THE IRISH WOLF-DOG-.
" The greyhound ! the great hound ! the graceful of lirnb !
Rough fellow ! tall fellow ! swift fellow, and slim !
Let them sound through the earth, let them sail o'er the sea,
They will light on none other more ancient than thee !"
OLD MS.
DOGS:
THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES
DIRECTIONS AS TO THEIR
GENERAL MANAGEMENT,
AND SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS AS TO
THEIR TREATMENT UNDER DISEASE
H. D. RICHARDSON,
AUTHOR OF " THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE IRISH FOSSIL DEER,"
" DOMESTIC FOWL," TC ETC
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD.
NEW YORK:
ORANGE JUDD & COMPACT,
AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS,
245 BROADWAY. -*
SF
A. W. BAKER, ESQ., JUNIOR,
OP BALLYTOBIN, CO. KILKENNY.
MY DEAR SIR,
Permit me to inscribe to you the following pages, with
the hope that you will not deem them altogether unworthy
of your acceptance. I know that you are, like myself, a
warm friend and admirer of the noble animal whose history
and habits they are designed to illustrate ; and trust that you
will receive, in the spirit in which it is tendered, this, the
only tribute in my power to offer, in return for the very kjs-d
and valuable assistance you extended to me in the prepara-
tion of the work.
Believe me, my dear Sir,
Your grateful Friend,
H. D. RICHARDSON
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAO
ORIGIN or THB Doo 11
CHAPTER II.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE Doo 23
CHAPTER III.
VARIETIES OF THE Doo WILD Does.
The Dingo of Australia 28
The Kirarahe of New Zealand . 30
The Dhole of India 30
Jungle Koola 3J
Wild Dog of China . 38
Aguara of South America. . S>
Deeh of Egypt 5i
Wild Dog of South America 33
CHAPTER IV.
CLASS I. GREYHOUNDS. SUBDIVISION A. ROUGH GREYHOUNDS.
Irish Wolf-Dog 36
Highland Deerhound 51
Scottish Greyhound 54
Russian Greyhound 55
Persian Greyhound, two sub-varie-
ties 56
Greek Greyhound il
Arabian Greyhound 57
V
CHAPTER V.
GREYHOUNDS. SUBDIVISION B. SMOOTH GREYHOUNDS.
Common British Greyhound 57 I Turkish Greyhound 61
Italian Greyhound 60 | Tiger-hound of South America 61
CHAPTER VI.
SECOND CLASS GROUP I.
Great Danish Dog 62
Spanish Bloodhound 65
African Bloodhound 67
French Matin 68
Feral Dog of St. Domingo 68
Cattle Dog of Cuba 69
Pariah of India....'. 70
Mexican Taygote 70
Florida Wolf-Dog 70
CHAPTER VII.
HOUNDS PROPERLY SO CALLED.
TheTalbot 71
The Bloodhound 72
The Staghound 74
The Oriental Hound 75
The Foxhound 76
The Harrier.
The Otter-hound 78
The Spanish Pointer 78
The Portuguese Pointer 79
The French Pointer 79
The Italian Pointer 79
The English Pointer 80
TheBeaglo 77 i The Dalmatian 81
The Kerry Beagle 77 | The Russian Pointer 8J
10
CONTENTS.
TERRIERS.
PAGE
The Russian Terrier 82
The Scottish, two varieties 83
The Isle of Syke Terrier 83
English Terrier 84
Maltese Terrier 84
PAG 5
South American Terrier 84
Mexican Prairie Dog 85
Turnspit - 85
Harlequin Terrier 85
CHAPTER VIII.
Newfoundland Dog....' 87
Labrador Dog 89
Italian or Pyrenean Wolf-Dog 91
Pomeranian Dog 92
Hare Indian Dog 92
The Mailed Dog 93
Esquimaux Dog 93
Siberian Dog 93
KanitschatkaDog 93
NEWFOUNDLAND, OR WOLF-DOQ GROUP.
Iceland Dog s)4
Greenland Dog 94
Lapland Dog 94
Shepherd's Dog of Scotland, or Colley 94
Shepherd's Dog of England 95
Shepherd's Dog of France 96
Drover's Dog 96
Cur Dog 9C
CHAPTER IX.
THE SPANIELS.
Setter or Land-Spaniel, three varie- I Springer
ties 97 | Blenheim.--.
Water Spaniel 98 King Charles.
Cocker 100
100
100
100
WATER-DOGS.
Great Rough Water-Dog ........... 103
Poodle ............................ 103
Little Barbet ...................... 104
LionDog .......................... 10f>
CHAPTER X.
THIRD GREAT CLASS. MASTIFFS.
Dog of Thibet 105
Dog of St. Bernard, or Alpine Mastiff 106
Spanish or Cuba Mastiff 109
Bulldog 110
Pug-dog Ill
British Mastiff. Ill
CHAPTER XI.
MONGRELS.
Lurcher 113
Ban Dog 113
Dropper 113
Bull-terrier 113
Alicant Dog 113
Shock Dog 114
Artois Dog ] 14
Griffin Dog 114
Kangaroo Dog 114
CHAPTER XII.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE DOG, INCLUDING CROPPING, AND THE REMO- "
VAL OF DEWCLAWS 114
CHAPTER XIII.
DISEASES OF THE DOG.
Rabies 121
Dumb Madness 122
Canker in the Ear 122
Jaundice 123
Worms 123
Mange 125
Distemper 126
Diarrhoea , 126
Costiveness 127
How to bleed 127
Warts 127
DOGS:
THEIR NATURAL HISTORY, ETC.
CHAPTER I.
.INTRODUCTION ORIGIN OF THE DOG.
IT is in far remote ages of " The Earth and Animated
Nature" that we have to seek for traces of the origin of this
noble and generous animal, which, while some have placed
the lion, and some the horse, as the first of quadrupeds, has
enjoyed the especial privilege and well-merited honor of
being, par excellence, the FRIEND OF MAN. This has adhered
to him in adversity, since the fall, and through all vicissi-
tudes. I should be disposed to award to this animal the next
successive place to man in the scale of, at all events, moral
being. True that, in physical formation, the various tribes
of Simiae and Orans would appear to approximate the most
closely to humanity ; but in intellectual development I think
they will be generally conceded to be inferior to our noble
friend, THE DOG.
So nearly akin is the intelligence of the dog to reason,
that we are sometimes puzzled to account for the actions
which result from it. As Pope says, when apostrophizing
the elephant
" 'Twixt that and reason, what a nice barrier !
Forever separate, yet forever near."
Essay on Man.
But Pope, among the many poets, has also furnished a very
remarkable illustration, from its beauty, its celebrity, and,
above all, the wideness of its scope, of these high pre-
rogatives of the dog, of their universality, and also of their
repute I allude to that far-famed passage in the " Essay on
Man"
12 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
" Lo ! the poor Indian, whose untutor'd mind
Sees God in storms, and hears him in the wind,
******
And thinks, admitted to that equal sky,
His FAITHFUL DOG shall bear him company."
The " many poets" have been alluded to : yes, from the
days of Homer, who hymned the fidelity of Argus, the old
dog of Ulysses, in the Odyssey, to our own times, when
Lord Byron, in his youth, penned the epitaph upon his faith-
ful favorite at Newstead ; and the late Thomas Campbell
sang, in one of his celebrated ballads, of the old harper by
the Shannon and his dog when the simple tale of Colin and
his " poor dog Tray" (the old shepherd and the old shep-
herd's dog) was adorned with plaintive verse.
The poets of various ages and of various lands would
seem to have delighted in commemorating the virtues of this
favorite animal, perhaps, in part, as though they recognised
with poetic force of perception in their devotion to man,
something of the primal love with which man once looked up
to his heavenly Father and almighty Friend. If I be not
mistaken, this impressive comparison forms the subject of
one of Lord Bacon's famous "ESSAYS."
Should it be deemed that this prefatory " character and
eulogium" of the dog partakes too much of " favor and af-
fection," is not, perhaps, scientific enough for a treatise of
this nature, I still trust that so much may be conceded to a
very zealous author in the commencement of his work, and
as such eulogistic notices are not, though rarely, indeed, so
richly merited, unusual in history,* they may, perhaps, be
allowed in natural history also. Though here, from the
nature of the subject, these remarks are necessarily placed
first, as prefatory, instead of being introduced in the body of
the work, yet may I not be excused, as the moral amiable
qualities of the dog are so remarkable and notorious, that
they form, in themselves a kind of description of the species,
a sort of special grade' of chivalry, giving dogs a rank of
honor among animals from the chivalrous character of their
many virtues virtues so numerous and so generally known
and experienced, that were they to receive a full degree
of tribute, these remarks would extend to the entire limits
of my volume ? I therefore humbly crave indulgence for
* See Rolliii, for instance, and many others.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 18
mus lingering a little upon this pleasing portion of my
theme. ^
It would appear that for some, time, I know not why, (un.
less it be explained on the same principle that caused the
ostracizing of Aristides, for being called " The Just,") there
has been a strange infatuation among natural historians foi
withholding from the dog his claims to originality of creation,
for, in short, an "attainder of his lineage;" nearly all
who of late have written upon this subject, having zealously
endeavored to trace his descent to the treacherous, cowardly,
and rapacious wolf, that skulking, scavenger-like marauder,
the jackal, or the crafty and plotting fox ; some even referring
for his primitive type to the surly hyaena, with that animal's
unsocial and indomitable congeners.
Some writers, on the other hand, go so far as to admit,
that a true and genuine dog was, indeed, originally created
among the other tribes of animals ; but they, at the same
time, maintain him to have been formed with a wild, un-
social, and savage disposition ; and to owe his present posi-
tion as the faithful and valued friend of man, to the reclaim-
ing power of " human reason," and to a train of adventitious
circumstances long subsequent to the creation of the animal
world, and consequently to the era of his primitive existence.
These are the persons who love to descant upon, as they are
pleased to call it, the " glorious, never-to-be-forgotten con-
quest of reason over instinct."
Cuvier has said, speaking of the dog and his supposed sub-
jugation, " C'est la conquete la plus complete, la plus singu-
liere, et la plus utile que 1'homme a faite;" and his translator,
or rather commentator, Mr. Griffith,* has re-echoed, apparently
without attempt at inquiry, " This is the most complete, sin-
gular, and useful conquest man has made."f Alas! to this
absurd system of blindly following in the wake of the great,
we owe much of the ignorance which at present envelopes
the study of zoology. Let but a man, by rendering in some
one or more instances service to science, obtain a certain
position in the world of letters a certain name and, be-
hold ! we have succeeding writers crouching to his dicta as
though they were oracular, and, without taking the trouble
of investigating their correctness, adopting his opinions, nay,
* Griffith's Cuvier.
t Buffon has made a remark almost identical, even in expression, in h
Introduction to the Natural History of the HORSE."
2
14 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
his very errors, with a blind and superstitious reverence.
Cuvier was undoubtedly a great, a very great naturalist ;
his writings are to be read with reverence and respect, and
if we feel disposed to differ from his theories, the feeling
should only be given way to after the most careful examina-
tion and research. If facts present an equal balance, let us
by all means abandon our own skepticism, and yield to the
authority of his master genius ; but if facts decidedly pre-
ponderate in favor of our doubt, even his great name must
not deter us from taking an independent course, and adopting
our own views. Cuvier has shown himself a partaker of
human fallibility
" Indignor si quando bonus dormitat Homerus."
In the case of the fossil deer of Ireland, for instance, he
for a long time almost deprived us of our claim to the ex-
clusive possession of that stupendous relic of olden time, by
describing remains of what he conceived to be the same
animal as having been exhumed in France. These remains
have since been recognised as belonging to quite a different
tribe of animals ; and in this instance also I cannot but ob-
serve, that the very obvious difference subsisting between the
osseous remains of the animals in question, is sufficient to in-
duce caution towards an author who could thus strangely
confound them with each other. It was left to Colonel
Hamilton Smith to expose Cuvier's mistake he alone hav-
ing the spirit to examine this subject when so great a man
had once treated of it, and to remark upon the errors which
he found.
/ To resume, however : so then man boasts of a mysterious
control over natural instinct, and that he is able to subdue,
reclaim, and conquer for himself what animals he wishes ;
and that he further possesses a power of rendering those ani-
mals, naturally fierce and estranged from his society, his
faithful, willing, and unchangeable servants ! Truly it is a
pity that if such a power ever existed, it should be now so
utterly lost. I, for one, would be glad, indeed, were it still
capable of being exercised. I have spent years in striving
to reclaim the wild creatures of the forest ; I have expended
upon them my attention and my care ; I have given them
much of my time, my affection, and my means ; and yet I
have, after all, but succeeded in the partial familiarization of
a few individuals, whose offspring have invariably returned
to the intractable, ferocious, and feral habits of their race.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 15
And have other experimentalists fared better? How else
does it happen that the grim wolf still prowls amidst the
gloomy glades of his native forests, that crafty Reynard still
preserves his wild and marauding instincts, and that the
stealthy jackal is still but the prowling scavenger of the
eastern hamlet 1 Why does not the beautiful zebra habitu-
ally grace the equipages of our cities ? why does not the
graceful gazelle become the happy and contented ornament
of our parks ? Why does the furious bison still roam, in un-
shackled grandeur, the wilds of his native plains, while his
kinsmen, the patient ox, drew the baggage of the primeval
patriarchs, and the Brahminee bull walks in majestic tran-
quillity among the topes and lawns of Hindostan, and the
placid Indian cow furnishes her nutritious milk to thousands
of Gentoos ? I need, I think, hardly observe as all who
read must be already aware of the fact that far more pains
have been bestowed upon endeavoring to reclaim these
naturally feral creatures, than we have the slightest proof
were ever bestowed upon the imaginary reclamation of those
which are asserted to be their descendants. "If," says an
eloquent writer in Lardner's Cyclopaedia " if this power
really had been given to us in the sense the assertion evi-
dently implies, the instinct of animals would be under the
control of man, instead of being immutably fixed by the
ALMIGHTY that power to whom man himself is indebted for
his faculty of reason : not, indeed, that it might be made, a.&
in this instance, an idle and arrogant boast, but that it should
be used to give honor and reverence to his Maker. The
more the wondrous works of the Creator are studied, the
more will this truth become incontestable that it is He
only who has given to certain animals, or to certain tribes,
an innate propensity to live, by free choice, near the haunts
of man, or to submit themselves cheerfully and willingly to
his domestication."
Why should we seek to set limits to the power of HIM who
framed the universe ? Why should we seek to affix bounds
to the power of that BEING whose power is infinite ? What
positive, tangible, or even analogical evidence exists that the
dog was not originally formed at the creation ; or that if form-
ed then, it was under a feral type, from which it was left, by
the Supreme, to the inventive powers of man to reclaim him ?
Is it riot far more reasonable to suppose, that a benevolent
Deity should have formed the dog for the express purpose of
becoming the ever faithful, constant friend and companion of
16 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
man, and one who would remain his friend after the unhappy
FALL should have deprived him of the services or society of
other animals ? This, however, is too much like mere decla.
mation ; let us proceed to something more like proof of my
positions.
In discussing subjects such as the origin of the dog, it will
be evident that direct proof is unattainable ; I must, therefore,
be satisfied if I confute the arguments on which my opponents
base their theories ; and then it will be more easy to deduce,
first, the greater probability, and secondly, the greater plausi
bility, of my own views.
With the supposed Lupine or Vulpine origin of this animal
may be classed the theory which derives him from a feral or
wild, yet apparently genuine dog. ' Mr. Hodgson,* for in-
stance, thinks that he has discovered a wild dog the buansu
to have been the primitive type of the whole canine race.
Professor Kreischner describes a sort of jackal, preserved in
the Frankfort museum, and puts it forward as the type of the
dogs of ancient Egypt ; with many other theorists and savants,
to all of whom the reasoning which I hope to adduce will, I
think, apply, as well as to those who uphold the theory of the
Lupine or Vulpine origin.
Perhaps the most concise view of the side of the question
from which I dissent, is given by Mr. Bell in his " British
Quadrupeds." He says : " It is necessary to ascertain to
what type the animal approaches most nearly, after having,
for many generations, existed in a wild state, removed from
the influence of domestication and association with mankind.
Now, we find there are several instances of the existence of
dogs in such a state of wildness as to have lost even that
common character of domestication, variety of color and
marking. Of these, two very remarkable ones are the dhole
of India, and the dingo of Australia. There is, besides, a
half-reclaimed race among the Indians of North America, and
another partially tamed in South America, which deserve pe-
culiar attention and it is found that these races in different
degrees, and in a greater degree as they are more wild, ex-
hibit the lank and gaunt form, the lengthened limbs, the long
and slender muzzle, and the great comparative strength,
which characterize the wolf; and that the tail of the Austra-
lian dog, which may be considered as the most remote from a
state of domestication, assumes the slightly bushy form of
* Letters from Africa
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 17
that animal. We have here, then, a considerable approxima-
tion to a well-known wild animal of the same genus, in races
which, though doubtless descended from domesticated an-
cestors, have gradually assumed the wild condition ; and it is
worthy of especial remark, that the anatomy of the wolf, and
its osteology in particular, does not differ from that of dogs in
general, more than the different kinds of dogs do from each
other. The cranium is absolutely similar, and so are all, or
nearly all, the other essential parts ; and to strengthen still
further the probability of their identity, the dog and wolf will
readily breed together, and their progeny is fertile. The
obliquity of the position of the eyes in the wolf is one of the
characters in which it differs from the dog ; and although it .
is very desirable not to rest too much upon the effects of habit
or structure, it is not, perhaps, straining the point, to attribute
the forward direction of the eyes in the dog to the constant
habit, for many succeeding generations, of looking forward to
its master, and obeying his voice." In my opinion this mode
of accounting for the direction of the eye is, to say the least,
rather imaginative than philosophical.* But to continue.
" Another criterion," says Mr. Bell, " and a sound one, is
the identity of gestation. Sixty-three days form the period
during which the bitch goes with young ; precisely the same
elapses before the wolf gives birth to her offspring. Upon
Buffon's instance of seventy-three days or rather the possibil-
ity of such a duration in the gestation of a particular she- wolf
we do not lay much stress, when opposed to the strong evi-
dence of the usual period being sixty-three days. The young
of both wolf and dog are born blind ; and at the same, or about
the same time, viz., about the expiration of the tenth or twelfth
day, they begin to see. Hunter's important experiments
proved, without doubt, that the wolf and the jackal would
breed with the dog ; but he had not sufficient data for coming
to the conclusion that all three were identical as species. In
the course of these experiments, he ascertained that the jackal
went fifty-nine days with young, while tne wolf went six-
ty-three ; nor does he record that the progeny and the dog
would breed together ; and he knew too well the value of the
argument to be drawn from a fertile progeny, not to have
dwelt upon the fact if he had proved it not to have mention-
ed it at least, even if he had heard of it."
* It is too like an adaptation of Lord Monboddo's Theory, viz. thai
mankind had originally toils, and wore them away by conttant fitting.
2*
18 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOCK
Mr. Bell concludes his observations as follows : : " Upon
the whole, the argument in favor of the view which I have
taken, that the wolf is probably the original of all the canine
races, may be thus stated. The structure of the animal is
identical, or so nearly as to afford the strongest a priori evi-
dence in its favor. The dog must have been derived from an
animal susceptible of the highest degree of domestication, and
capable of great affection for mankind, which has been abun-
dantly proved of the wolf. Dogs having returned to a wild
state, and continued in that condition through many genera-
tions, exhibit characters which approximate more and more
to those of the wolf, in proportion as tne influence of civiliza-
tion ceases to act. The two animals will breed together, and
produce fertile young. The period of gestation is the same."
To this brief and intelligible summary of the points on
which Mr. Bell bases his opinion, I reply in few words :
I. The expression nearly identical is too vague for phi-
losophical discussion, and I consider that I need not therefore
reply to this first position at all. To avoid misconstruction,
however, I shall assume that Mr. Bell positively asserts identi-
ty of structure. I positively deny it. The intestines of the
wolf are considerably shorter than those of the dog, evidently
marking him as an animal of more strictly carnivorous habits.
