Page:The power of the dog.djvu/55

 sinister. We should rather prefer to consider it as a reversion to the natural marking.

In any case, we see no reason for questioning the purity of the Welsh terrier's lineage. Centuries ago, perhaps, he may have come from the general stock, but he has been a separate entity sufficiently long to win him a place as a product of the Principality. As was to be expected, before dog shows came into vogue, and with them the necessity of a general standard for every variety, a good many different types were observable. So they were in every other breed. This is inevitable until a family likeness has become fixed by united effort on the part of owners. Even this generic likeness admits of variations, for it is an easy thing to recognise the dogs coming from certain kennels, the skill of an individual stamping minor characteristics which others fail to catch and perpetuate, though working upon the same material.