance. It must be remembered that the Sealyham was bred to go to ground and so the eye had to be protected. A large protuberant eye would have easily been damaged. A small eye could lead to entropion which is a distressing condition only relived by surgery, so the medium well set eye should always be bred for.

Ears *** size medium, slightly rounded at tip and carried at side of cheek.-The size and carriage of the ears plays a great part in the dog's expression. Ears should fold level with the top of the head when the dog is alert. Small ears tend to become high set and give a foreign expression. Heavy, thick hanging houndy ears are also not correct. If the cartilage is too think the ears will be dead in appearance. The ultra think cartilage may result in the ears being 'flown'; and having a fold down the center.

Mouth *** Teeth level and square with canine teeth fitting well into each other and long for the size of the dog. Jaws strong with regular scissor bite, ie. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square into the jaw. The Sealyham is required to have a strong jaw and a good firm bite by reason of the work for which it was originally bred. One tooth out of alignment is not going to make any difference to the strength of the bite, provided the jaw is square and not narrow.

Neck *** Fairly long, thick and muscular on well laid shoulders- The idea that a Sealyham should have a long thin neck is wrong and would not be in keeping with a strongly built low to ground dog. A puppy may have a thin neck but as it matures and the muscles develop the neck should end as medium thickness. Sloping shoulders are of great importance as so much depends on correct shoulder placement. A dpg cannot be a free mover if it has straight upright shoulders. It will have a short stride that gives a stiled action. A straight should also means a short neck so that the general appearance of the dog will be 'stuffy'. Forward shoulders which are due to the lenght of the humerus and the angle at which it is set usually result in bad ronts and dipping toplines. Shoulders that are too wide, due to an excess of muscle under the shoulder blade, make for ungainly action with the dog 'paddling' instead of having the correct forward and backward movement; as with a pendulum.

Forequarters *** Short, strong and as strait as possible consistent with chest being well let down. Point of shoulder in line with point of elbow which should be close to side of chest. In some types of Sealyhams, ie. the rather narrow light in bone type, the leg is often too long. The correct short, well boned type of foreleg goes with the low to ground, strongly made dog, which is what the Sealyham should be. Some argue that the forelegs of a low to the ground dog with a deep, broad chest cannot be straight, but this is not so. The majority of Sealyhams whether of the solid type of not have perfectly sound straight fronts, with good bone. Light bone should be considered as much as a fault as a crooked front, which may be out at the elbow, overbent in the shaft of the bones from elbow to the pastern or knucked over at the pastern.

Body *** Medium length, level and ribs well sprung. Body very flexible, chest broad and deep, well let down between forelegs. I would add that the loin should be muscular with no sign of weakness. The body should be well ribbed back, so that the loin is not too long. This gives the overall picture of a medium length body. Too often the shortbacked dog is admired, but if the essential flexibility is to be maintained it follows that the back must be of medium length. One with a short back usually has a short neck and upright shoulders and is too square in body. The long dorsal vertebrae, ie. a well-ribbed back, give space between each rib so there is room for chest expansion. The chest must be deep and well let down between the forelegs. The narrow fronted flat side dog is incorrect as is the barrel shapped body which rests on top of the forelegs instead of being let down between them. A dipping topline is undesirable and could be due to badly placed shoulders, a weak loin or incorrectly placed pelvis.

Hindquarters *** Notably powerful for size of dog. Thighs deep and muscular with well bent stifle. Hocks strong, well bent and parallel to each other. The standard describes hindquarters clearly but no mention is made of the second thigh which should be well developed. Unfortunately there are dogs in many breeds which have weak hindquarters and thighs are anything but deep and muscular. These dogs usually have correspondingly weak cow hocks. This is an ugly fault which may be due to lack of exercise or may be hereditary. Without the powerful quarters, movement will lack drive and it is obvious that if the dog is cow hocked its hind legs cannot move firmly and parallel to each other.

Feet *** Round and cat-like with thick pads. Feet pointing directly forward. This gives an adequate description but I would add that feet should turn neither in nor out but face straightforward. Thick pads are necessary as they are made of elastic material which cushions the feet and prevents jarring. If the muscles of the foot are kept in condition through exercise, the dog will be up on its pasterns and the toes will be bunched close together thus giving a 'cat-like' foot.

Tail *** Set in line with back and carried erect. Quarters should protrude beyond set of tail. Customarily docked. When the tail is erect, it is an important indication of the dog's character. A nervous, shy dog will keep the tail down. The tail is a continuation of the sacrum which is the wedge-shaped bone at the base of the spine. The tail root should leave the sacrum level with the spine. If the sacrum tends to run downwards to the rear, the tail will be low set. Dogs with low set tails that have a fearless nature try to remedy the low set and in keeping the tail up tend to carry it forward over the back. This gay tail is ugly and spoils the dog's outline. With a correctly set tail the posterior curve of the quarters should protrude slightly beyond the posterior side of the tail.

Gait and Movement *** Brisk and vigorous with plenty of drive.

Coat *** Long, hard and wiry topcoat with weather-resistant undercoat. It should not be dense and woolly, but should have a weather-resisting undercoat covered by a harsh topcoat of medium length. Soft coats with over profuse furnishings are unsuitable for a working bred and are beyond the skill of most pet owners to groom.

Color *** All white or white with lemon, brown, blue or badger pied markings on head and ears. Much black and heavy ticking undesireable. Heavy marking, even on the head, is objectionable and detracts from the appearance of the dog.

Size *** Height should not exceed 12 inches (31 cms) at shoulder. Ideal weight : dogs approximately 20 pounds (9 kgs), bitches approximately 18 pounds (8.2 kgs). General conformation, overall balance, type and substance are main criteria. Males and females should be different in size, with the females being appropriately smaller. The 12 inch size being appropriate for males while females should be less. This is a general guideline, as no hard and fast rule can be laid down for height. The low to the ground type is the ideal but a really good one in all other respects should not be condemed because it is slightly over the standard height. A well boned dog of substance may well weigh more than 20 pounds, but slight overweight is infinitely preferable to a light boned weedy specimen that is within the weight limit.

Faults *** Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

Note *** Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.