The orbits are placed higher and more forward in the skull.
The proportion between the bones of the hind legs differs so
does the number of toes. The structure of the teeth is differ-
ent, these being in the wolf much larger, and the molar teeth
of the upper and under jaws being adapted to each other, in
the wolf, in a peculiar scissors-like manner, rendering them
infinitely more serviceable for breaking bodies a structure
not found in the dog.
II. I deny that the wolf is " susceptiA of the highest
degree of domestication, and capable of g*j&|t affection for
mankind, which has been abundantly aBved." When
has it been proved ? I have seen many 1jp-called " tame
wolves," but never one that might be trusted, or that did not,
when opportunity offered, return to his fierce nature and wild
habits. The whelps, too, produced by these partially domes-
ticated wolves, are not in the smallest degree influenced by the
domestication of their parents. The Royal Zoological Society
of Ireland had, some years ago, in their garutns, Phoenix
Park, a pair of very tame wolves. These produced young,
which became tame likewise, and in their turn produced cubs.
The society very kindly presented me with one of the last
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 19
mentioned cubs, which, though only five we'eks old when I
took l.im from his dam, was as fierce and violent in his own
little way as the most savage denizen of the forest. I brought
up this animal among my dogs ; for them he conceived a con-
siderable degree of affection, or respect perhaps, for submission
was the most striking feature of his conduct towards them ;
and was doubtless induced by the frequent and substantial
castigations he received from " Bevis," a noble dog of the true
breed of bloodhound ; but beyond this he was any thing but
tame. He never, it is true, exactly dared to attack me in
front, but he once showed a disposition to do so, when I pulled
him down by the tail as he was endeavoring to get over my
garden wall. He, however, on several occasions, charged at
me from behind, when he thought my attention was otherwise
engaged. I was, however, invariably on my guard, ever
carried a good stick, and on these occasions the wolf always
got the worst of it. He once only succeeded in inflicting a
severe bite ; and as by this time I had utterly despaired of
making any thing of him he was about eighteen months old
I sent him about his business. He subsequently fell into
the hands of a showman, and assumed his proper position
the caravan.
As to dogs, when accident drives them to subsist on their
own resources, thus rendering them wild, I grant the fact of
their assuming feral characters ; but as to their thus acquiring,
in the course of a few generations, the habit and aspect, or the
general similitude of wolves, I humbly conceive it to be an as-
sertion only, and one that has yet to be proved. Even such
dogs as have been thus driven into feral and independent life,
will be found ever ready to acknowledge the control of man,
and may, with comparatively little trouble, be induced to re-
turn to their allegiance to him. Nor will the whelps of such
redomesticated dogs be born wild, as is the case with the cubs
of the tamest wolves. It is, in the case of these dogs, circum-
stances, and not natural instinct, that have driven them wild ;
and, these circumstances ceasing to operate, domestication
returns.
I would ask another question. How does it happen that the
dog is to be met with in every quarter of the globe to which
man has penetrated, while the true wolf has never yet been
met with south of the equator ? Further, are not several dis-
tinct species of wolf admitted to exist ? Is there not more than
one distinct species of wolf admitted by naturalists to exist in
North America alone ? It has not even been attempted to be
20 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
proved that these species are identical ; their distinctness has
been more than tacitly admitted. Yet they resemble each other
far more closely than any wolf does the dog. Has the dog,
then, been derived from each and all of these wolves, or has
the original wolf, origin alike of wolf and dog, been yet prop-
erly indicated ? Should not this fact be duly ascertained pri-
or to that in question ? Again, are there not numbers of wild
dogs are there not wild canines in South America, Austra-
lia, Arabia, India ? admitted on all hands to be essentially
distinct, which no naturalist has as yet attempted to deduce
from a common origin; yet are not these far more nearly
allied to the dog than to the wolf? Are there not likewise
several admitted species of fox ? Why not first clear up these
doubtful points, ere proceeding to such as are more remote
from the point at issue ?
I likewise deny that the wolf and the dog will breed to-
gether in a stale of nature. In their native forests they clear-
ly will not, or the wild dog would not still remain distinct
from the wolf, whose lair is in the immediate neighborhood
of his own. Man's efforts and skill, combined with partial
domestication, may, indeed, induce a union between them,
but naturally they shun each other, and mutually exhibit a
strong natural antipathy. Nor will these animals the wolf
and the dog breed together, unless one of them, at least, be
thoroughly domesticated. How else have all attempts to pro-
duce a breed between the wolf and Australian dingo so sig-
nally failed ?
Neither is the simple breeding together of animals, and the
fertility of'their offspring, a sufficient proof of identity of spe-
cies. Some of our uninquiring naturalists, who are satisfied to
follow quietly in the footsteps of their predecessors, may, doubt-
less, start at my assertion ; but I am not the less prepared to
maintain its truth. Mr. Hodgson (Proceedings of Zoological
Society, 1834) has shown that the capra tharal the goat of
Nepaul and the domestic goat breed together. The hunch-
backed zebu of India will breed with our common cattle, and
the offspring is prolific. Pallas has stated that in various parts
of Russia the sheep and the goat have bred together. The
Chinese and the European pigs, differing, according to Mr.
Eyton, in important osteological particulars, will do so like-
wise ; and in the " Proceedings of the Zoological Society,
1831," page 66, we find the same related of the hare and
rabbit. To this I may add, that the mule, the offspring of
the horse and ass, haar also produced foals. Now, as to fer.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 21
tility of offspring, I would beg my zoological readers to ob.
serve, that it will not prove identity of species, but merely a
dose alliance, unless, indeed, when that fertility exists, inter
se, between the hybrids themselves ; that the wolf and dog,
jackal and dog, fox and dog, will, if proper pains be taken,
breed together, I know, for I have proved it ; but I also know
that, unless in the case of the wolf and fox, the progeny are
sterile ; and also that even in those cases, although capable
of reproducing with either dog, fox, or wolf, they are not ca-
pable of doing so inter se; this is ai. important fact, and one
that I have not yet seen noticed.
I might adduce further facts in support of my objections to
this Lupine or Vulpine theory, but I feel that I have refuted
it sufficiently ; and in the language of the bar, I say, " Our
case rests here."
I now come to another theory, which has been embraced
and supported with equal, if not greater ardor, viz. that all
the known varieties of dog have taken their origin from one
originally created variety, and that one the shepherd's dog.
Many naturalists, and these natives of different countries,
have advanced this theory, and still they have all employed
the one designation in indicating their favorite type, viz.-
the shepherd's dog. I must here first take the liberty of in-
quiring, what shepherd's dog ? for shepherds' dogs differ most
materially from each other. Bjiffon as any gallant French-
man would stood up for the originality of the matin, or shep-
herd's dog of his own country. Later writers, all copying
more or less from him, have adhered to the theory of the
sheep-dog origin, while they have forgotten the difference
which exists between their own national sheep-dogs, and those
indicated by Buffbn. Truly there exists but little similitude
between the tailless, woolly-looking animal, the sheep-dog of
England ; the fox-like colley of Scotland ; the gaunt and
short-haired cur of Ireland ; the matin of Buffon ; the noble,
stately, and powerful sheep-dog of the Pyrenees, the guardian
of the flocks of the Abruzzi ; the gigantic mastiffs, the herd-
dogs of the Himalaya mountains ; and, in short, between va-
rious other sorts of sheep-dog, used foi tending flocks in as
various portions of the known world. Shall we assume the
original type to have been the sheep-dog or matin of France,
or the more graceful colley of Scotland ? Are we to believe
that a brace of either of these dogs were the progenitors of the
entire canine race ? Did the gigantic boar-dog the noble
Newfoundland the courageous and powerful mastiff the
2 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
slender and rapid greyhound the stunted yet formidable
bull-dog the diminutive and sensitive Blenheim spaniel and
the still more diminutive, and now almost extinct, lapdog of
Malta all arise from a brace of curs ? If they did, to what
are we to attribute the varieties now existing? We are
told, to climate and breeding. As to breeding, how could it
operate when there was but a single pair to breed from ?
How, if the varieties of dog proceeded but from one original
type, could development thus be produced extending beyond
the limits of the faculties and powers proper to that type ?
Will change of climate ever convert a greyhound into a bull-
dog ? Will it truncate the muzzle, raise the frontal bones,
enlarge the frontal sinuses, or effect a positive alteration of
the posterior branches of the lower maxillary bones ? Or will
change of climate, on the other hand, operate to convert a
bull-dog into a greyhound, produce a high and slender form,
diminish the frontal sinuses, deprive the animal of the sense
of smell, at least comparatively, together with courage and
other moral qualities depending on organization ? I say noth-
ing ; I only ask my intelligent readers, do they believe this
possible ? Thus far a very eminent naturalist, Colonel Ham-
ilton Smith, goes with me, hand in hand ; all that I have ad-
duced he admits, but here we unfortunately part company.
Colonel Smith seeks to account for these differences, by call-
ing in the intervention of a supposed admixture of wolf, fox,
or hyaena, &c. He admits an originally formed dog, and one
variety only ; and refers for the alterations that have taken
place in him to crossing with these wild animals. Now, I con-
sider this theory as even less tenable than that of the wolfish
or Vulpine origin of the dog, as the colonel is obliged to bring
several races of wild dogs to his aid ; and, may I venture to
inquire, where is their origin ? Besides this, we have to refer
to the decided antipathy subsisting between these animals in a
state of nature, and thus effectually precluding intermixture,
unless through human intervention and agency, which clearly
was never exerted in that condition for this purpose. For
my own part, I am content that the false theories which have
been advanced should be overthrown and confuted ; and I am
satisfied to admit that an impenetrable veil of mystery appears
to hang over the subject, and the suggestions that I am about
to advance are submitted to my readers with extreme diffi-
dence and reluctance.
Whether more than one variety of any species of animals
was formed at the Creation is, perhaps, still a question, though
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 23
most naturalists, I must admit, have peremptorily decided to
the contrary. I would, for my own part, venture so far as
to say that, let it be once granted that the dog was formed
prophetically by the Creator in order that he might be the
friend and assistant of man, after the fall should have de-
prived him of the allegiance of other animals, it is scarcely
too much to suppose that two varieties were then formed.
One would scarcely seem sufficient for the purpose, while two
might have been so ; and by their intermixture and subse-
quent breeding, we can readily imagine how the other races
might have been produced. I may add that this view is in
strict accordance with the divisions into which osteological
investigation, and more particularly examination of their skulls,
resolve the many varieties of dog with which we are now ac-
quainted. I do not, however, see any necessity for insisting
on this point I merely throw out the suggestion. No one
can contradict it, neither have we any means of satisfactorily
establishing it. An impenetrable veil of mystery hangs over
the origin of the dog, that I much fear will never be removed
until time itself shall be no more, and we shall become ac-
quainted with this amongst other, and, for the present abstruse
and dark, mysteries of nature.
CHAPTER II.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE DOG.
THAT the dog was one of those animals that did not, at the
" fall," swerve from their allegiance, but maintained their
fidelity to man, can scarcely be questioned. The earlier
portions of the sacred writings make frequent mention of
him, but ever as a settled, domestic animal, as one that had
ever been so from the beginning, and never once hint at his
having been reclaimed from a wild state. Had he been so
reclaimed, I have no doubt but it would have been noticed,
for a far less important event is actually recorded viz., the
discovery of the mode of breeding the mule ; it is only fair,
at the same time, to acknowledge that some translators read
this word " warm springs," and not mules. We are told
that this was that " Anah that found the mules in the wilder-
24 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
ness, while he was herding his father's asses." While
herding his father's asses, if my. reading be correct, they
were, doubtless, visited by a drove of wild coursers ; inter-
course was the consequence, and mules the ultimate result,
a valuable acquisition, doubtless, to the ass, but still not
half so valuable as the domestication of so useful an animal
as the dog would have been.
In the latter part of the Book of Genesis, we find Jacob,
when blessing his sons, employing the ferocity of the wolf as
a familiar simile. In the account of the departure of the
Israelites from Egypt an event which occurred about two
hundred years afterwards we find the dog familiarly men-
tioned, and his watchful powers and barking clearly re-
cognised as things of course. " Nor shall a dog open his
mouth." I am aware that some may deduce from this very
circumstance the opinion that the dog was only a reclaimed
wolf, unknown to the world until the period of the Jews'
sojourn in Egypt ; and that the Egyptians, eminent as they
were for art and invention, had, among other acquisitions,
achieved that of the domestication of the wolf, and his con-
version into a dog ; I shall not admit any such induction,
however. After the flood, and at the dispersion of the pro-
jectors of the tower of Babel, the world lost many arts and
other acquisitions that they before possessed : the Egyptians
were, as far as history can inform us, the first to form them-
selves into a nation, after that event, and to cultivate the arts
and sciences, or rather, perhaps, to revive former known, but
long-neglected studies,
It is to the Egyptians, contrary indeed to popular opinion,
but no less certainly, that we owe the possession of the
horse, and it is likely to them also that we owe that of the
dog ; this, however, does not prove that these animals were
not previously in a domesticated state, before the flood and
the subsequent confusion of tongues at Babel had produced
so many striking changes, and thrown so many valuable
branches of knowledge into the gulf of oblivion.
The few graphic touches with which Solomon, in Proverbs
xxx. 31, by a compound epithet, like those in Homer, has
described a renowned and noble animal, translated " a grey-
hound," invite special notice, in addition to their appropriate-
ness, from the recollection of that celebrated monarch's
fame for knowledge of God's works, as has been record-
ed in 1 Kings, iv. 33 " And he spake of trees, from the
cedar-tree that is in Lebanon, even to the hyssop that spring.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 25
eth out of the wall ; he spake also of beasts, and of fowl,
and of creeping things, and of fishes" from which has
been taken the beautiful description of him in " Heber'p
Palestine"
" He, the sage, whose restless mind
Through Nature's mazes wander'd unconfined ;
Who every bird, and beast, and insect knew,
And spake of every plant that quaffeth dew."
T think that, from the above passage of Proverbs, we may
infer that the dog had, by Solomon's time, arrived at many
varieties ; and are not the familiar uses of the dog likewise
shown forth in Isaiah, Ivi. 10, 11, and in the account of
Tobit's dog in the Apocrypha ?
From sacred we may, however, turn to profane history.
The Egyptians have, from the very earliest ages, held the
dog in particular estimation ; and a French writer of much
ingenuity furnishes us with a very plausible reason for their
predilection. " The Egyptians," says M. Elzear Blaze,
" seeing in the horizon a superb star, which appeared al-
ways at the precise time when the overflowing of the Nile
commenced, gave to it the name of Sirius, [the Barker,] be-
cause it appeared to show itself expressly in order to warn
the laborer against the inundation. ' This Sirius is a god,'
said they ' the dog renders us service ; it is a god !' Its
appearance corresponding with the periodical overflow of the
Nile, the dog soon became regarded as the genius of the
river, and the people represented this genius, or god, with
the body of a man and the head of a dog. It had also a
genealogy ; it took the name of Anubis, son of Osiris ; its
image was placed at the entrance of the temple of Isis and
Osiris, and subsequently at the gate of all the temples of
Egypt. The dog being the symbol of vigilance, it was thus
intended to warn princes of their constant duty to watch
over the welfare of their people. The dog was worshipped
principally at Hermopolis the Great, [Chemnis or Ouchmon-
nein in modern Arabic,] and soon afterwards in all the towns
of Egypt. Juvenal writes :
' Oppida tota canem (Anubim) venerantur ; nomo Dianam.'
[* Whole cities worship the dog, (Anubis ;) no one Diana.']
At a subsequent period, Cynopolis, the < City of the dog,'
[now Samallout,] was built in its honor, and there the priests
celebrated its festivals in great splendor."
3
26 NATURAL HISTORY OP THE DOG.
Other writers say that Anubis was represented as bearing
a dog's head, because when Osiris proceeded upon his Indian
expedition, Anubis accompanied him, clothed in the skin of
that animal. This, however, is at most very dubious, as
many writers assert Anubis to have been clothed, on this oc-
casion, with the skin of a sheep, and not that of a dog. Be
this as it may, the worship of the dog-god rapidly travelled
westward, and soon became intermingled with the religious
rites of other nations. Lucan says
" Nos in templa tuam Romana acccpirnus lain, semicaneaque decs."
(" We have received into our Roman temples thine Isia, and divinities
The fire-worshippers of Persia also paid divine honors to
the dog, by representing, under his form, the good principle,
by whose aid they were enabled to repel the assaults of the
powers of evil ; and he is still held in deep veneration by the
modern Parsees.
The ancient Britons would likewise appear to have held
the doe in high respect, for when desirous of framing for
themselves titles of honor or distinction, they assumed his
name. CM. in the language of the ancient British, signifies
a dog; and do we not recollect the noble names of Cunolx -lin,
Cynobelin, and Canute ?* According to an eminent author,f
the word Khan, a title of dignity in the East, is identical .
with Can, and is likewise derived from the idea of a dog.
In the Erse, or native Irish, the word Cu signifies at once a
dog and a champion.
Even the awful gates of Hades were furnished by the
ancient poets with a faithful and formidable guardian in the
shape of a dog ; but as the task of watching those dreadful
precincts was, doubtless, regarded as no ordinary one, Cer-
berus, the watch-dog of the Avernian portals, was awunU-rl
three heads instead of one, to ensure a triple degree of watch-
fulness.
Seldom has the dog brought down obloquy upon his name ;
but even he, with all his noble qualities, has had his mo-
ments of frailty. Cerberus himself .listened to the promptings
of sordid appetite, and, like many another sentinel, accepted
* Canute was a Dane, and this appellative, therefore, dhows the
pounectuoL' between the Celtic and Teutonic or Sclavonic.
t Hamilton Smith.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 27
of a bribe, and betrayed his trust. The watch-dogs, too,
of the Roman capitol once slept upon their post, thus, but
for the alarm given by the wakeful and clamorous geese,
surrendering devoted Rome to the ruthless arm of invading
Gaul. A similar failure of- duty is noticed in Scripture, as
occurring among the Jewish dogs : " His watchmen are
blind ; they are all ignorant ; they are all dumb dogs ; they
cannot bark sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea,
they are greedy dogs, which can never have enough."
Isaiah, Ivi. 10, 11.
According to De La Vega, the Peruvians likewise former-
ly worshipped the dog, while, singularly enough, they also
ate his flesh at their festivals ; and, according to a modern
authority,* this animal is even yet worshipped by the Ja-
panese, under a form similar to that of the Egyptian Anubis,
and under the name of Amida. Nor are we to forget Virgil,
who notices this noble animal in many passages, among
which I cannot omit the following :
" Nee tibi cura canum fucrit postrema : sed unft.
Veloccs Spartce Catulos acremque Molossum
Pasce aero Pingui: nunquarn custodibus illis
Nocturnum Stabulis furem, incursusque luporum,
Ant impacatos a tergo horrebis Iberos.
Snepe etiam cursu timidos agitabis onagros ;
Et canibus leporem, canibus venabere damas.
Ssepe voiutubris pulsos silvestribus apros
Latratu turbabis age us ; montesquo per altos
Ingentem clumore premes ad retia cervum."
Georgic. Lib. III., Line 404.
From the earliest periods the dog has commanded atten-
tion and respect in many instances, as I have shown, even
worship ; and in no instance do we find his name confounded
with that of the wolf, jackal, or fox : such has not only been
the result of my own inquiry, but I am happy to be able to
adduce the very high authority of Colonel Hamilton Smith,
who writes : " A thorough philological inquiry would most
assuredly show, that in no language and at no period did
man positively confound the wolf, the jackal, or the fox, with
a real dog."
Further particulars relative to the early history of the dog,
will be elicited in the course of our description of the several
varieties.
Kvmpfor.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOO.
CHAPTER III.
VARIETIES OF DOG.
