PRESENTED BY
THE DOMESDAY BOOK OF DOGS
CUR DOG.
Herdsman's Cur
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| Drover's dog from W. H. Paynes " The Costumes of Great Britain" 1805 |
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| Thomas Bewick circa 1790 |
Two drawings of what appears to be the same breed: the same ear-carriage; the same length of leg; the same stumpy tail, even similarly marked. Two differences may be that the dog drawn by Bewick in 1790 appears longer coupled and the dog drawn in 1805 is slightly more hirsute. This could be an attempt by the artist in 1805 to depict a goat-haired sheepdog, which was locally common in many places in Britain at this time, or it may be an attempt to show mongrelisation.
The drawing by Bewick is very interesting as it shows one of the breed heeling in the background of the picture. This dog could be herding or coursing: when cottages were permitted to be built on common land it was necessary for a farmer to employ a dog that would drive the cattle away from the homestead, thus making the best use of the common pasture; this activity was called coursing.
See Bearded Collie
See Old Welsh Grey
See Proto-terriers
See Smithfield Collie
The Costumes of Great Britain, W.H. Payne
Published by William Miller, London, 1805
The Drovers, Shirley Toulson,1980
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