[ Hochwalt/ Dogcraft ]
Albert Frederick Hochwalt (1869 - ?) was the "kennel editor" of Sportmen's Review magazine and an author of multiple dog-related works who somehow managed to write Dogs as Home Companions: A Book for All Dog Lovers (1922; Cincinnati: Sportsman's Digest) without ever once using the word "Newfoundland."
Dogcraft: being a study of the various breeds of dogs; their care and management in health and in disease; with chapters on the training of gun dogs was first published serially in Sportsmen's Review in 1907, then in book form in 1908 (Cincinnati: Sportsmen's Review) and was enlarged and revised twice (1912, 1920). Text below is from the 1920 revised edition (which in fact is identical to that of the 1908 edition).
Newfoundlands are mentioned in passing on several occasions, particularly in reference to their relationship to other breeds such as retrievers and the Chessie. Newfs receive their most substantive treatment in the chapter "House and Watch Dogs":
The Newfoundland dog, as his name indicates, came originally from Newfoundland. The breed no doubt sprang from dogs that were left by ships that visited those shores. He is portrayed by some of the animal painters of the early part of the nineteenth century as a long, flat-headed, black and white dog, although Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton, who visited Newfoundland, describes the native dog as a black and tan; however, if the dog ever existed with these colors, the tan was bred out before 1860. In the early days of this breed there were three kinds — the smooth, the shaggy and the curly coat. The average size was twenty-six inches, and when they began to be bred systematically in England, the shaggy coat was preferred and the size of the dog also became larger.
The prevailing color is black, although there is a variety called the Landseer Newfoundland, which is black and white. The black and white variety got its name from the fact that Sir Edward Landseer took a fancy to a dog of this color and made a painting of it that became celebrated.
The Newfoundland never became popular in this country, and most of the dogs that were called by this name were nothing more than large, shaggy black dogs of unknown breeding. Occasionally a good one appeared on the bench during the last twenty years, but at present time they are seldom met with, and very few shows give them classi?cation.
There is no recent standard to fit this dog and those published by Stonehenge and other writers on the dog of that period are now practically obsolete.
The Newfoundland should be a free and supple mover. Size should be a consideration, but not to such an extent that he should lose symmetry and quality. He should be built on substantial lines, and be neither too high nor too low on the leg. His coat should be glossy black and be straight or wavy, and above all he should possess character in head.
Unlike most of the other breed discussions in this book, the discussion of the Newf does not include a detailed description or the current point schedule (as is implied in the text), nor is there an image of a Newfoundland.