I MAY premise that I shall first treat of the wild dogs ; and
that I shall do so as a separate class, which I believe th n t :
be namely, not domestic dogs run wild, nor yet as the wil.l
type of our domestic dog ; but as a separate species, only
entitled to consideration in this place, as constituting a linK
b -tween dog and wolf, and as being a species still more
nearly allied to the common dog than that animal, althougn
by no means specifically identical ; as the cheetah, or hunt-
ing leopard the " felis jubata" is said to do betut < -n the
f -lines and the canines, resembling the greyhound in general
form, and differing from the true felines in not poss
retractile claws, &c.
The most remarkable of the wild dogs aro the Dingo of
Australia; the Kararahe; the Dhole and Jungle koola of
India ; the wild dog of China ; the bush-dog, or Aguara, of
South America ; the Deeb of Egypt. Of the so-called wild
dogs of Southern Africa, the " canis pictus" of I
&c., I shall say nothing in the present volume, as !:
N not at all to be considered as dogs, being far more nearly
allied to the hyaena.
THE DINGO.
The Dingo, called by the natives of Australia, "War-
ragal," is about the size of a middling foxhound, or from
twenty-three to twenty-four inches in height at the shoulder.
In form he partakes of many of the characteristics of both
dog and wolf, and is not very unlike the cross produced by
the intermixture of these two animals. Flis ears are
his muzzle pointed, his tail bushy, his coat of moderate
length, and his color usually a buff or bay. Many authors
assert that the Dingo never erects his tail, but always carries
it in a pendent position : it is not so. The Dingo ordinarily
carries his tail curled over his back ; it is only when irn-
tated or alarmed that he lowers it. I had many opportunities
9f observing a very fine specimen lately in the gard&ns of
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland, Phoenix Park, and
I found that a lowering of the tail invariably denoted mis-
chief that member being usually carried over the back.*
The Dingo seldom growls, and never barks ; although I must
say, that I have known captive specimens chained near do-
mestic dogs, to acquire a sort of half howl or yelp, which,
apparently a little tuition would have converted into a
genuine " bow wow." The Dingo is easily rendered tolera-
bly tame ; but is never to be trusted ; if he escape from
confinement, he will forget in a moment the lessons of years,
and slaughter and rapine will follow in his mad career.
This animal is a great scourge in his native country, and is
carefully exterminated whenever he approaches a settlement.
He is most remarkably tenacious of life, and is a very obsti-
nate fighter ; instances are related of the Dingo sustaining a
combat with, and ultimately getting away from four or five
stout hounds ; and very few dogs can kill a Dingo single-
handed : they fight, like the wolf, in silence ; they utter no
cry of pain, but, like that grim felon, die as hard as they
have lived. Of their power of endurance I may give the
following instances, related by Mr. George Bennett, in his
" Wanderings in New South Wales." "One had been
beaten so severely that it was supposed all the bones were
broken, and it was left for dead ; after the person had walked
some distance, upon accidentally looking back, his surprise
was much excited by seeing the Dingo rise, shake himself,
and march into the bush, evading all pursuit. One supposed
dead was brought into a hut, for the purpose of undergoing
* I can also adduce the authority of Mr. Drewett, of Portobello Cfcr-
dens, a person of undoubted experience.
3*
30 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE TOG.
decortication : at the commencement of the skinning process
upon the face, the only perceptible movement was a slight
quivering of the lips, which was regarded, at the time, as
merely muscular irritability. The man, after skinning a
very small portion, left the hut to sharpen his knife, and re-
turning found the animal sitting up, with the flayed integu-
ment hanging over on one side of the face."
Another traveller* relates anecdotes illustrative of the
tenacity of life exhibited by this animal ; but the details are
so revolting that I refrain from quoting them.
Frequent experiments have been instituted, with a view to
procure a hybrid race between the Dingo and the common
dog, but without success. Mr. Cunningham notices a hybrid
race of this description, as established in New Holland ; but
as he has given no specific description, I am dispo^
question the accuracy of his report. Even, how<
Mr. Cunningham's suppositions really confirmed, the fact of
the Dingo and domestic dog breeding together would not
militate in any degree against the truth of my positions as I
have no hesitation in admitting that groups of animals may l>c,
though specifically distinct, yet so nearly allied, as to intermix
and even produce reproductive offspring. The question as to
fertility existing in the offspring of such unions inter *c, must,
of necessity, be satisfactorily settled ere identity can b<-
suggested. He may have been imposed upon by the nat
or may have confounded with such a supposed mongrel race
a breed of Dingos of a black and tan color, which ;i
more easily tamed than the common variety. Of th- s- tln-n*
was a fine pair, about six years ago, in the gardens of the
Irish Zoological Society, and they were remarkably gentle.
In New Zealand there has been found an apparently feral
dog, called by the natives ' KARARAH," respecting which a
tradition exists that he was given to them some centuri.
by certain divinities who visited their shores. In aspect, this
log very closely resembles the Dingo, but he appears to have
been partially domesticated.
THE DHOLE. f
The Dhole is a native of India, over which peninsula it ex-
tends in great numbers, and bears different names in different
* Clarke.
tThe Dhole a agreeably described in - Williamson's Oriental Field
Sports."
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 31
parts. It was originally described by Mr. Hodgson as the
Buansu, and by him given the title of Canis PrimcEVus,* as, in
his opinion, it was the origin of the domestic dog, (Zool. Pro-
ceed., 1833 ;) and in the same volume of proceedings we read
a communication addressed to the secretary, and describing a
wild dog by the name of dhole, as found in the Presidency of
Bombay. The locality of Mr. Hodgson's dog was Nepal, the
eastern and western limits of its range being the Sutlctj and
Burhampootra.
In 1831, Colonel Sykes described a wild dog from the Mah-
rattas, which he calls the wild dog of the Deccan. Colonel
9 subsequently compared specimens of his wild dog with
that deseribi-d by Mr, Hodgson, and found them to correspond
in the most minute particulars, even to the circumstance of
wanting the hinder tubercular toothf of the lower jaw, and
varying only in quantity and quality of coat a variation
depending clearly on individual peculiarity and on climate.
The Dhole, Buansu, or Kolsun for these names are synony-
mous is about the. size of a small wolf, but is much more
powerfully built, its limbs, in particular, being remarkably
large-boned, and muscular, in proportion to its size ; its ears
are large, and rounded at the tips ; the muzzle is moderately
pointed, somewhat like that of the greyhound ; the tail very
bushy ; its color is a sandy red, or buff.
In habits, these dogs present all the characteristics of fero-
cious beasts of prey. They prowl by night and by day in-
discriminately, and hunt in packs of from ten to sixty. While
in pursuit, they utter a peculiar yelp, and it is on scent, and
not on sight, that they mainly depend for success. Their
speed is, however, considerable, and their savage courage and
endurance render them a terror to the most formidable rangers
of the wild. The panther, the wild hull, the tiger, the
elephant, fall an easy prey before a pack of dholes. On they
swrcp, coming upon their game with the force of an avalanche,
and overwhelming their victim in a living torrent. The
hunted animal may, indeed, kill many of his enemies ; but he
has little time afforded him for exertion, or display of prowess,
* Original or primeval dog.
t Has any one of my zoological readers ever found the hinder tubercular
tooth of the lower jaw absent? If so, I would be thankful for the in-
formation. The connection of deficiency of hairy covering with deficiency
of teeth, has been already pointed out by that eminent naturalist, Col
II. Smith ; but I have met with more instances in opposition to than con-
firmatory of his opinion in this resprct.
32 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
for the dead or wounded are hardly missed ere others hava
rushed into their places.
Colonel Baber says, (Trans. Asiat. Soc.) " As often as I
have met with them, they have been invariably in packs of
from thirty to perhaps sixty. They must be very formidable,
as all animals aie very much afraid of them. Frequently
remains of hogs and deer have been brought to me which
have been taken overnight by these wild dogs. The natives as-
sert that they kill tigers and cheetahs, and there is no doubt of the
fact." It would appear that the Dhole is susceptible of being
tamed, if taken young; adults are not to be made any thing
of, (Hodgson.) In Ceylon, there is a variety of Dhole of a
bay color, very fierce, but more solitary in its habits. In
Sumatra, there is a wild dog of smaller size, very like a fox,
of an ashy gray color, with sharp muzzle and black whiskers.
In Java there exists a wild dog about the size of a wolf, of a
brownish color. Colonel Sykes brought a Dhole to England
some years ago, and presented him to the Zoological Society
of London the first specimen, I believe, ever brought living
to Europe.
THE WILD DOG OP CHINA.
This dog is very like the Dhole, but is usually less in size,
and its ears are smaller and more pointed ; its color is a
bright bay. Of its habits in its native country we know little,
further than that they are, like those of its Indian congener,
at once predatory and gregarious. I saw one that had been
brought over to this country, and which appeared exceedingly
tame and playful. I found, however, that it was very
treacherous, for although it had suffered me to caress it with
my hand, and had even taken bread from me, the moment I
turned to depart, it plunged after me and snapped at my legs ;
fortunately, however, nothing suffered but the cloth of my
trousers. I have been told that this wild dog is identical with
that of Ceylon, but I want data on whioh to found an opinion.
THE AGUARA OP SOUTH AMERICA.
When the new world was first discovered, the natives were
found in possession of domesticated dogs, very different in ap-
pearance from any of the European races ;* and besides
these were found several wild canines, called Aguaras. The
la this fact to be lost sight of?
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 83
natives call them bush-dogs, or dogs of the woods, and assert
that they are only tame dogs run wild.
The wild dog most common in South America is a small,
short-legged, stout, fox-like animal, but somewhat larger than
the fox. It is often hunted for its skin, and such of its
bn-thren as may have been partially reclaimed by the natives,
make no scruple of joining in the chase. These dogs are very
silent, and are great rogues. They appear, indeed, to thieve
from a pure and innate propensity to thievery, for they will
steal and hide articles for which they can have no possible
use.
THE DEEB OF EGYPT.
Principally inhabiting Nubia and Abyssinia the Thous
Anthusof H. Smith ears erect, muzzle not sharpened at the
point, lips semi-pendulous, tail short and hairy, color, a mix-
ture of dirty white, black, and buff, producing a series of
small black spots, caused by the union of the tips of the longer
hairs. This dog has likewise been, by some naturalists, re-
garded as the origin of our domestic dogs ; and it is certainly
of very ancient origin, as has been proved by heads of dogs
taken from the catacombs, which evidently belong to a similar
variety.
Of the habits of the Deeb I have not been able to obtain
any very satisfactory information, excepting that it appears
more cowardly than wild dogs usually are, and that it is easily
tamed, when it becomes very affectionate. Its height is about
eighteen inches.
We now arrive at the main subject of this volume
THE DOMESTIC DOG.
Even when taken in detail, the anatomy of the domestic dog
can, perhaps, scarcely be said to differ materially from that
of the wolf or the wild dogs, the points in which any dis-
crepancy exists not being sufficiently striking to catch any
but an experienced eye. Such discrepancies, however, do
exist, and when combined with other and important physio-
logical facts, are sufficient to establish the non-identity of the
canine and lupine families. I have, however, noticed some
of these discrepancies already, and it is unnecessary to re-
capitulate them here.
The dog belongs to the MAMMALIA, or animals possessing
teats for the nourishment of their young ; to the CARNIVOBA,
*4 NATURAL HISTORY OP THE DOG.
or flesh-eaters for flesh forms the chief article of his diet,
He is digitigrade, for in walking he supports himself on the
extremities of his toes, or digits. He is usually grouped
with the wolf, fox, jackal, dec., under the generic appella-
tion of canis, and is more particularly separated from these
animals by the term cards familiaris the familiar or do-
tnestic dog.
The dentition of toe dog is as follows :
.n the upper jaw, six incisors, or cutting-teeth ;
two canine teeth, or tusks ;
six molars, or grinders, on each side.
In the lower jaw, six incisors ;
two canines ;
seven molars on each side.
Of the upper molar teeth, three are foist molars, two are
tubercular, and one is carnassier, or formed rather for rending
than grinding. Of the lower molars, four are false, two
tubercular, and one carnassier. In some wild canines, the
second tubercular molar-tooth of the lower jaw is constantly
wanting, as in the Dholes, &c. ; and in one (Mcgalotis, H.
Smith) there exists a redundancy there being, in the upper
jaw, seven molars on each side, and in the lower, eight.
The true dog has five toes on the fore feet, and four toes
on the hind ; but occasionally a fifth toe occurs on the hind
feet sometimes on one, and sometimes on both. This toe is
called the dew-claw, and is usually removed by the sportsman
while the animal is young, as its presence is calculated to
impede its movements. Some writers speak of this claw as
peculiar to certain breeds. I have had much experience in
dogs, and regard it as an unquestionable evidence of im-
purity of breed, wherever existing.*
Various attempts have been made by modern writers to
classify the varieties of the domestic dog into groups. A
very recent author (Mr. Martin) has adopted the form ana
size of the ear as a criterion. Colonel Smith appears to have
depended, in a great measure, upon color. These ideas are
both very good, when taken as adjuncts to another system of
a more philosophical foundation, but are of themselves false
and deceptive.
Mongreliam, or impure breeding, will often manifest itself many gen- *
cration* after the crott ha* taken place, and when all other appearance of
such has been lost
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 35
1 ain disposed to take the lamented Frederick Cimer as
ny guide, and to form the varieties of dog into groups, in-
Jicaicd by the least variable portion of their oncological
structure craniological development.
This arrangement may be formed with great ease and
simplicity. All the varieties of the domestic dog are readily
divisible into three great classes, as follow :
I. Such dogs as present a convergence of their parietal
oones, (the side-walls of the skull, as it were,) and the
condyles of whose lower jaw are somewhat below the level
of the molar or cheek-teeth of the upper. These present an
elongated muzzle, a high and somewhat slender frame, and
are far more remarkable for their powers of sight and swift-
ness, than for a very high development of the sense of smell.
II. The second group consists of dogs which present
parietal bones parallel, or at least neither apparently con-
vcrgent nor divergent, and the condyles of the lower jaw on
a level with the upper molar teeth. These are usually dogs
of great sagacity, and generally pdsscss the sense of smell-
ing in a very high degree. It is, however, somewhat pre-
mature to speak of them, previous to a description of the
third group.
III. Parietal bones sensibly divergent, and the condyles of
the lower jaw much above the line of the upper molar teeth-
This group presents a strongly marked contrast to the first,
and the varieties of which it is constituted are generally
characterized by great bulk of body, by powerful strength,
indomitable courage, pugnacity of disposition, and not any
very great development of mental powers. Although the
varieties constituting this group appear to possess a large
development of forehead, the appearance is chiefly owing
rather to a thickening of bone in those regions than to such a
development of brain as would predicate a high degree of in-
tellectual power.
The first and third groups present, more especially the
former, strong marks of originality ; the second looks very
much as if it owed its origin to the intermixture of the first
and third. Of the origin of the dog I have, however, said
enough ; and I have now only to enumerate and describe his
varieties.
Under a fourth head I shall describe mongrels, and among
them such few cross-breeds as have been found judicious an?
| rofitable, and have now, consequently, become almost set-
tled varieties.
36 NATURAL HISTOR* OF THE DOO.
The first group is represented by the greyhound ; and may
appropriately be divided into two sub. varieties, depend it.
their distinction chiefly on the length and texture of tli.ir
hair. These sub-varieties are the rough, or long-haired
and the smooth, or short-haired. I may enumerate them a.
follows :
Rough
Irish wolf-dog,
Highland deerhound,
Russian greyhound,
Scottish greyhound,
Persian greyhound, (two sub-varieties,)
Greek greyhound,
Arabian greyhound.
(Common British greyhound,
Italian greyhound,
Turkish greyhound,
Tiger-hound of South America.
Although I have here separated the Irish wolf-dog from
the Highland deerhound, and from the Scottish greyhound,
I have only done so, partly in conformity with g
opinion that I have yet to correct, and partly because these
three dogs, though originally identical, are now unquestiona
bly distinct in many particulars. That is to say, the modern
Highland deerhound, though the descendant of the Irish
wolf-dog, yet in some respects differs from what that noble
animal was ; and the Scottish greyhound, again, is just as
different from his prototype the deerhound.
CHAPTER IV.
CLASS I. THE GREYHOUNDS.
UBDITmON A. TUB EOUGH GREYHOUND*
Tht Irith Wolf-dog, Canit Grain* Hibernicut.
THIS renowned and redoubted animal, from age to age, in
tradition and in song, one of the glories of " The Sacred
Isle," and with his kindred unrivalled race, the Irish giant.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 87
deer her recognised emblem, from among her animated
tribes, celebrated and extolled by all authors and lovers of
natural history, native and foreign, and of universal i'amc in
his own country has been long ranked in peerless dignity,
" facile princeps," at the head of the whole dog family.
When the noble dogs of Greece and of India were at the
height of their renown among the ancients, those of Erin
were not as yet known, though they soon afterwards obtained
celebrity. The dogs of Greece appear to have had a strange
and mysterious affinity with those of the West. Those ot
India have disappeared from our knowledge, and baffled our
research, though they, too, probably shared in this affinity,
through, perhaps, the often-proposed medium of the Phoeni-
cians, or through that of the* Phocsean colony from Asia
Minor, (see Herodotus.) Marsilia, in Gaul, the modern
Marseilles, (see Moore.) Many derivations of the name
greyhound have been suggested, and among others great
hound grey-hound, (from color.) My own impression is,
that the true one is Greek hound, grains, and we have rea-
son to believe that to that country we are indebted for the
race.
The great pint at issue relative to the natural history of
the Irish wolf-dog, may be stated as being whether he be-
longed to the greyhound race, or was of more robust form,
approaching that of the mastilf. There are, indeed, indi-
viduals who, without a shadow of ground on which to base
their opinions, deem him to have been a mongrel, bred be-
tween mastitr and greyhound, &c. Of this last-mentioned
theory, as it has no fact or authority of any sort to support
it, I shall, of course, say nothing more especially as no
such proof is attempted by the advocates of this very singular
opinion.
In support of the mastiff* doctrine, we have one single
modern authority if, indeed, authority it can be called.
About fifty years ago, the late Aylmer Burke Lambert, Esq.,
read a paper before the Linnoean Society, subsequently pub-
lished in the third volume of that Society's Transactions, de-
scriptive of some dogs in possession of Lord Altamont, son of
the Marquis of Sligo, and stated to have been the old Irish
wolf-dog. The dog described and figured by Mr. Lambert
is a middling-sized and apparently not very well-bred speci-
* I employ the term mastiff only for brevity, and for the sake of direct
antagonism to the greyhound doctrine.
58 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
men of a comparatively common breed of dog, called the
GREAT DANE, an animal that shall be treated of in this vol-
ume in his proper place. Had this been the Irish wolf-dog,
re absurd to speak of his scarcity, far less of his KXTIM-.
TION ! That Lord Altamont thought his dogs were wolf-dogs,
I do not doubt ; and it is very possible that, some g'n< r
back, they might have had a strain of the true breed in them,
subsequently lost by crossing ; and I likewise make no doubt
but that the' Great Dane, introduced into this country by our
Danish invaders, was often used in olden time as an auxiliary
in the chase of the savage animals, the wolf in pnrtirular,
with which our woods abounded ; but is it not most abs
find writers adopting Mr. Lambert's description and figure of
his Danish mastiff, and yet adhering to the aneient nomencla-
ture of " Canis Grains Hibernicus" the Irish greyhound !
Nor would these mastiff-like dogs have, alone, proved equal
to the task of wolf-hunting. They might, indeed, if
fine specimens but not such as Lord Altamont's have
sufficiently powerful to grapple with their grisly foe ; hut that
foe was very swift of foot, and he had first to be caught a
feat that dogs of their heavy make would find it impossible to
perform. Wanting the fleetness necessary to run into so swift
an animal, they would equally have failed in attempting to
run him down by scent. These dogs are of a very lethargic-,
sluggish temperament, qualities greatly in tin ir t'i\or as boar-
hounds, the purpose to which they are applied in their native
country, for if they were too eager or too swift in pursuit of
the boar, there would very soon be but few of the pack left
alive ; but such qualities would be most unsuitable, in
in the chase of an animal characterized by
" The long gallop which can tire
The hound's deep hate, and huntsman's fire.**
It is evident, then, that the desideratum in a wolf-dog was
a combination of extreme swiftness, to enable him to overtake
his rapid and formidable quarry, and vast strength to seize,
secure, and slay him when overtaken.
I may here observe that, about five or six years ago, I pub-
lished an article on this subject in the ' Irish Penny Journal,"*
which every writer on dogs who has published since that time
has done me the honor of appropriating, some with full and
fair acknowledgment, others with only such a partial ac-
May, 1841.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 39
xnowledgment as was calculated to mislead the reader. I
now lay claim to my own property, and finally embody it in
.he following pages, with many additions, the result of subse-
quent investigation.*
Pliny relates a combat in which the dogs of Epirus bore a
part. He describes them as much taller than mastiffs, and
of greyhound form ; detailing an account of their contests
with a lion and an elephant. This, I should think, suffices
to establish the identity of the Irish wolf-dog with the far-
famed dogs of Epirus.
Strabo describes a gigantic greyhound as having been in
use among the Celtic and Pictish nations ; and as being held
in such high esteem, as to have been imported into Gaul
for the purposes of the chase.
Silius describes a large and powerful greyhound as having
imported into Ireland by the Belgae ; thus identifying
the Irish wolf-dog with the celebrated Belgic dog of antiquity,
which we read of in so many places as having been brought
to Rome for the combats of the amphitheatre.
Hollinshed says of tho Irish " They are not without wolves,
and greyhounds to hunt them, bigger of bone and lirnb than
a colt." Campion also speaks of him as a "greyhound of
great bone and limb."
Evelyn, describing the savage sports of the bear-garden,
says " The bull-dogs did exceeding well, but the Irish wolf-
dog exceeded, which was a tall greylwund, a stately creature,
and did beat a cruel mastiff." Here we have an actual com-
parison of powers, which marks the dojr to have been a grey-
hound, and quite distinct from a mastiff
In the second edition of Smith's " History of Waterford,"
the Irish wolf-dog is described as much taller than a mastiff,
and as being of the greyhound form, unequalled in size and
strength. Mr. Smith writes: "Roderick, King of Con-
naught, was obliged to furnish hawks and greyhounds to Hen-
ry II. Sir Thomas Rue obtained great favor from the Great
Mogul, in 1615, for a brace of Irish greyhounds presented by
him. Henry VIII. presented the Marquis of Dessarages, a
Spanish grandee, with two goshawks, and four Irish grey-
hounds."
In the reign of Richard II., lands were still held under the
crown, and amongst other families, by that of Eugaine, on
* In justice, I must here state that the account in question was only
subscribed with my initials, H. D. R.
40 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
condition of the holders keeping a certain number of wolf-dega
fitted for the chase. (H. Smith.)
Sir James Ware has, in his " Antiquities of Ireland," col-
lected much information relative to this dog, from which I
give the following extract : " I must here take notice of those
hounds, which, from their hunting of wolves, are commonly
called wolf-dogs, being creatures of great strength and size,
and of a fine shape. I cannot but think that these are the
dogs which Symmachus mentions in an epistle to his brother
Flavianus. 'I thank you,' says he, 'for the present you
made me of some canes Scotici, which were shown at the Cir-
censian games, to the great astonishment of the people, who
could not judge it possible to bring them to Rome otherwise
than in iron cages.' I am sensible Mr. Burton, (Itinerary of
Anton, 220,) treading the footsteps of Justus Lipsius, (Epist.
ad Belg. Cent, i., p. 44,) makes no scruple to say, that the
dogs intended by Symmachus were British mastives. But,
with submission to such great names, how could the British
mastive get the appellation of Scoticus. in the ago Symmachus
lived ? For he was Consul of Rome in the latter end of the
fourth century ; at which time, and for some time heiore,
and for many centuries after, Ireland was well known by the
name of Scotia, as I have shown before, (Chap. I.) Besides,
the English mastive was no way comparable to the Irish wolf-
dog in size or elegant shape ; nor would it make an astonish-
ing figure in the spectacles exhibited in the circus. On the
other hand, the Irish wolf-dog has been thought a valuable
present to the greatest monarch, and is sought after, and is
sent abroad to all quarters of the world ; and this has been
one cause why that noble creature has grown so scarce among
us, as another is the neglect of the species since the extinc-
tion of wolves in Ireland ; and, even of what remain, the size
seems to have dwindled from its ancient stateliness. When
Sir Thomas Rowe was ambassador at the court of the Great
Mogul, in the year 1615, that emperor desired him to send
for some Irish greyhounds, as the most welcome present he
could make him, which being done, the Mogul showed the
greatest respect to Sir Thomas, nnd presented him with his
picture, and several things of value. We see in the public
records an earlier instance of the desire foreigners have- had
for hawks and wolf-dogs of Irish growth. In a privy seal
from King Henry VIII. to the Lord Deputy and Council of
Ireland, wherein 'his majesty takes notice, that at the instant
suit of the Duke of Alberkyrke of Spain, (of the Privy Coun.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 41
cil to Henry VIII.,) on the behalf of the Marquis of Desarrya,
and his son, that it might please his majesty to grant to the
said marquis, and his son, and the longer liver of ti. em, year-
ly out of Ireland, two goshawks and four greyhounds; and
forasmuch as the said duke hath done the king acceptable
service in his wars, and that the king is informed that the said
marquis bearethto him especial good-will, he, therefore, grants
the said suit, and commands that the deputy for the time being
shall take order for the delivery of the said hawks and grey-
hounds, unto the order of the said marquis and his son, and
the longer liver of them, yearly ; and that the treasurer shaK
take the charges of buying the said hawks and hounds.' It
is true that British hounds and beagles were in reputation
among the Romans, for their speed and quick scent. Thus,
Nemesian, in his Cunegcticks :
* - Divisa Britannia mittit
Veloces, nostrique orbis venatibus aptos.'
' Great Britain sends swift hounds,
Fittest to hunt upon our grounds.'
And Appian calls the British hound, <fxi>\a.% ^vsu7^ocr, a dog
that scents the track of the game. But this character does
not hit the Irish wolf-dog, which is not remarkable for any
great sagacity in hunting by the nose. Ulysses Aldrovandus,
and Gesner, have given descriptions of the Cant's Scoticus, and
two prints of them very little different from the common hunt-
ing-hound. ' They are,' says Gesner, ' something larger than
the common hunting-hound, of a brown or sandy spotted col-
or, quick of smelling, and are employed on the borders be-
tween England and Scotland to follow thieves. They are
called sleut-hound.' In the Regiam Majestatem of Scotland
is this passage ' Nullus perturbet aut impediat Canem tras-
santem aut homines trassantes cum ipso ad sequendum latro-
nes, aut ad capiendum latrones :' ' Nobody shall give any
disturbance or hinderance to tracing-dogs, or men employed
with them to trace or apprehend thieves or malefactors.'
This character no way agrees with the Irish wolf-dog ; and
the reader must observe, that when Gesner and Aldrovandus
wrote, in the sixteenth century, modern Scotland was well
known by the name of Scotia, which it was not in the fourth
century, when Symmachus wrote the aforesaid epistle ; and.
therefore, the Canis Scoticus described by Aldrovandus and
Gesner, were dogs of different species."
Thus far we have proved the Irish wolf-dog to have been a
4*
42 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
large 1 - greyhound, of size and strength far superior to ordinary
dogs.
The original greyhound was unquestionably a long-haired
dog, and the modern smooth-coated and thin animal, now known
by that name, is comparatively of recent date. Of this we
nave sufficient evidence in the ancient monuments of Egypt,
where, as well as in Persia and India, rough greyhounds of
great size and power still exist. A dog of the same kind has
been described by H. Smith, as well known in Arabia ; and
a gigantic rough greyhound was found by Doctor Clarke, on
the confines of Circassia, and by him described as identical
with our old Irish greyhound. (Clarke's Travels in Russia,
Tartar y, and Turkey.)
We find that the smooth greyhound was, on its first intro-
duction, known as "gaze-hound," being remarkable solely
for sight and speed, (H. Smith ;) and in process of time the
new appellation became forgotten, and merged in the original
and well-known one of greyhound, up to that period given
exclusively to the long-haired variety, (H. Smith.) We may
then infer, that not only was the Irish wolf-dog a greyhound,
but also long-haired. Whence he originally came would,
perhaps, be difficult to determine with any precision ; but if I
might be permitted to hazard a conjecture, I should refer his
origin to Western Asia, where we find a di>tim-t representa-
tive of him still existing. From thence he was brought by
the Scythij the progenitors of the Scoli, or ancient Irish. Per-
haos the best mode of defining the true character of the an-
cient wolf-dog, will be to point to his modern representative ;
and this can, I conceive, be done without difficulty. I may
here quote a writer in the "Penny Cyclopaedia," (Art. Ire-
land,*) " The Scoti, who were in possession of the island at
the time of the introduction of Christianity, appear to have
been, to a great extent, the successors of a people whose name
and monuments indicate a close affinity with the Belgae (a
My friend, George Petrie, the celebrated Irish antiquarian, who haa
published an interesting account of Cyclopean architectural remains as
found in Ireland, is disposed to connect these remains with the mysterious
*f\a<ryoi (Pelasgi) of Herodotus, which have given rise to many Pelasgian
theories. He has also found many curious traces of Greece in Ireland.
Now the Irish annalists, &c., trace these colonies, as well as the Tuatha
da Danaans, (Danai ?) from GREECE. Is not Mr. Petrie's opinion, there-
fore, that to that country we bwe the dog, deserving of attention ; and will
not this afford some sort of plausibility, at least, to my own derivation of
t j * name of the greyhound : Canis Graius Grajus sive Grtccus Greek
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 43
Teutonic tribe) of Southern Britain. \. people also, called
Cruithore by the Irish annalists, who are identifiable with the
Picts of Northern Britain, continued to inhabit a portion of
the island distinct from the Scoti, until after the Christian
mission ; and it is observable that the names of mountains and
remarkable places in that district, still strikingly resemble the
topographical nomenclature of those parts of North Britain
which have not been affected by the Scotic conquest. The
monuments and relics which attest the presence of a people*
considerably advanced in civilization, at some period in Ire-
land such as Cyclopean buildings, sepulchral mounds con-
taining stone chambers, mines, bronze instruments and weap-
ons, of classic form and elegant workmanship would appear
to be referable to some of the predecessors of the Scoti, and
indicate a close affinity between the earliest inhabitants of Ire-
land and that ancient people." We may infer, then, that as
Ireland was peopled by the Itelgce, the Belgic dog of antiqui-
ty was the source whence we derived our Irish greyhound.
We are informed by two very eminent authorities the Ven-
erable Bede, and the Scottish historian, Major that Scot-
land was peopled from Ireland. We k-now, and I have shown
as much in my extract from Sir James Ware, that by the ear-
ly writers Scotland was styled Scotia Minor, and Ireland, Sco-
tia Major ; and it is scarcely necessary for me to make any
remark as to the identity of the native languages of the prim-
itive inhabitants of the two countries. The colonization,
therefore, of Scotland from Ireland, under the conduct of
Reuda, being admitted, can we suppose that the colonists would
omit taking with them specimens of such a noble and gallant
dog, and one that must prove so serviceable to their emigrant
masters ; and that, too, at a period when men depended upon
the chase for their subsistence ? True, this is but an infer-
ence ; but is it not to be received as a fact, when we find that
powerful and noble dog, the Highland deerhound, a tall, rough
greyhound, to have been known in Scotland since its coloni-
zation ? Formerly it was called the wolf-dog ; but with change
of occupation came change of name. In Ireland, wolves were
certainly in existence longer than in Scotland ; but when
these animals ceased to exist in the former country, the wolf-
dogs became gradually lost. Not so in Scotland, where
abundant employment remained for them, even after the days
of wolf-hunting were over : the RED DEER still remained ; and
useful as had these superb dogs proved as wolf-dogs, they be-
came, perhaps, even more valuable as deerhounds.
44 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
Such relics of Celtic verse as have escaped the merciless
hand of time, and amongst other fragments, those collect
Macpherson, under the title of " The Poems of Oss
inform us that the ancient Scoti* possessed a gigantic :
hound, an animal of vast size and prodigious strength, quali-
ties more than equalled 6y his surpassing speed, which \\ a<
used by warriors of olden time in the chase of the wolf and
deer. Such was "BRAN," "Bounding Bran," "\VhitP-
breasted Bran," *' Hairy-footed Bran."f BRAN, whose very
name is beautifully indicative of his character of the char-
acter of his race signifying, as Celtic scholars inform us,
'mountain torrent." Such, indeed, was Bran, the favorite
wolf-dog of Fionn Mac Comhal, popularly known as Fin Mac
Coul ; and be it recollr-ctrd. Fionn was an Irish chieftain,
known to modern ears as Fingal.i
That the Irish dog was imported into Scotland, and even at
a later period than that to which I have alluded, is sufficient-
ly evident from the following document, being a copy of a
letter addressed by Deputy Falkland to the Ear) of Cork, in
1623 :
"My LORD,
" I have lately received letters from my Lord Duke
of Buccleuch, and others of my noble friends, who have en-
treated me to send them some greyhound dogs and bitches out
of this kingdom, of the largest sort, which, I perc. -iv, , tln-y
intend to present unto diverse princes, and other noble persons ;
anl if you can possibly, let them be white, which is the color
Irish or Scotch indifferently.
t These epithets will strongly remind the reader of Homer, and will go
to show how nearly the diction of all ancient languages will be found to
approximate " Dog-faced Agamemnon," " Swift-footed Achilles," " Gold-
en -footed Thetis." The simile of " Mountain torrent" is here given, a*
employed by Ossian, to designate the impetuosity of the wolf-dog. Scott
was evidently thinking of this epithet, as thus applied, when he used al-
most its converse in describing a torrent, as
" A tawny torrent
Like the mane of a chcsnut horse.**
t Fingal, or Fionn Mac Comhal, son-in-law of Cornwic, monarch of
Ireland, of whom we read that he was " the most accomplished of all lh
Milesian princes, whether as legislator, soldier, or scholar was, according
to the general report of all his historians, the monarch and general of th
(aiued Fianna Eiriaun, or ancient Irish militia." (Moore's Ireland T
pp. 130-133,
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 45
most in request here. Expecting an answer by the bearer,
_ commit you to the protection of the Almighty, and am
ft Your Lordship's faithful and attached friend,
" FALKLAND."
Moryson, secretary to Lord Deputy Mountjoy, likewise dwells
on the excellence of our Irish greyhounds, while he at the
same time pays a compliment to the physical qualities of our
men. He observes : " The Irish men and greyhounds are
of great stature." Lombard says that the "best hunting-
dogs in Europe" were produced in Ireland.
Sir William Bctham, Ulster King-at-Arms, has stated it as
his conviction, that the Irish wolf-dog was " a gigantic grey-
hound, not smooth-skinned, like our greyhounds, but rough
ind curly-haired. The Irish poets call the wolf-dogs * Cu,'
and the common hound f gayer' a marked distinction, the
word ' Cu' signifying also a champion."
The justly celebrated Ray has described the Irish wolf-dog
as a tall, rough greyhound ; and so also has Pennant, who
descants at some length on his extraordinary size and power.
Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, was presented with one of
these dogs by John, king of England. The reader must be
familiar with that beautiful ballad, founded on the circum-
stance of this noble animal's having saved Llewellyn's young
heir from the attacks of a wolf, entitled " The Grave of the
Greyhound."
In a code of Welsh laws, we find heavy penalties laid down
for the maiming or injuring of the Irish greyhound : in this
code he is called " Cam's Grajus Hybernicus." We know
that the dog presented by John was a tall, rough greyhound.
These extracts are all confirmatory of the Irish wolf-dog
having been a tall, rough dog, of the greyhound make, but
far stronger similar, in short, to the modern Highland deer-
hound but I can adduce further reasons why we must re-
gard him as identical with that dog. The canine skulls found
by that eminent naturalist, Surgeon Wilde, some years ago,
at Dunshaughlin, and described by him in a paper read be-
fore the Royal Irish Academy, were evidently those of rough
greyhounds, differing from the modern Highland dog, only in
their superior size of which more anon.
The Irish greyhound, although very scarce, and evidently
much degenerated, has existed in Ireland until within a few
years and that in well-authenticated purity. Amongst other
possessors of the breed, I may mention Robert Evatt, Esq., of
46 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
Mount Louise, county Monaghnn specimens of whose stock
have passed into the hands of Francis Carter, Esq., of Vicars
Field, county Dublin. Mr. Carter has be~en most assiduous
11 keeping up the breed, by crossing it with the best Scottish
aijd Welsh dogs he could obtain ; and I never could perceive
any difference between them, except that the Irish dogs were
thicker, and not so high on their legs, as either the Scottish
or Welsh. One of 'these dogs, sent by Mr. Carter to Amer-
ica, coursed and killed a wolf, upon the open prairie, without
assistance. Few dogs can do this ; and I refer for my au-
thority to Mr- Carter.
As to the size to which the Irish wolf-dog attained, Gold-
smith says that he " saw above a dozen, and one was about
four feet highf or as tall as a calf of a year old." Buffbn
says he never saw more than one, and that it was five feet
high when sitting. Ray calls it " the greatest dog he had
ever seen." In the same communication from Sir W. Be-
tham,* which I have already quoted, that gentleman says,
"Sir J. Browne allowed them to come into his dining-room,
when they put their heads over the shoulders of those who
sat at table.
If Goldsmith meant that he saw a wolf-dog four feet high at
the head, we may believe him ; and so may we believe
Buffbn, if we are to understand him as measuring the sitting
dog with a line along the back. I cordially agree that it was
" the greatest dog" Ray had ever seen ; but I am uncertain
as to tlie manner in which the dogs described by Sir William
Betham "put their heads over the shoulders" of the gii.-sts
seated at table. Did they place, as dogs are apt to do, their
forefeet on the back rung of the chair ? I think they did :
still, however, even with these limitations, they must be ad-
mitted to have been gigantic dogs.
A large skull was recently found in a bog in Westmoath,
by a collector of antiquities and other curiosities, named James
Underwood a man long and favorably known to men of sci-
ence, for his unwearied diligence, patient research, and acute
discernment. Of this skull an account was subsequently
published in several of the newspapers, by Mr. Glennon, of
3, Suffolk-street, Dublin, describing it as the skull of our Irish
wolf-dog. Every allowance must, however, be made for Mr.
Glennon's zeal and anxiety to bring the matter forward in a
hurry. The length of this skull was between seventeen and
Made to Mr Haffield in 1841.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 47
eighteen inches, which would have furnished a living head
of upwards of twenty inches. The living owner of the skull
must have been at least four and a half or five feet high at
the shoulder. I do not, however, believe this to have been
the skull of our wolf-dog ; although I cannot, at the same
time, agree with those who suppose it to be the skull of a
bear. Many of these gentlemen are comparative anatomists,
and their opinions are deserving of some attention ; but to
a close observer, the skull in question will be found to present
many discrepancies, from the characters of the ursine group
of animals. It certainly differs also from the canines, in the
absence of the last molar tooth of the upper jaw, and some
other particulars. My own opinion is, that this is the skuli
of an extinct animal, allied to, but by no means identical with
the dog ; and an animal with which we are now unacquaint-
ed ; partaking, likewise, somewhat of the characteristics of
the bears, and perhaps, also, the hyaenas. It differs from the
skull of the hyaena even more than it does from that of the
bear. The only bear to whose skull this at all approaches is
the Great White Bear, (Ursus Maritimus,) whose head is not
at all unlike that of a shaved deerhound. This skull, then,
I only mention, in order to avoid any misconception arising
relative to it; or any misrepresentation as to my own views
respecting it.
The canine skulls found by Surgeon Wilde, at Dun-
uhaughlin, afford a very rational mode of .determining the
size, or at least, the extreme size, of the wolf-dog in ancient
times. The longest of these skulls (at present preserved in
the Royal Irish Academy) measures in length, as accurately
as may be, eleven inches in the bone. This, at a small com-
putation, allowing for muzzle, hair, skin, and other tissues,
would give fourteen inches as the length of the head in life.
As the skulls are those of greyhounds, we must take the head
of a greyhound to furnish an analogy. Oscar,* the noble dog,
property of Mr. J. J. Nolan, which so long proved an orna-
ment to our Zoological Gardens, Phoenix Park, measured nine
and a half inches, from muzzle to occiput : his height at the
shoulder was twenty-nine inches. The calculation is thus
resolved into a common sum in proportion : which may be
stated thus ; for the sake of brevity we assume Oscar's head
to have measured ten inches :
Figured in our frontispiece
48 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOO.
10 : 29 : 14 : 40-5
This would give a height of three feet four inches ; but
this skull was much superior in size to any others ; and we
may, therefore, fairly come to the conclusion, that
thirty. six to forty inches was the ordinary stature of the
wolf-dog a height attained to by none of our modern High-
land dcerhounds, or by any dog with which we are acquainted.
K has been asserted, that the large dogs in possession of the
late celebrated Hamilton Rowan, were Irish wolf-dogs an
assertion which I find contradicted by Mr. Martin, (Knight's
Weekly Volume, History of the Dog,} on the authority of a
" Dublin Correspondent," who has informed him they were
not wolf-dogs, but large bloodhound*. The truth is, Mr.
Rowan possessed several fine dogs, of the breed called the
Great Dane, animals of a slaty-blue mottled color ; but Mr.
Rowan was well aware of their proper designation, and never
by any chance called them by a wrong name. How any
person could be so ignorant of natural history as to call them
bloodhounds, I cannot conceive. Mr. Rowan also possessed
a wolf-dog, and knew him to be such, calling him the " last
of his race." This dog was a very large rough greyhound,
of an iron-gray color, perfectly similar to our Highland deer,
hound. Mr. Carter, a gentleman to whom I have already
alluded, recollects this dog perfectly, and affirms him t<>
in every respect resembled his own, but was superior in size.
Mr. Rowan subsequently presented this wolf-dog to Lord
Nugent. I suppose this is the dog that Mr. Jesse mentions as
having possessed so wondrous a power of detecting, by the
scent, the presence of the Irish blood royal !*
The Irish wolf-dog forms the subject of several tradit
The following, relating to ' Bran," the favorite hound of
Fingal, the hero of Macpherson's Ossian, may not prove un-
interesting. There are two accounts of this transaction, one
given by Mr. Grant, in his work on the Gael, and the other
by Mr. Scrope, in his delightful volume on Deer-stalking.
They differ in the result of the encounter. I shall adopt .Mr.
Sc rone's, deeming it the most authentic.
" Fingal agreed to hunt in the forest of Sledale, in company
with the Sutherland chief, his cotemporary, for the purpose
of trying the comparative merits of their dogs. Fingal
brought his celebrated dog Bran to Sutherland, in order to
S< " Punch/' vol. x., P . 230.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 49
compete with an equally famous dog belonging to the Suther-
land chief, and the only one in the country supposed to be
any match for him. The approaching contest between these
fine animals created great interest ; White-breasted Bran
was superior to the whole of Fingal 's other dogs, even to the
* surly strength of Luah ;' but the Sutherland dog, known by
the full-sounding name of Phorp, was incomparably the best
and most powerful dog that ever eyed a deer in his master's
forests.
" When Fingal arrived in the forest with his retinue and
dogs, he was saluted with a welcome that may be translated
thus
" With your nine great dogs,
With your uine smaller game -starting dogs,
With your nine spears,
Unwieldy weapons !
And with your nin gray, sharp-edged swords,
Famous were you in the foremost fight*
"The Sutherland chief also made a conspicuous figure,
with his followers, and his dogs and weapons for the chase.
Of the two rival dogs, Bran and Phorp, the following descrip-
tions have still survived amongst some of the oldest people in
Sutherland. Bran is thus represented :
44 The hind leg like a hook or bent bow,
The breast like that of a garron,*
The ear like a leaf.'
" Such w*ould Fingal, the chief of heroes, select from
amongst the youth of his hunting-dogs. Phorp was black in
color, and his points are thus described :
" Two yellow feet such as Bran had;
Two black eyes ;
And a white breast ;
A back narrow and fair,
As required for hunting ;
And two erect ears of a dark brown red.'
" Towards the close of the day, after some severe runs,
which, however, still left the comparative merits of the two
dogs a subject of hot dispute, Bran and Phorp were brought
front to front, to prove their courage ; and they were no sooner
untied, than they sprang at each other, and fought desperately.
Phorp seemed about to overcome Bran, when his master, the
* A stout gelding.
5
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
Sutherland chief, unwilling that either of them should be
killed called out, ' Let each of us take away his dog.' Fingal
objected to this; whereupon the Sutherland chief said, with a
taunt, that ' it was now evident that the Fingalians did not
possess a dog that could match with Phorp.'
" Angered and mortified, Fingal immediately extended his
* venomous paw/ as it is called, (for the tradition represents him
as possessing supernatural power,) and with one hand he
seized Phorp by the neck, and with the other, which
a charmed and destructive one, he tore out the brave animal's
heart. This adventure occurred at a place near the Marc h,
between the parishes of Clyne and Kildonan, still called
'Leek na Con,' 'The stone of the dogs,' there having l><><-n
placed a large stone on the spot where they fought. The
ground over which Fingal and the Sutherland chief hunt' <i
that day is called ' Dirri-leck-Con.' Bran suffered so SOV.T.-.
ly in the fight that he died in Glen Loth before leaving the
forest, and was buried there. A huge cairn was heaped over
him, which still remains, and is known by the name of 'Cairn
Bran."
In a work published at Belfast, in the year 1829, entitled
" The Biography of a Tyrone Family," there is a n<
foot of page 74, narrating the mode of the destruction of the
last wolves in Ireland. That note I shall abridge thus :
In the mountainous parts of the county Tyrono, th in-
habitants suffered much from the wolves, and gave from the
public fund, as much for the head of one of these animals,
as they would now give for the capture of a notorious robber on
the highway. There lived in those days an adventurer, who,
alone and unassisted, made it his occupation to destroy those
ravagers. The time for attacking them was in the night,
and midnight was the best time for doing so, as that
their wonted time for leaving thoir lair in search of food,
when the country was at rest, and all was still ; then, issu-
ing forth, they fell on their defenceless prey, and the carnage
commenced. There was a species of dog for the purpose of
hunting them, resembling a rough, stout, half-bred grey-
hound, but much stronger. In the county Tyrone there was
then a large space of ground enclosed by a high stone- wall,
having a gap at the two opposite extremities, and in this
were secured the flocks of the surrounding farmers. Still,
ecure though this fold was deemed, it was entered by the
wolves, and its inmates slaughtered. The neighboring pro-
prietors having heard of the noted wolf-hunter above men-
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 51
tioned, by name Rory Carragh, sent for him, and offered the
usual reward, with some addition, if he would undertake to
destroy the two remaining wolves that had committed such
devastation. Carragh, undertaking the task, took with him
two wolf-dogs, and a little boy, the only person he could pre-
vail on to accompany him, and at the approach of midnight,
repaired to the fold in question.
" Now," said Carragh to the boy, " as the wolves usually
attack the opposite extremities of the sheepfold at the same
time, I must leave you and one of the dogs to guard this
one, while I go to the other. He steals with all the caution
of a cat, nor will you hear him, but the dog will, and will
positively give him the first fall ; if you are not active, when
he is down, to rivet his neck to the ground with this spear,
ho will rise up and kill both you and the dog."
" I'll do what I can," said the boy, as he took the spear
from the wolf-hunter's hand.
Tlio boy immediately threw open the gate of the fold, and
took his si-iit in the inner part, close to the entrance, his faith-
ful companion crouching at his side, and seeming perfectly
aware of the dangerous business he was engaged in. The
niijlit was very dark and cold, and the poor little boy being
benumbed with the chilly air, was beginning to fall into
a kind of sleep, when at that instant the dog, with a roar,
<1 across him, and laid his mortal enemy upon the earth.
The boy was roused into double activity by the voice of his
companion, and drove the spear through the wolf's neck, as
he had been directed, at which time Carragh made his ap-
pearance with the head of the other.
We possess no accurate information as to the date of the
destruction of the last Irish wolf. There was a present-
ment for killing wolves granted at Cork, in 1710. An old
gentleman, lately deceased, informed me that his mother
had often told him she recollected wolves having been killed
in the county Wexford so lately as 1740-50, and it is as-
serted by credible persons, that a very old one was killed
in the county Wicklow in 1770 ! These assertions, how-
ever, depending only on hearsay evidence, are not implicitly
to be relied on.
THE HIGHLAND DEERHOUND.
This dog is, as I have shown, the modern representative,
unchanged, save as to stature, of the Irish wolf-dog.
02 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
The deerhound presents the general aspect of a high-bred
greyhound, especially in all the points on which speed and
power depend ; but he is built more coarsely, and alto^
on a larger and more robust scale. The shoulder is also
more elevated, the neck thicker, the head and muzzle co;
and the bone more massive.
The deerhound stands from twenty-eight to thirty ii
in height at the shoulder; his coat is rough, and the hair
strong ; color usually iron-gray, sandy-yellow, or white ; ////
colors should have muzzle and tips of ears black.
Attempts have been made to improve the deerhound by
crossing him with other breeds, such as the Pyrenenn wolf-
dog, the bloodhound of Cuba, and the British bloodhound ;
but all these attempts have failed of their object, and pro.
duced only deterioration. The cross with the Cuban blood-
hound has proved least objectionable. It was of this 1
that Sir Walter Scott's dog, Maida, bred and presentrd to
him by Glengarry, sprung. I must not omit to mention that
a tuft, or pencil of dark hair on the tip of the ear, is like-
wise a proof of high blood. In my opinion the Persian L
hound, or a very similar greyhound at present used in the
hills of Macedonia,* would be found a really valuable cross,
un<l would improve, instead of deteriorating this valuable
breed, which we may otherwise expect soon to degen*
if not wholly disappear, from the baneful effects of blind-
ing within too close consanguinity, or, as it is called, in
and in. 11
Her majesty possesses a magnificent specimen of d--r-
hound, called "Bran." This noble animal stands over
thirty inches in height at the shoulder, and is supposed to be
the finest specimen of the breed in existence. I am not sure
whether Bran was the gift of Lord Glenlyon, but I know
that that nobleman presented her majesty with some fine
specimens of this breed.
The following description of deer-coursing, extracted from
Mr. Scrope's admirable volume, will, I am confident, be read
with interest:
" No time was to be lost : the whole party immediately
moved forward in silent and breathless expectation, with the
dogs in front, straining in the slips, and on our reaching the
top of the hillock, we got a full view of the noble stag,
who, having heard our footsteps, had sprung to his legs, and
Described p. 56.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 53
was staring us full in the face, at the distance of about sixty
yards.
" The dogs were slipped ; a general halloo burst from the
whole party, and the stag, wheeling round, set off at full
speed, with Buskar and Bran straining after him.
" The brown figure of the deer, with his noble antlers laid
back, contrasted with the light color of the dogs stretching
along the dark heath, presented one of the most exciting
scenes that it is possible to imagine.
" The deer's first attempt was to gain some rising ground
to the left of the spot where we stood, and rather behind us ;
but being closely pursued by the dogs, he soon found that
his only safety was in speed ; and as a deer does not run
well up hill, nor, like a roe, straight down hill, on the dogs
approaching him he turned and almost retraced his footsteps,
taking, however, a steeper line of descent than the one by
which he ascended. Here the chase became most inter-
esting ; the dogs pressed him hard, and the deer, getting con-
fused, found himself suddenly on the brink of a small preci-
pice, of about fourteen feet in height, from the bottom of
which there sloped a rugged mass of stones. He paused for
a moment as if afraid to take the leap, but the dogs were so
close that he had no alternative..
" At this time the party were not above 150 yards distant,
and most anxiously awaited the result, fearing, from the rug-
gedness of the ground below, that the deer would not survive
the leap. They were, however, soon relieved from their
anxiety ; for though he took the leap, he did so more cun-
ningly than gallantly, dropping himself in the most singular
manner, so that his hind legs first reached the broken rocks
below : nor were the dogs long in following him ; Buskar
sprang first, and extraordinary to relate, did not lose his legs;
Bran followed, and on reaching the ground, performed a
complete somerset ; he soon, however, recovered his legs,
and the chase was continued in an oblique direction down
the side of a most rugged and rocky brae, the deer apparently
more fresh and nimble than ever, jumping through the rocks
like a goat, and the dogs well up, though occasionally re-
ceiving the most fearful falls.
" From the high position in which we were placed, the
chase was visible for nearly half a mile. When some
rising ground intercepted our view, we made with all speed
for a higher point, and on reaching it we could perceive that
the dogs, having got upon smooth ground, had gained on the
5*
64 NATURAL HISTOHy OF THE DOG.
deer, who was still going at speed, and were now cl<
with him. Bran was then leading, and in a few seconds
was at his heels, and immediately seized his hock with such
violence of grasp, as seemed in a great measure to paralyze
the limb, for the deer's speed was immediately checked.
" Buskar was not far behind, for soon afterwards passing
Bran, he seized the deer by the neck. Notwithstanding the
weight of the two dogs which were hanging to him, h
the assistance of the slope of the ground, he continued
dragging them along at a most extraordinary rate, in de-
fiance of their utmost exertions to detain him, and succeeded
more than once in kicking Bran off. But he became at
length exhausted ; the dogs succeeded in pulling him down,
and though he made several attempts to rise, he never com-
pletely regained his legs. On coming up, we found him per-
fectly dead."
I have seen smooth deerhounds in Scotland, but they were
not deerhounds properly so called, being merely a cross be-
tween the ordinary greyhound and foxhound. In such case
it is better that the greyhound should be father, as you will
thus be more likely to obtain size end power, combined with
swiftness. This is more particularly to be attended to wii. n
it is the rough greyhound to which you resort, for among all
the rough greyhounds, and morn especially those of Ii
and Scotland, there exists a greater disparity of size bctu n
male and female, than between the sexes of any oth< T m-m-
ber of the canine family. For instance, of a litter of pups
a dog shall grow to the height of, say, thirty inches and not
a female of the same litter shall exceed twenty-four inches
in height at the shoulder. This is a very remarkable fact,
and worthy of attention.
The bloodhound has been employed as a cross, but the pro-
geny are too slow and heavy for deer coursing, whatever the}
may be worth as finders, for which latter purpose why not
use the bloodhound at once, without resorting to any cross at
all ? It is a pity that the deerhound should be so scarce ; if
suffered to become extinct, we may seek in vain for any dog
that shall combine in his single person so many valuable
qualities.
THB SCOTTISH GREYHOUND.
This is but a degenerate deerhound a deerhound rendered
inferior in size, less shaggy in coat, less ardent and coura-
geous in the chase, less powerful, and therefore less service-
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 55
nble for deer-coursing, by the effects of breeding too long
within the degrees of consanguinity, or, perhaps, from having
Ixvii crossed with some other breed, most probably the lurch-
er, or the smooth greyhound. Under these circumstances I
do not think any description of him necessary: his height sel-
dom exceeds twenty-seven inches ; his color is usually white,
or gray, though often brindled.
Tin: LUKCHKK is a mongrel, bred from greyhound and any
other doiy, usually the shepherd's dog, or terrier ; though for
deer-stalking, uflen the bloodhound or foxhound. They are
not creditable followers, being in greater demand by poachers.
This dog will be noticed in his proper place as a mongrel.
THE RUSSIAN GREYHOUND.
The true Russian greyhound is a dog of tremendous size
and power cl --mbling the Highland dcerhound in
every physic :i quality ; but I am sorry to say, far inferior to
him in courage. Two of these dogs will not unfrequently
race alongside a wolf for many hundred yards, before either
of them can make up his mind to grapplo with him. A wolf
is, however, a vrry formidable customer ; and a dog might be
a little shy of experiencing the power of his tusks, while he
would run gayly into a door ; I therefore think that the Rus-
sian greyhound would prove a good cross for the purpose of
improving our Highland stock.
The Russian invyhotm'! stands from twenty-eight to thirty
inches at the shoulder. The Kmperor lately presented a
leash of these dogs to her Majesty, which, in the public prints,
were stated to be three /'/v/ hi<^!i ! It appears, however, that
this was intended to apply to the height from the ground to
the top of the head the height at the shoulder being not
much over thirty inches.
This is the same as the Tartarian dog ; the same with that
mentioned by Dr. Clarke, as having been met with by him on
the confines of Circassia ; and is, without question, derived
from the ancient dogs of Epirus and Albania the same source
whence we perhaps obtained our Irish wolf-dog. Colonel H.
Smith says that the Russian greyhound is " usually white,
with black clouds :" judging from such as I have seen, I should
say that the color is usually an iron or sluty gray : where
any cloudings appear, I should suspect a cross with the Great
Dane or French Matin.
66 NATURAL HISTORY OP THE DO6.
THE PERSIAN GREYHOUND.
The Persian greyhound is one of the most beautiful dogs
with which we are acquainted. There are two varieties of
this dog : one of a tan color, with very light golden-colored
hair upon the hams and under-surface of the tail ; the hair is
very long, and disposed in fan-like form, while the coat upon
the rest of the body is close and short. This is a most pow-
erful creature, and frequently exceeds thirty inches in height
at the shoulder. The other variety is furnished all ov
body with long silky hair, of the length of from five to eight
inches, according to the purity of blood, and the ears are feath-
ered like those of a spaniel. This latter dog seldom exceeds
twenty -eight inches in height ; and is far less powerful than
the preceding : his color usually black, relieved with tan.
The greyhound of India, called sometimes the Bringaree
and Polygar Dog, is identical with the first-mentioned vu
These dogs are all inferior in speed to our European grey-
hounds, but they answer very well for Eastern sport. They
are usually employed in hunting the jackal a sport in v, hi< -h
they prove very effective. It not unfrequently happens,
ever, that the jackals unite in a body, and turn on their as-
sailants, in which case, unless the sportsmen be well up wit!:
their dogs, the latter stand a fair chance of being torn to
pieces : hence, too high a rate of going is not considered as
a desideratum, but rather the contrary.
The Persian greyhound diners from all the varieties of
rough greyhound in his hair, it being of a soft, silky texture,
like that of the spaniel. In disposition, the varieties present
a striking difference the black variety being docile and gen-
tle as the spaniel, which lie so closely resembles : the tan v.t-
riety, fierce and intractable, but yet amenable to training a
process, however not required by the other.
I have been told by English sportsmen, who have resi-
ded in India, that the smooth, fan-tailed variety of eastern
greyhound, is a match for the Caracal or Persian lynx, and
can kill that very formidable animal, single-handed ; while
the other s*nniel-like variety is only fit for hare-coursing ;
and, as 'Ihomson says
" Poor is the triumph o'er the timid hare,"
and for that purpose far inferior to our own smooth breeds,
NATURAL HISTORY O* THE DOG. 57
from a deficiency of speed, which he does not make up for in
strength or endurance.
THE GREEK GREYHOUND
Is not unlike the Lurcher ; but its hair, :hough ong, is
soft and not wiry.
THE ARABIAN GREYHOUND.
This dog is called by some naturalists the Bedouin grey-
hound, and by others the greyhound of Akaba. He is large
and fierce ; is furnished with a short coat, save on the tail,
which is very bushy ; his ears stand perfectly erect ; color
usually bluish-gray, but often brown, and not unfrequently
white, with yellow cloudings. This dog bears a close re-
semblance to the wild dog of Egypt, named by Colonel
Smith, Thous Anthus ; and is the same to be frequently found
figured on various Egyptian monuments.
Some naturalists have asserted the Arabian greyhound to
be the primitive dog the original stock whence the whole
canine family sprung. That a greyhound was the primitive
dog, I have no doubt ; but it must have been a pure one,
which that of Arabia evidently is not.
CHAPTER V.
THE GREYHOUNDS.
SUBDIVISION B.
THE SMOOTH GREYHOUNDS THE COMMON BRITISH GREYHOUND.
THE common greyhound is the most elegantly formed,
and most graceful of the canine race, and surpasses, also, all
his brethren in speed. He is evidently, however, a factitious
dog, produced by care, and, perhaps, crossing, from his rough
original.
In height, the greyhound stands from twenty-six to twenty-
eight inches at the shoulder, and the female does not present
that very striking disparity of size, so remarkable in the
deerhound. This fact alone is sufficient to warrant the sup-
position, that the smooth greyhound owes something to the
58 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
effect of cross-breeding. In disposition, the greyhound is
gentle and affectionate ; indeed he, perhaps, exhibits the lat-
ter quality too indiscriminately.
The greyhound was brought to the highest state of per-
fection by Lord Orford and Major Topham. Those
brated sportsmen owed their unparalleled success to the in-
troduction of a cross with the bull-dog, and though the two
dogs may appear very different from each other at first
view, a very little re/lection will show, that from the bull-
dog, the greyhound could derive all the wished-for <
lence courage, small ear, whip-tail, large and deep chest,
and general firmness of muscle. On the other hand, speed
was found to be recovered undiminished, while all the above
points were retained, at the seventh remove from the bull-
SNOWBALL, perhaps the fastest dog that ever ran, came of
this stock; he won four cups, and thirty-two or thirty-three
matches, at Max ton, and on the Yorkshire wolds.
" Ah, gallant Snowball ! what remain*,
Up Fordon's banks, o'er Flixtou's plain*,
Of all thy strength thy rinewy force,
Which rather flew than ran the coone 7
Ah ! what remain*? save that thy breed
May to their father's fame succeed ;
And when the prize appears in view,
May prove that they are Snowballs too/'
Many trials of speed to ascertain the comparative powers
of the horse and greyhound have been instituted. It appears
from these, that on a flat course, a first-rate racer will beat a
greyhound, but that in a hilly country he must succumb to
him.
The greyhound has been sometimes crossed, and that to
much advantage, with the rough Scotch breeds. The cele-
brated Gilbertfield, who beat all that ever he encountered
thus bred : Gilbertfield excited so much attention in his day,
that I think the following account of him will prove interest-
ing, and may also prove serviceable to our Irish breeders :
" The reiterated success of this old dog (Gilbertfield) may
well excite a smile at those who would talk or write him down
as a third-rate, or stigmatize him as a lurcher ! If he be a
third-rate, the march of intellect among the knights of the
long tails must verily be retrograde ; and if he be, indeed, a
lurcher, it becomes necessary to know, by what name are to
be called the ninety unsuccessful competitors for the Glasgow
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 59
Gold Cup. Perhaps, after all, it will turn out that these
seeming detractions are but a cunning device of the friends
of Gilbertficld, intended to impress the public witli the idea,
that the achievement of a reputation, greater than that of any
other dog in the United Kingdom, is but a small part of his
victory, and that the greater part is the accomplishment of an
absolute change in language, so that henceforth, the word
lurcher is to designate superiority, instead of, as heretofore,
inferiority of blood ; and the word third-rate, to apply to the
ascending scale in degrees of comparison, or in other words,
to denote the superlative drgree of excellence. But be this
a it may, we are happy in being enabled to be the first to
publish the pedigree of Gilbertfield, supplied us at our request
by his owner. We give only three generations, both because
these carry us to the common ancestors of his sire and dam,
and because the ancestors of Bluehrr and Tickler never ran
in public. Gilbertfield (brindled and rough) was pupped in
Juno, 1831 ; and is first, by Giraffe (brindled and smooth)
out of Venus, (yellow and rough.)
" Second, Giraffe was by Capilly (brindled and smooth, bro-
ther to Oscar) out of Puzzle, (brown and smooth, sister to Mr.
E rum's well-known Charles James Fox.) Venus, by Mr.
Hamilton, of Greenbank's, Alfred (white and red, and smooth,
siro of Captain, May, Serpent, Pomni, Lady Mary, &c.) out
of Marion, (brindled and rough, sister to Capilly, Oscar, Or-
lando Furioso, and Burr.) Third, Capilly and Marion were
by Blucher (black and smooth) out of Sir William Maxwell,
of Calderwood's Tickler, (white and rough.) This pedigree
runs counter to many of the pet theories of breeding, which
would seem to be the mere * idols of the kennel,' as Lord
Bacon would have styled them, rather than the conclusions
of reason, or the result of experiments.
*' Bred from first cousins, and sprung from three successive
crosses betwixt the smooth and the rough, Gilbertfield, him-
self rough, is a great public winner, notwithstanding, it is
said, that breeding in destroys spirit, and that every cross
after the first, betwixt the smooth and rough, more and more
banishes the good qualities of the greyhound.
" Opinion, or rather caprice, even among those friendly to
one cross with the rough, is diverse as to which parent should
be rough. It so happens, that in this pedigree the dams were
the rough. But this cannot be held to establish much, when
it is remembered that Gilbertfield's own progeny, out of a
gmooth bitch, (Black-Eyed Susan,) have distinguished them
60 NATURAL HISTORY OP THE DOG.
selves more than any other puppies of this season, part of whicn
are thoroughly smooth, and part thoroughly rough. The run-
ning of him and his lurcher race, equally confute two opposite
sayings : the one, that rough dogs are not fast, but last long ;
the other, that they can get out of the slips, but want b<>
First, Lord Eglinton's Major is the only dog he meets which
makes Gilbertfield look not singularly fast up to his
Second, the race with Dusty Miller, on the last day of the gold
cup running, put an end to all skepticism as to Gilbertfield's
bottom. The performances of his ancestors, Oscar, Capilly,
and Charles James Pox, in the Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire
Club, and of Orlando Purioso, Burr, and GiralFe, in East Lo-
thian his own success, during four seasons, in every club to
which he belongs, viz., the Ardrossan, Biggar, Clydesdale,
Dirleton, and the Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, (being rough,
he is excluded from running at Winchburg,) and his triumph
at Eaglesham and the commenced career of his oflspring,
viz., Ocean, Goth, Vandal, Capilly, Harp, Guitar, and Lilly,
(one litter,) supply the best of all evidence, that Gilbertfield
not only inherits, but can transmit winning blood the great
aim, it is to be presumed, of every sagaciom bitadcr of grey-
hounds." KUmarnock Journal, 1938.
TIIE ITALIAN GREYHOUND.
The Italian greyhound is, as might be supposed, t native
of the country whence it derives its name ; it is a very small,
delicate creature, being a miniature portrait of a high-bred
greyhound of the very first class ; and it has been occasionally
resorted to as a cross, to give greater fineness of form and coat
to a coarse stock of the ordinary greyhound. The Italian
greyhound is very fleet, but is, of course, too feeble to be of
any service in coursing, as he could not hold a hare, if even
he succeeded in overtaxing her.
I have known some, however, less diminutive than usual,
employed successfully in coursing rabbits. They are ex.
tremely eager and vivacious, full of life and spirit, and make
most engaging p-rts. The Italian greyhound, from beinj? in
such esteem wit' the fair sex, fetches a high price from live
to ten guineas being regarded as by no means unusual, if the
animal be a highly bred and handsome specimen.
Mr. Nolan, of Bachelor's- walk, Dublin, has some of the
finest I have ever seen, and also, I think, the smallest grey-
hound in the world a dog, now very old, not exceeding nine
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 6i
inches in height. This diminutive creature is beginning to
exhibit the moral, as well as the physical infirmities of age ;
ne is very testy and irritable, and appears to think himself as
well entitled to respect from his canine comrades, and as well
able to command it when necessary, as the largest amongst
them ; his seems, indeed, " a vast soul in a little carcass."
THE TURKISH GREYHOUND.
There are two varieties of this dog, both equally destitute
of hair, but one being more decidedly a greyhound, and of
superior stature to the other. Color, usually a leaden or
dusky purple ; stature of the former breed, about twenty, and
the latter about twelve inches.
Colonel Smith considers this to be the same with the naked
dog of Mexico, and the God-dog, formerly worshipped as a
deity by the Xauxa and Huanca Indians. This dog is very
apt to want the posterior molar teeth, or grinders, at the back
of the lower jaw, and sometimes the upper.
Colonel Smith suggests, that the absence of hair may be
caused by chronic mange. I think this very improbable, and
that it is far more likely to be the result of a burning sun, in
a very dry atmosphere.
THE TIGER HOUND OF SOUTH AMERICA.
This is a tall, showy dog, resembling the greyhound close-
ly, but somewhat more robustly formed. Color usually a
slaty-blue ground, with tan and brown clouds, resembling the
markings of the Great Dane. It is, of course, improperly
styled " Tiger" hound, as there is no tiger in America that
name being given by the natives to the Jaguar, an animal
almost equally dangerous and powerful with his Asiatic
congener.
The Tiger hound is not courageous, activity being more
called for than courage the latter quality, indeed, being
calculated to lead the dogs into unnecessary danger. He
usually reaches twenty-eight or twenty-nine inches in height
at the shoulder. This dog has not unfrequently been brought
to Britain, and passed off as the Spanish bloodhound a dog
which he closely resembles in form, s#ve tha the is more like a
greyhound.
6
62 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
CHAPTER VI.
1 us SECOND CLASS of domestic dogs may be most aptly
represented by the HOUNDS ; but, from what I have already
said in my introductory remarks, it will readily be perceived
that not only does this class present less appearance of origin-
ality than either of the others, but also that its members will
require greater subdivision, in proportion as they, in thrir
characters, approach more or less to the first or third classes,
viz., to those of greyhounds or mastiffs. Hounds, projx-
called, and more properly the true type of this class, must be
treated of separately.
Among the most striking members of the first doubtful por-
tion of this second class of dogs, or those that approx
most nearly to the greyhound family while they are, at tho
same time, by no means true greyhounds I may enumerate
The Great Danish Dog, type of this group ;
The Spanish Bloodhom, i ;
The African Bloodhound ;
The French Matin ;
The Feral Dog of St. Domingo ;
The Cattle Dog of Cuba ;
The Pariah, or Indian Street Dog ;
The Mexican Dog, or Taygote ;
The Wolf.Dog of Florida.
THE GREAT DANE.*
This is a dog of gigantic stature ; he is, indeed, perhaps,
one of the very largest dogs with which we are at presen*
acquainted, standing from thirty to thirty-two inches in
height at the shoulder, or even more. In form, the Dane is
very powerful, but yet graceful ; his head is elongated, but
the muzzle does not taper to a point it is, on the contrary,
somewhat truncated, looking as if it had been originally in-
tended to be longer, but had been abruptly cut short within
an inch of what should have been the muzzle. The coat of
the Dane is close and short, and its color, although oc-
* I may remind ray readers that this dog has also been set forward ac
the Irish Wolf-dog.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 63
casionally fulvous or yellow, is more frequently a bluish,
slaty white, marked with spots, or rather blotches, of brown
and black. The ears of the Dane are short, and droop, but
very slightly. I never yet saw an imported specimen that
had not the ears cropped off* close to the skull. In its native
country the Dane is employed chiefly in boar-hunting ; it
was also formerly used in the chase of the elk. It is not im-
probable that the Danes brought this dog with them to Ireland
when they invaded that country, and that it was employed
as an auxiliary in wolf-hunting. Once the matter came to a
regular grapple, few dogs could have proved more servicea-
ble ; and few could have afforded a better cross with our
own ancient wolf-dog. That such crossing did actually take
place, is more than probable ; and hence the many miscon-
ceptions that have since arisen relative to the real characters
of our genuine Irish wolf-dog. Hamilton Rowan had some
very fair specimens ; so had Lord Altamont also Lord
O'Neil ; but by far the finest I ever had the good fortune to
see, was " Hector," the property of his Grace the Duke of
Buccleuch, still living, about ten years ago, at Dalkeith
palace.* Hector stood a trifle more than thirty-two inches
in height at the shoulder ; notwithstanding that when I
* Since dead, and preserved by Mr. Carfrae of Edinburgh.
64 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
measured him he was close upon his twentieth year, and
consequently much drooped. I had the honor of receiving
an interesting communication from the duke respecting him,
in which his grace stated, that Hector had been purchased
by his brother, Lord John Scott, from a student at Dresden,
and that the breed were called, in Germany and Saxony,
" boar-dogs." His grace also informed me that Hector waa
the tallest dog he had ever seen.
Hector was very good-natured, and far from being quarrel.
some. He frequently took a walk into the little town of Dal-
keith, on which occasions he was often followed by the >
dogs, and they would sometimes even venture upon an at-
tack. Until an absolute aggression was made, however,
Hector contented himself with proceeding on his way in
dignified contempt ; but if a Newfoundland, mastiff, or other
dog at all approaching to his own size, dared to meddle with
him, he would "turn him up" in a twinkling, and, raising
his hind leg, treat him with the strongest mark of canine
contumely.
I had a son of Hector's, not, however, true bred, but pro-
duced from a South American dam, of the so-called tiger-
hound breed. "Lincoln" was his name. This was, with-
out exception, the best dog I ever knew. In attachment and
sagacity he more than equalled the spaniel, and his courage
was of the most indomitable kind. Often have I seen him
fn.m my window engaged in conflict with two or three large
Newfoundland dogs resident in the neighborhood, and have
rushed to the rescue, but have as often found him victorious
ere I could interfere. Lincoln's only fault was a propensity
to kill cats ; and of this he was eventually cured, by one of
those animals, at whom he rushed with open mouth, mis-
taking his fury for play, and rubbing herself, purring, against
the very jaws that were open to crush her.
I must here record an instance of this noble dog's sagacity.
I was in the habit of bathing every morning at the extremity
of the chain pier of Newhaven, about the distance of a mile
from where I dwelt. At this time I was a student of medi-
cine, and, during the summer months, attended the Botanical
lectures of Dr. Graham, delivered in the Botanic Garden,
Inverleith-row, on my way home from the sea, and very
near the house of my respected and kind stepfather, Dr.
Cheyne. I used to take Lincoln with mo on those occasions,
and, on my return, used to dismiss him at the garden gate,
and go in to lecture. On one occasion I recollected, wheD
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 65
about half way home, that I had forgotten my towel, in the
shed appropriated to the accommodation of bathers at the pier
end. More in jest than earnest, I turned to the dog, and said,
showing my empty hands, " Lincoln, I have lost my towel,
go and seek it." To my surprise, the sagacious creature,
after looking for an instant, first at my empty hands, and
then at the towel of my companion, turned and set off at a
rapid pace back towards Newhaven. At the moment I
thought but little of the matter ; for I concluded that the
dog would retrace his steps for a short distance, and then re-
turn ; but he had not reappeared when I reached the gate of
the Botanic Garden : so I entered, and, as usual, heard
lecture ; but what was my astonishment when, lecture being
over, I left the gardens, and found the faithful and intelligent
animal waiting for me, with my missing towel in his mouth.
Colonel H. Smith (Nat. Lib. Mam., vol. x.) describes the
boar-dog as an allied breed to the Dane, yet not altogether
identical with him, and speaks of one that stood " little less
than four feet high at the shoulder." It was doubtless so re-
puted ; but Colonel Smith did not himself either see or
measure the dog in question. I doubt not but that the ani-
mal was very tall, but I most strenuously deny any dog
being as large as a horse. I am also disposed to the belief
that the smooth Dane is the true dog, and his rough brother
a cross. Colonel Smith also styles the boar-dog the " Suliot
dog." Now Suli is a very limited district of Albania, oc-
cupying scarcely six hundred square miles in extent, and
lying south, whereas these dogs are natives chiefly of the
regions north of the Balkan. I think that Colonel Smith has
been led into this misnomer from a hasty view of Gmelin's
Latin designation of the great Dane, Cants Suillus, derived
evidently from the employment to which the dogs were de-
voted, viz., hunting the sus or hog, and not from the locality
where they were bred. In the older paintings, the boar-dogs
are evidently of the great Danish stock, with a dash of the
great rough greyhound ; and probably such were many of
our later Irish wolf-hounds, after the original breed had
grown somewhat scarce.
THE SPANISH BLOODHOUND.
This is the dog rendered so infamous by its employment in
the chase of runaway negro slaves in South America and
the Spanish West Indian Islands.
6*
60 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
In form it is intermediate between the mastiff and the
gieyhound, but approximates more closely to the latter than
to the former. Its color is usually tan or liver color ; when
pied, the purity of the breed is susceptible of doubt ; the
coat is extremely fine ; the ears are semi-erect ; when the
animal is excited, they are pricked somewhat forward ;
the muzzle and tips of the ears are dark ; the tail is fine as
a rush.
The Spanish bloodhound stands from twenty-six to twenty-
eight inches in height at the shoulder seldom more, and
often less. Columbus, when he invaded America, numbered
a staff of twenty bloodhounds as part of his army. More
tly, in 1795, a hundred of these fierce dogs were sent
to Jamaica from the Havana, to be employed in the Maroon
war. Dallas, in his * History of the Maroons," tells us that
General Wai pole ordered a review of these dogs and their
chasseurs, or k- j MJ principally colored Spaniards, that he
rui<r|it observe their conduct; and accordingly proceeded to
a place called Seven Rivers, accompanied by Colooe] Skin-
ner, who was appointed to conduct the attack. " Notice of
his coming having preceded him, a parade of the chasseurs
was ordered, and they were taken to a distance from the
house, in order to be advanced when the guard alighted.
On his arrival, the commissioner, (who had procured the
having paid his respects, was desired to parade them.
Tin Spaniards soon appeared at the end of a gentle ac-
clivity, drawn out in a line, containing upwards of forty
men, with their dogs in front, unmuzzled, and held by cotton
ropes. On receiving the command, 'Jire,' they discharged
th-ir fusees, and advanced as upon a real attack. This was
intended to ascertain what effect would be produced on the
dogs, if engaged under a fire of the Maroons. The volley
was no sooner discharged than the dogs rushed forward with
the greatest fury, amidst the shouts of the Spaniards, who
were dragged on by them with irresistible force. Some of
the dogs, maddened by the shout of attack while held back
by the ropes, seized on the stocks of the guns in the hands
of their keepers, and tore pieces out of them. Their im-
petuosity was so great that they were with difficulty stopped
before they reached the general, who found it necessary to
get into the chaise from which he had alighted, and if the
most strenuous exertions had not been made, they would
have seized upon his horses." Some writers on the dog
have confounded the Spanish bloodhound with the Cuban
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 67
mastiff; a very great error, as no two dogs could well be
more dissimilar ; and in one publication, by Mr. Martin, en-
titled " Knight's Weekly Volume," we have actually a figure
given of the Cuban mastiffs some time since kept in the
tower menagerie, taken from the " Menageries," a publica-
tion under the patronage of the " Society for Promoting
Entertaining Knowledge," but with the new title of " Cuban
Bloodhounds or Mastiffs." Naturalists who make such mis-
takes must be satisfied to submit to the friendly correction of
dog-fanciers. I saw a few years ago a beautiful bitch of this
breed in possession of our Surgeon-General, Sir Philip Cramp
ton. She was light-colored, evidently very highly bred, of most
graceful form, and gentle in her demeanor, but by no means
to be trifled with. It is to be regretted that, no thorough-
bred mate being to be had, her progeny have not been pre-
served pure.
Closely allied to the Spanish bloodhound is the AFRICAN
HOUND, a graceful and beautiful creature, partaking also, to
a great extent, of the shape and aspect of the pointer. A
leash of these, two males and one female, were brought over
some years ago by Colonel (then major) Denham, and by
him presented to the then existing Tower Menagerie. The
colonel stated to the care-taker, Mr. Cops, that he had himself
often hunted the ga/elle with them ; and that they were pos-
sessed of extraordinary swiftness, scent, and cunning. These
dogs were also, at one period, used, as other bloodhounds, in
tracking a fugitive enemy or marauder to his retreat. Co-
lonel Denham's hounds appeared quite subdued in confine-
ment ; they had lost all their natural fire and sprightliness,
had gradually become morose, sullen, and spiteful, and no
efforts could induce them to perpetuate their race.
Neither of these dogs are, however, properly entitled to the
ephhet of bloodhound ; they appear to have acquired it .only
from their employment, and probably owe their origin to a
cross at some remote period between the true, long-eared
bloodhound of Britain and the more eager and active grey-
hound. I am the more confirmed in this opinion from the
fact, that both these dogs closely resemble the cross-bred
deerhound, sometimes used in the Highlands of Scotland,
where that animal is thus bred. It is only fair that that gentle
and affectionate animal the genuine bloodhound a dog far
from being either cruel or ferocious, should be distinctly sep
arated from these, his disreputable namesakes.
89 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
THE FRENCH MATIN.
Many contradictory descriptions of this dog are given by
naturalists, some of whom describe him as a smooth dog, sim-
ilar to the Dane ; others as a rough and lurcher-like mongrel.
Button, the first who brought the matin into anything like no-
tice, describes and figures him (quarto ed.) as a sort of rough-
coated greyhound, of only moderate stature, and not remark-
able for any physical or moral quality. Mr. Martin describes
a matin* which he saw in Paris as a smooth-coated, glaucous-
colored dog, standing three feet high, and as reminding him
of the vast stature and beauty which characterized the Irish
wolf-dog.
Colonel Hamilton Smith (Nat. Lib. Mam. vol. x.) describes
this dog as equalling the Dane in stature, but having a flatter
forehead, a more pointed nose, rugged hair, color usually white,
with one or more clouds of brown ; " the ears, also, are more
triangular, and the tips bent down, showing upon the whole a
certain intermixture of the older Gallic dog. It is fierce, but
not remarkable for daring." Against this description I have
nothing to object, except as to stature. The great Dane, usu-
ally, as I have already stated, exceeds thirty inches in height
at the shoulder, and I do not think anybody ever saw a ma-
tin that stood over twenty-eight: indeed, I should say that
twenty-six inches is about the average height. BufFon, with
perhaps pardonable nationality, but in the absence of both
sound reasoning and common sense, has put forward the
matin as the origin of the dog, and, in his very fanciful gene-
alogy, derives many noble and valuable breeds immediately
from him.
THE FERAL DOG OF ST. DOMINGO.
This dog is fully described by Colonel Smith, who also
gives a figure of him. It appears to be a sort of wild hound,
approaching closely to the form of the greyhound, but some-
what coarser, and to be the descendant of the bloodhounds
formerly used by the Spaniards, to effect their conquests in
the western hemisphere. In stature, Colonel Smith describes
this dog as " at least equal to the largest Scottish or Russian
greyhound, or about twenty-eight inches high at the shoulder,
* I think that the fine animal which attracted Mr. Martin's notice
saust have been the Great Dane.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 69
with the head shaped like the wire-haired terrier ; large light-
brown eyes ; small ears, pointed and only slightly bent down
at the tips ; the neck long and full ; the chest very deep ;
the croup slightly arched ; the limbs muscular, but light ;
and the tail, not reaching to the tarsus, scantily furnished
with long dark hair ; the muzzle was black, as well as the eye-
lids, lips, and the whole hide ; but his color was a uniform pale-
blue ash, the hair being short, scanty, coarse, and apparently
without a woolly fur beneath. On the lips, inside of the ears,
and above the eyes, there was some whitish gray ; and the
back of the ears was dark slate-color. The look and motions
of this animal at once told consciousness of superiority. As
he passed down the streets, all the house curs slunk away.
When within our lodging the family dog had disappeared, al-
though he had neither growled nor barked. His master said
he was inoffensive, but requested he might not be touched."
These seem to be the St. Domingo greyhounds mentioned
by Buffon.
THE CATTLE-DOG OF CUBA.
I describe this animal here although his place is, perhaps,
more properly with the Newfoundland races because he
appears to be an offshoot from the variety I have just been
describing, and is frequently improperly called the Cuba
bloodhound.
The head of this dog is coarser, broader at the temples,
and does not taper so much at the muzzle as that of the pre-
ceding variety ; the back is natter : the hair longer and
coarser ; and the dog altogether further removed from the
greyhound. This dog sometimes attains great size. I had
one, whose measurements I shall give as follow :
Ft. In.
From the top of head to ground . .36
Height from ground to foreshoulder . .28
Length from nose to tail . . .61
Girth round chest behind foreleg . .34
Girth of foreleg 10
Length from occiput to muzzle . . .12
Girth of head over the ears . . .21
This dog was remarkably fierce and treacherous. On
one occasion he attacked myself, and I was so dreadfully
torn in the conflict, that I was laid up for many weeks,
70 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
while it was months before I recovered the use of my right
hand and arm.
In the West Indies these dogs are employed to convey
cattie across rivers, and also to aid them in landing from the
ships in which they arrive. " We have often witnessed,
when vessels with live-stock arrive in our West Indian
colonies, and the oxen are hoisted out, by a sling passed
round the base of their horns, the great assistance they
afford to bring them to land. For when the ox, first suspend-
ed by the head, is lowered, and allowed to fall into the
water, men generally swim, and guide it by the horns ; but
at other times this service is performed by one or two dogs,
who, catching the bewildered animal by the ears, one on
each side, force it to swim in the direction of the landing-
place, and instantly release their hold when they feel it
touches the ground."*
THE MEXICAN DOG.
A long-backed, ill-shaped animal, not unlike a lurcher;
legs comparatively short ; and ears usually cropped. This
is identical with the Techichi described by Fernandez.
THE WOLF-DOG OF FLORIDA
Is described by Mr. Bartram as different from the local
wolves only in its powers of barking. His anecdote of one
which was trained by his wild master to guard a troop of
horses, without any human superintendence, proves it to be
highly docile and intelligent, (Bartram's Travels.) This
dog stands upwards of twenty-seven inches in height ; the
ears are erect ; the tail is full, and bushy.
THE PARIAH, OR EGYPTIAN STREET-DOG.
This is probably the " Keleb" of antiquity, degraded by
mange, famine, mongrel ism, and general neglect.
This dog, miserable as is its condition, is not destitute of
good qualities. It is sagacious, and will not quit its own
quarter of the town, where it acts as a guard upon the
property of the inhabitants ; none will transgress the limits
of their particular district, even though offered the most
tempting baits. f
* Nat. Lib. Mam. vol. x.
t The dogs of Lisbon, described by Surgeon Wilde, present a
twit of character.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 71
Nor is the Pariah devoid of courage. 1 recollect an
anecdote, told, I think, by Captain Brown, on " Oriental
Field Sports," of a Pariah that was cast into a tiger's cage,
to serve that animal for a meal, seizing his monstrous enemy
by the nose whenever he approached, and by his spirited
conduct inspiring the tiger with such respect, that it not only
ceased attempting to destroy, but actually conceived a strong
attachment for the dog.
CHAPTER VII.
HOUNDS PROPERLY SO CALLED.
The Talbot.
The Bloodhound.
The Staghouii'.i.
The Oriental Hound. The Italian Pointer.
The Foxhound. The English Pointer.
The Harrier. The Dalmatian, or Carriage
The Spanish Pointer.
The Portuguese Pointer.
The French Pointer.
The Beagle.
The Kerry Beagle.
Dog.
The Russian Pointer.
The Otterhound.
TERRIERS.
The Russian Terrier.
The Scottish.
The Isle of Skye.
The English.
The Maltese.
The South American.
The Turnspit.
The Harlequin Terrier
THE TALBOT
Is, perhaps, the oldest of our slow hounds. He had a
broad mouth ; very deep chops ; very long and large pen-
dulous ears ; was fine-coated, and not, as some write, ''rough
on the belly;" his color was usually a pure white. This
was the hound formerly known as " St. Hubert's breed,"
and was distinct from the bloodhound, though by some con-
founded with that dog. It was remarkable for its deep and
sonorous voice ; and it was this hound of which Shakspeare
was evidently thinking, when he wrote
" My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind,
So flew'd, so sanded, and their heads are hung
With ears that sweep away the morning's dew ;
Crook-kneed, and dew-lapp'd like Thessalian bulls j
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bells,
Each under each."
This was the same with the old Southern hound, and not,
as Colonel Smith seems to suppose, distinct from i*.
72
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
THE BLOODHOUND.
It is probable that the Bloodhound sprung directly from
the preceding dog, having originally been merely indi-
vidual hounds selected from the pack of Talbots, on account
of their superior scent or speed ; or, perhaps, their acci-
dentally being dark in color and less noisy of tongue, and
from these circumstances less liable to be detected by the
felon of whom they were in pursuit. The bloodhound is a
tall, showy hound ; out, in a state of purity, seldom attains,
and certainly never exceeds, twenty-eight inches in height at
the shoulder the average height is twenty-six inches for
females, and twenty-seven for males. The ears are singu-
larly long and pendulous, and should, in a perfect specimen,
be within an inch or two of the animal's height, from tip to
tip across the head. The great Landseer has immortalized
the Bloodhound in many of his superb paintings. Among
others, I may name his " Dignity and Impudence," repre-
senting a noble Bloodhound looking out from his kennel, in
grave and dignified majesty ; while a little wire-haired ter-
rier is at his feet, apparently impudently growling at some
approaching intruder. Those who have seen the originals
of this paining have pronounced " Malvina," a beautiful
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 73
animal of the breed, bred by me, and recently in my own
possession, but now the property of Robert Sproule, Esq., of
Kildevin, to be greatly superior to the Bloodhound portrayed
by Landseer. Malvina's sire, "Be vis," figured above, was
likewise transferred to canvass by my friend C. Grey, who,
a an animal painter, can be reckoned second only to the
great master above-mentioned. Malvina stands twenty-six
inches in height, and her ears measure twenty-five in extent,
and upwards of five in breadth. The color of the Blood-
hound is tan, or black and tan, like an English terrier ; if
white be present, the breed is impure. The jowl of the
bloodhound is deep, and his air majestic and solemn. The
vertex of the head is remarkably protuberant, and this pro-
tuberance is characteristic of high breeding. The Blood-
hound is not, as Colonel Smith supposes, " silent while fol-
lowing the scent ;" but he is certainly less noisy than other
hounds, and only opens occasionally, and even then his bay
is easily distinguished, after having once been heard, from
that of every other description of dog.
It has been frequently suggested that the Bloodhound should
be once more employed in tracing felons to their hiding-place.
Many have objected to this, on the score of its supposed cru-
elty ; but they are not, perhaps, aware that the British Blood-
hound does not injure the object of his pursuit ; he merely
traces it to its lair, and then, by his loud baying, indicates its
position to his human auxiliaries. I am, however, far from
advocating any thing of the kind I leave the matter where
I found it, to be canvassed'by others as they please.
In 1603, the " Thrapston Association" a society formed
in Northamptonshire for the suppression of felony procured
and trained a Bloodhound, for the detection of sheep-stealers.
In order to prove the utility of the dog, a man was dispatched
from a spot, where a great concourse of people were assem-
bled, about ten o'clock, A. M., and an hour afterwards the
hound was laid on the scent. After a chase of an hour and
a half, the hound found the man secreted in a tree, many
miles from the place of starting.
Mr. Boyle, in his " Treatise on Air," informs us that a per-
son of quality, in order to ascertain whether a young Blood-
hound had been well trained, caused one of his servants to
walk to a town four miles off, and then to a market town three
miles from thence. The dog, without seeing the man he was
to pursue, followed him by the scent to the above-mentioned
places, notwithstanding the multitude of market-people that
7
74 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
went along the same road, and of travellers that had occasion
to cross it :, and when he came to the chief market town, he
passed through the streets without taking any notice of the
people there. He ceased not till he had gone to the house
where the man he sought rested himself, and where he found
him in an upper room, to the wonder of those who had accom-
panied him in his pursuit.
The only modes of escaping the unerring scent of the blood-
hound were crossing water or spilling blood upon the track.
In the notes to the " Lay of the Last Minstrel," Sir W. Scott
says, " Barbour informs us that Robert Bruce was repeatedly
tracked by sleuth-dogs.* On one occasion, he escaped by
wading a bowshot down a brook, and thus baffled the scent.
The pursuers came up
" ' Rycht to the burn thai passyt ware,
But the sleuth-hound made slenting there,
And waveryt lang time ta and fra,
That he na certain gait couth ga ;
Till at the last John of Lorn
Perseuvit the Hund the sleuth had borne.'
The Bruce, Book VII.
" A sure way of stopping the dog was to spill blood upon the
track, which destroyed the discriminating fineness of his scent.
A captive was sometimes sacrificed on such occasions. Hen-
ry the Minstrel tells us a romantic story of Wallace, founded
on this circumstance. The hero's little band had been joined
by an Irishman, named Fawdon, or Fadzean, a dark, savage,
and suspicious character. After a sharp skirmish at Black
Erneside, Wallace was forced to retreat, with only sixteen
followers. The English pursued with a border sleuth-brach,f
or Bloodhound. In the retreat, Fawdon, tired, or affecting to
be so, would go no farther. Wallace, having in vain argued
with him, in hasty anger struck off his head, and continued
the retreat. When the English came up, their hound stayed
upon the dead body."
THE STAGHOUND.
As the breed of English horses increased in swiftness,
sportsmen found that it became necessary to increase in an
equal ratio the speed of their hounds. From this circura-
* From sleuth, or slot track, especially of blood,
t Literally, " track.beagle."
NATURAL HJFTORY OF THE DOG. 75
stance, we have acquired the Staghound, a cross from the
Talbot or old southern hound or bloodhound with some lighter
stock, probably the greyhound carefully bred back to the
desired standard.
In stature, individual Staghounds frequently equal the
bloodhound. Few packs, however, are to be met with ex-
ceeding an average of twenty-six inches ; and twenty-five
inches, at the fore-shoulder, is more near the general mark.
In appearance, the Staghound is a half-bred bloodhound, and
he certainly possesses one very striking peculiarity in common
with that dog viz., of pertinaciously adhering to the first scent
on which he is laid.
The true Staghound has gradually died away since the
days of George III.,* and has been replaced by a dog more
nearly allied to the foxhound, and that for the very reason al-
ready adduced as having produced the Staghound itself viz.,
a further increase of speed in the horses employed in the
chase. Hunting having subsequently become steeple-chasing
in disguise, even the old Staghound became too slow for mod-
ern taste, and he has accordingly been laid on the shelf. The
foxhound has now become, literally, the " hound of all work."
Representations of dogs, very like our Staghound, are found
among ancient Egyptian paintings. We may fitly describe
the dog indicated by them as the oriental hound.
THE ORIENTAL HOUND.
This hound is more like the Staghound than the foxhound,
differing from the latter dog in the greater height of its legs,
and the shortness of its body.
Colonel Smith gives a figure of one of these dogs, " from a
drawing made in Persia of one of several belonging to a Coord-
ish chief." (Nat. Lib. Mam., vol. x.)
These are said to possess so fine a nose as to be able to trace
deer several hours after they have passed a fineness of nose
that, considering the heat of the climate, and consequent rapid
evaporation of the particles of scent, indicate these dogs as
superior in nose to any European hound if, perhaps, we ex-
cept the bloodhound. This is by some referred to the hound
called the breed of St. Louis, from Palestine, to which our
hounds owed much improvement from crossing.
In Wilkinson's " Manners and Customs of the Egyptians,"
* An ardent admirer and patron of stag-hunting.
76 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOR.
there is a representation given of a pack of these dogs, from
which Mr. Jesse, (Anecdotes of Dogs, p. 305,) not being suf-
ficiently acquainted with the subject to distinguish the stag-
hound from the foxhound, takes occasion to argue that the latter
dog is identical with the eastern hound, and consequently of
very ancient, instead of, as he actually is, of comparatively
modern origin. It is from this dog that the red hounds of the
continent, used, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, for
hunting the wolf and boar, sprung; they had been brought
thither from Palestine by St. Louis, in the thirteenth centu-
ry : their principal characteristics were speed, bottom, and
high courage ; in general aspect they seem to have resembled
our bloodhounds, but were rather lighter, and more like the
staghound.
THE FOXHOUND
Appears to have been produced from the staghound by a
cross of greyhound, and probably also of a terrier. He is less
in size than the staghound ; has smaller and less hound-like
ears, which are also usually rounded off when young. The
foxhound was unknown to us until within the last two hundred
years.*
He is a bold, dashing hound, up to all sorts of sport, and
having " more of the devil" in his composition than any of his
congeners. He is now found so useful that he is made to su-
persede all other hounds, and is bred to size, &c., according
to the sport for which he may be required. Fox-hunting is
no longer hunting it is nothing but steeple-chasing ; and I
cannot dwell upon it with any pleasure, when I reflect on the
barbarities which spring from it, as it is now followed.
THE HARRIER.
This was a smaller hound than the preceding, exhibiting
an appearance of higher breeding, and resembling a minia-
ture of the old talbot. Its height averaged about eighteen
inches ; it was remarkable for possessing a delightful
melody of voice, and for the leisurely and methodic manner
in which it pursued its game. Hare-hunting was, when
* In the account of Queen Elizabeth's hunting establishment, no men-
tion is made of the foxhound ; and the first mention of him of which we
read, is rather within the above period than beyond it.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 77
managed thus, an amusement of almost a philosophic charac-
ter, in following which, the mind had time to contemplate the ef-
forts of one animal to elude pursuit, and of the other to frus-
trate those efforts. The Harrier is now, likewise, gone, hav-
ing been wholly superseded by the foxhound ; a dwarf vari-
ety of which dog is now bred for the purpose of hare-hunting,
an amusement which, I must add, is itself rapidly falling
into disrepute, as not being sufficiently exciting. Fox-hunt-
ers are in the habit of characterizing hare-hunting as an
amusement only fit for ladies and elderly gentlemen !
THE BEAGLE.
The Beagle, the brach of olden time, is the smallest of our
hounds, and the most melodious in voice. The Beagle rarely
exceeds fourteen inches in height, and, if less, is so much the
more highly valued. I saw one some years ago, at Mr. No-
lan's, Dublin, only seven inches in height at the shoulder,
well-eared, and in every respect beautifully formed. Mr.
Beere, of Drumcondra, possesses a specimen almost as diminu-
tive.
These little hounds were well-known in Queen Bess's
days, and that sovereign lady had little Beagles, called sing-
ing Beagles, so small that they could be placed in a man's
glove ! It was then quite of common occurrence that an
entire pack of them should be carried to the field in a pair of
panniers.
There are, and seem ever to have been, two varieties of
Beagle a rough and a smooth. The former seems to have
been the dog noticed by Oppian, under the name of "Agas-
seus."
THE KERRY BEAGLE.
I introduce this hound here, although he should more prop-
erly have followed in the immediate steps of the staghound,
in order to point out the absurdity of his name. The Kerry
Beagle is a fine, tall, dashing hound, averaging twenty-six
inches in height, and occasionally individual dogs attain to
twenty-eight ; has deep chops ; broad, full, and pendulous
ears ; and, when highly bred, is hardly to be distinguished
from an indifferent bloodhound. In Ireland alone do we find
this hound. We have two packs both in the South one
belonging to John O'Connell, Esq., of Killarney, and the other
to H. Herbert, Esq., of Mucross. They appear to be the
78 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
genuine descendants of the old Southern hound, bred some-
what lighter, to suit modern taste, and are used exclusively
for deer-hunting.
THE OTTER-HOUND
Mr. Jesse, in his " Anecdotes," has evidently mistaken this
dog, and its peculiarities of conformation.
The Otter-hound appears to have sprung from a cross be-
tween the Southern hound and a rough terrier ; at least so
his appearance indicates. His head and ears are smooth, and
the latter are very pendulous ; while the neck, and the re-
mainder of the body, are covered with coarse and wiry hair.
The color of the Otter-hound is usually sandy red.
As the otter is no longer hunted with such form and cere-
mony as of old, the genuine Otter-hounds are fast becoming
lost, and their place is supplied by the rough, wire-haired
Scotch terrier, especially that breed called Skye terrier. A
cross of the bull-dog is an improvement ; and even ordinary
bull-terriers are not to be despised, for when it comes to the
death-tussel, the otter requires a game antagonist.
Attempts have frequently been made to breed or make
Otter-hounds, resembling the ancient smooth-headed, rough-
bodied sort, but without success ; it having been found im-
possible to produce any but such as were either all rough,
or all smooth. Otter-hunting certainly requires resolute
dogs ; but as the pursuit is now only followed to destroy this
piscatory marauder, we need not be so very particular as to
the modus operandi. The otter is no longer regarded as
game, but branded as a felon, and his destruction hailed with
delight.
THE SPANISH POINTER.
This is a large, big-boned hound, standing high on its legs,
with very heavy ears, and a deep jowl. The Spanish Pointer
is usually white, with occasionally some brown or red
patches. He is remarkable for his stanchness, and for the
facility with which he can be taught his duty. It appears to
admit of no doubt that the pointer, and other setting-dogs,
were originally hounds accustomed to trace their game by the
scent, and then, rushing in, secure it ; but, previous to this
rush, it was natural to them to pause for a second or so to
collect their energies for the spring. This momentary pause
has been, by training, converted into a decided stop ; and the
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 79
dng has been taught to suspend his intended rush, as it is the
priv ilege of his master, and not himself, to finish the work the
dog has only begun. Such is the hereditary instinct of the
highly-bred Spanish Pointer, that a whelp, not more than five
months old, has been known, when, without any previous
training, brought for the first time into the field, to point
steadily at lying game. I heard one instance, indeed, related
of a whelp of this age, and under such circumstances as I
describe, actually backing its dam in her point. This sounds
strange ; but the party to whom I am indebted for the anec-
dote, is not merely a thorough sportsman, but a thorough
gentleman, whose word is beyond suspicion.
The Spanish Pointer is apparently a dog of very ancient
extraction ; but not, as his name would imply, of Spanish
origin at least not remotely so ; for the primitive breed is
traceable to the East. Indeed some ancient Egyptian figures,
published by Caillarid, distinctly represent a dog, beyond
question of this variety, in the act of pointing. The old
Spanish Pointer is, when perfectly thoroughbred, remarkable
as possessing a cleft nose, similar to the Russian variety,
presently to be described.
This dog was found too heavy for the ardor of British
sportsmen, and, with the old Talbot, or Manchester hound,
sunk gradually into disuse ; and has since become supplant-
ed by a lighter, more active, and energetic dog, better suited
to the tastes of our eager countrymen, viz., the English
Pointer.
THE PORTUGUESE POINTER
Is lighter than the Spanish ; .has a feathered tail ; is un-
steady and quarrelsome ; and by no means to be commended.
THE FRENCH POINTER
Wants the stanchness of our English dog. He is less ob-
jectionable than the variety just described, but still not the
thing.
THE ITALIAN POINTER.
I thus name a dwarf variety of pointer that I formerly de-
scribed in the "Sportsman." This is a perfect miniature va-
riety of a very highly-bred English pointer, seldom exceeding
one foot in height. I saw one about twelve years ago, in pos-
session of Stewart Menteith, Esq., of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire,
80 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DO*?.
and another about the same time, in possession ol Mr. Mather,
an artist, resident in Edinburgh. These little dogs had ex-
quisite noses, and would set game as stanchly as any other
pointer, but were, of course, too small for field use.
THE ENGLISH POINTER.
This has evidently been produced by a cross between the
Spanish variety and the foxhound ; and it is to this circum-
stance that we are to attribute his energy and fire.
The English Pointer is remarkable for his extraordinary
stanchness. Pluto and Juno, property of the celebrated
Colonel Thornton, stood for an hour and a quarter in the act
of pointing, without moving during the entire of that time,
while they were being drawn and painted by the late eminent
artist, Mr. Gilpin.
A well-trained Pointer is very valuable, and will fetch a
high price. Dash, a fine pointer, also belonging to Colonel
Thornton, was sold for 160 worth of champagne and Bur-
gundy, one hogshead of claret, an elegant gun, and another
Pointer, with the proviso, that if any accident should at any
time disable the dog, he was to be returned to the colonel, at
the price of 50 ! (Sportsman's Repos.)
The following anecdote proves the perfection of training to
which Pointers may be brought by proper discipline. A
friend of Mr. Jesse's " went out shooting with a gentleman
celebrated for the goodness of his breed : they took the field
with eight of these dogs. If one pointed, all the rest imme-
diately backed steadily. If a partridge was shot, they all
dropped to charge, and whichever dog was called to bring the
bird, the rest never stirred till they were told to do so."
(Anec. Dogs., p. 2S3.)
A Pointer hates a bad shot ; my old friend Captain Brown
relates the following capital anecdote. A gentleman having
requested the loan of a Pointer dog from a friend, was inform-
ed by him that the dog would behave very well so long as he
could kill his birds ; but if he frequently missed them, the dog
would run home and leave him. The Pointer was according-
ly sent, and the following day was fixed for trial ; but, un-
fortunately, his new master happened to be a remarkably bad
shot. Bird after bird rose and was fired at, but still pursued
its flight untouched, till at last the dog became careless, and
often missed his game. As if seemingly willing, however,
to give one chance more, he made a dead stop at a fern bush,
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 81
with his nose pointed downward, the forefoot bent, and the
tail straight and steady. In this position he remained firm till
the sportsman was close to him, with both barrels cocked ; then
moving steadily forward for a few paces, he at last stood still
near a bunch of heather, the tail expressing the anxiety of
the mind by moving regularly backwards and forwards. \t.
last, out sprung a fine old blackcock. Bang, bang, went
both barrels but the bird escaped unhurt. The patience of
the dog was now quite exhausted, and, instead of dropping to
charge, he turned boldly round, placed his tail between his
legs, gave one howl, long and loud, and set off as fast as he
could to his own home.
Pointers have been known to go out by themselves in search
of game, and if they found, to return for their master, and,
by gestures, induce him to take his gun, and follow them to
the spot.
The comparative merits of Pointer and Setter have been
made the subject of considerable controversy. Much may
be said on both sides, and I shall myself have a few words to
say when I come to treat of the latter dog.
THE DALMATIAN, OR CARRIAGE DOG.*
Thio is a very handsome dog, in every respect similar to
the pointer. It is not, in its present state, remarkable for sa-
gacity or fineness of scent ; but these deficiencies may have
arisen from the disuse of its natural powers through so many
generations. One instance of a Dalmatian having been bro-
ken to the gun, fell, some years ago, under my own observa-
tion, and the dog proved himself worthy of his training. Co-
lonel Smith figures a large and showy dog as the supposed ori-
ginal of the Dalmatian. His figure is taken from a print pub-
lished at Cadiz a number of years ago. The original had
been brought from India. This figure is, however, very dis-
similar from our carriage-dog, and resembles far more the
tiger-hound, already described.
THE RUSSIAN POINTER.
This dog is covered with coarse, wiry hair, like the Rus,
sian terrier. He is somewhat less in stature than the ordina,
ry pointer, and is lower in the shoulder. His nose is cleft,
* This is a perfectly distinct variety from the Great Dane, and by no
means to be confounded with him.
82 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
hence he is frequently called the " double-nosed pointer.' 1
He is very stanch, -and is held in deservedly high estimation ;
but I have been giv^n to understand that his temper is unyield-
ing, and that he requires great care and caution in training.
When a good dog of this breed is well and thoroughly broken
in, he is considered very valuable, and fetches a long price.
The prevailing opinion among sportsmen is, that the Rus-
sian Pointer requires fresh training, to a certain extent, at the
commencement of each season ; but so, indeed, do most of
his smooth-coated brethren.
THE TERRIERS.
THE RUSSIAN TERRIER.
THE Terriers are a very hardy race of dogs, full of cour-
age and spirit. They will face any thing, no matter what
may be the disparity of size, and will fight with the greatest
vigor and fury.
The Russian Terrier exceeds his brethren in size and
strength, frequently attaining to the height of twenty-six inch-
es at the shoulder. He stands high and straight on his legs,
and is not altogether unlike the mastiff in general form :. but
is lighter and more active. Two well-sized dogs are con-
sidered sufficient to grapple with an ordinary wolf, and half
a dozen are more than enough to puzzle a bear. Tl)e Rus-
sian Terrier is in considerable request in Scotland as a watch-
dog a post for which he is eminently qualified, uniting, as
he does, the force of the mastiff with the vigilance of the
Terrier. He is also a good and willing water-dog, and is, on
this account, a valuable auxiliary in otter-hunting. He would
make a good retriever ; but, unfortunately, is of too fierce a
temper, will not bear the whip, and is what sportsmen term
hard-mouthed being given to injure the game with his teeth.
The color of the Russian Terrier is usually black and tan ;
but the largest dogs of the breed that I have seen were of a
reddish-brown color. I saw two dogs of this color about ten
years ago, in Edinburgh, one of which measured twenty-seven,
and the other twenty-eight inches in height at the shoulder
equal also in bulk and bone to some mastiffs. These are
known also in Germany, where they are called ." boar-
searchers."
HITTRAL HISTORY OP THE DOG.
83
THE SCOTCH TERRIER.
>" nere are two varieties of the common Scotch Terrier.
One which stands rather high on his legs, is usually of a
sandy-red color, and very strongly made he stands about
eighteen or twenty inches in height, and is commonly called
the " Highland terrier." The other is lower, long-backed,
and short-legged ; hair more wiry, but not so long as in the
former ; mouth also not so broad, and muzzle longer. This
latter variety is the dog celebrated by Sir W. Scott as the
Pepper and Mustard, or Dandie Dinmont breed. Francis Car-
ter, Esq., the same gentleman of whom I have already spo-
ken as possessing the deerhouncls, has a pair of beautiful lit-
tle Dinmont terriers about the best, the dog especially, that
I have ever seen.
THE SKYE TERRIER,
So called from its being found in greatest perfection in the
Western Isles of Scotland, and the Isle of Skye in par-
ticular, somewhat resembles the preceding, but is even
longer in the body, lower on the legs, and is covered with
very long, but not coarse hair ; its ears are erect, and tufted
at the extremities. All the Scotch terriers are "varmint"
in the extreme, and are on this account great favorites with
young gentlemen when home for the holidays, being equalled
by no other breed of dog in the ardor with which they hunt
<md destroy the rat, cat, weasel in short, every thing that has
84 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
fight in it ; and, lacking other game, they will gladly ana
fiercely engage in combat with each other.
THE ENGLISH TERRIER,
A light, active, and graceful little dog, usually of a black
and tan color and those of this tint are the best but some-
times white. If black and tan, they should not present a
speck of white ; and if white, they should be entirely of that
color.
The English Terrier is, in combat, as game as the Scotch,
but less hardy in enduring cold or constant immersion in
water. It appears most probable that the rough or Scotch
breed was the primitive stock, and that the smooth or Eng-
lish varieties are the result of artificial culture. A small,
well-marked English Terrier, under seven pounds weight,
will, "if as good as he looks," fetch from five to ten guineas.
The celebrated dog " Billy," who killed the hundred rats in
less than five minutes, was a white English Terrier, with a
dark patch on the side of his head.
THE MALTESE.
This is by some naturalists classed with the spaniels ; but
in the form of its skull, in its erect ears, rough muzzle, and
determination in the pursuit of vermin, it presents charac-
teristics sufficient to induce me to place it in the present
group. It is usually black, but sometimes white in any
case it should be but of one color. An uncle of mine had
one named ironically " Lion," who, although under five
pounds weight, killed an enormous rat in a few seconds, in
my presence, in the Hill-street Baths, Edinburgh.
This dog was well known to the ancients, is figured on
many Roman monuments, and was described by Strabo.
His small size, and want of strength in proportion to his
courage, have, however, long reduced this spirited little dog
to the condition of a mere lapdog ; and as he has been super-
seded by, perhaps, prettier, and at all events more easily ob-
tained pets, he has now become almost extinct. Landseer
has, not long since, introduced one into a splendid painting,
as, " The Last of his Race."
THE SOUTH AMERICAN TERRIER
Is something like the preceding, but less hairy, and with a
raore pointed muzzle. It is remarkable as being a keen de-
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 85
stroyer of serpents avoiding their bite, and with a rapid
spring seizing the reptile by the back of the head, and
crushing it in an instant. If an eel be shown to one of these
dogs, he will act in the same manner as if it were a serpent,
and will speedily dispatch it. I have only seen one of these
dogs, and saw nothing about it to recommend it, except as
being somewhat rare in Britain.
THE MEXICAN PRAIRIE DOG.
This is about the smallest of the canine family. In aspect
he resembles a minute English terrier, but his head is some-
what disproportioned to his general bulk. I have been told
that these animals burrow in the prairies of their native land,
like marmots ; I am not, however, satisfied as to the fact, and
would, at all events, observe that these dogs are on no account
to be confounded with the little "animals so common in North
America, and known (of course erroneously, as these latter
animals do not belong to the dog tribe at all) under the same
name. There are some specimens of this curious breed of
dog in Dublin ; amongst which I may mention one in posses-
sion of Mr. Desmond, of Drumcondra Hill.
THE TURNSPIT.
This dog, although evidently a mongrel, is nearer to the
terriers than any thing else, and on this account I describe
him among them. He is a small, long-backed, cross-made
dog, with the fore legs bent, first inwards and then outwards ;
he is frequently pied, or glaucous-colored, like the Great
Danish dog, and the harlequin terrier, next to be described.
Formerly his use was to turn a wheel, on. which depended
the spit which roasted the meat in the kitchen. Fortunately
for humanity, mechanical contrivances have, in these coun-
tries ut least, superseded the necessity of thus torturing a poor
dog ; and accordingly the Turnspit, his occupation being
gone, is himself rapidly passing ii.to oblivion. I have seen
dogs in Scotland, resembling the Turnspit, called " bowsy
terriers," that were remarkable for their combative powers ;
I conceived them to be a cross between the old Turnspit and
the low-legged Scotch terrier.
THE HARLEQUIN TERRIER.
Whatever be the origin of this little dog, it is now a recog-
86 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
nised variety ; and from its extreme beauty, both of form anc
color, combined with all such qualities as terriers should pos-
sess, developed in the highest degree of perfection, it is richly
deserving of being cultivated. In form, it is, as it were, a
perfect English terrier ; in color, it is bluish slate-color, mark-
ed with darker blotches and patches, and often with tan
about the legs and muzzle. It is one of the most determined
of iis race, and is surpassed by none in the skill and activity
witn which it pursues and catches its game, and the resolu-
tion with which it battles with and destroys it. I have seen
lately a beautiful pair and some puppies, in possession of Mr.
Nolan, of Bachelor's- walk, Dublin ; and the Rev. Mr. Wil-
cocks, of Palmerstown, has also long been famous for this
breed of dogs ; I believe Mr. Wilcocks was the first to intro-
duce them into this country, but whence they originally came,
I know not.
In former times, a brace of terriers uwd to accompany every
pack of foxhounds, for the sake of unkennelling Reynard, in
the event of his taking to earth. This attendance has long
been discontinued, as being no longer necessary, the fox be-
ing now run into too rapidly to admit of his giving the gallant
terriers this trouble ; some recent wriFers do not appear aware
of this circumstance, but gravely furnish us with long extracts
from Daniel, &c., relative to this now obsolete practice.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE NEWFOUNDLAND GROUP, OR WOLF-DOGS.
I AM compelled thus arbitrarily to give, perhaps, an unde-
served name to the present group, but it is the only one by
means of which I can accurately indicate the family of dogs
to which I refer. The individuals of which this group is
composed, bear, all of them, a greater or less resemblance to
the wolf, in erect or semi-erect ears in long and shaggy
coats, and bushy tails. The Newfoundland dog is fully en-
titled to be placed at the head of the group ; from his being
better known than the others, from his greater beauty, his
ingacity, nobility of nature and disposition, his utility to man-
NATURAL HI?, TORY OF THE DOG. 87'
Kind, and the high degree of estimation in which he is held
in every part of the world where he is known.
Those who have grouped these dogs with the Spaniels, are
in error, for they possess none of the characteristics of that
group.
THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG.
The true breed of Newfoundland is a dog of moderate sta-
ture, seldom exceeding twenty-six or twenty-seven inches in
height ; long-bodied, broad-chested, shaggy coat, pointed), wolf-
ish muzzle, ears small, and inclined to be semi-erect ; color
usually black, with a shade of brown through it, and occasion-
ally some white. There is another breed of dog peculiar to
Newfoundland ; short-coated, and sharp-nosed an excellent
\v?,ter-dog, by some mistaken for the true Newfoundland
breed.
The large dogs, usually known as Newfoundland in this
country, are evidently the result of a cross with the mastiff.
They are a fine showy animal, but less sagacious, less active,
and more apt to display irregularity of temper than the origi-
nal breed ; these often attain the height of thirty inches.*
* These large dogs are rapidly becoming the peculiar breed of New-
foundland, and dogs of this sort are gladly imported, whereas our New-
foundland friends have now little or nothing but curs to offer in return.
8 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
In his native country, the Newfoundland dog meets with
worse than indifferent treatment ; during winter, he is ill-fed,
and most severely worked ; his employment consisting of
drawing heavy loads of timber an employment so severe,
that many dogs are worn out, and perish from exhaustion, be-
fore winter is over. When summer approaches, and the oc-
cupation of the natives changes to fishing, the poor dogs are
turned adrift, to shift for themselves.
The origin of this dog is questionable, but I am disposed to
trace him to a large European variety, still in use among th?
Norwegians, for the chase of the bear and wolf. It is now
well known that the original discovery of Newfoundland is to
be attributed to the Norwegians, who, before the year 1000,
sailed from Greenland on a voyage of discovery, and that the
same people discovered North America some time between
the tenth and eleventh centuries. Lond. Geogr. Jour. vol.
viii. At the same time, I have no wish to deny that this
breed of dogs may have been since modified, by crossing with
the Esquimaux and Labrador varieties.
The Newfoundland dog has long been famed for his aquatic
powers, and many human lives have, from time to time, been
saved by him. It is not long since ten of the true breed were
imported into Paris, and employed in watching the banks of
the Seine experienced trainers being daily employed in
teaching them to draw, from the water, stuffed figures of men
and children : handsome kennels have been erected for them
on the bridges, and they have already proved their utility, in
saving a number of poor perishing human creatures from a
watery death. I recollect a noble dog of this breed, the proper-
ty of Professor Dunbar, of Edinburgh, which was accustomed
to go out with the young people, in the capacity of a protector,
and a most efficient one he proved himself, suffering neither
man nor brute to approach his charge. This dog, also, was
accustomed to apply to the bell at his master's gale, when it
happened to be shut, and he desired admittance. The true
Newfoundland dog has been frequently used as a retriever,
and is remarkable for his fearless manner of penetrating the
thickest cover. I shall close my account of the Newfound-
land, with the following lines from Lord Byron's beautiful
epitaph on his favorite " Boatswain :"
" The poor dog ! in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend ;
Whose honest heart is still his master's own
Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone."
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 89
The true breed is about twenty-six hiohes in height at the
shoulder.
THE LABRADOR DOG.
This is a much larger animal than the preceding, standing
from twenty eight to thirty inches in height ; his muzzle Is
shorter and more truncated, the upper lip more pendulous,
the coat coarser, and the whole dog presenting far more
marks of great strength than the Newfoundland.
The following are the measurements of a dog of this
breed, given in " Knight's Weekly Volume :" " Total
length, including the tail, six feet three inches ; height at
the shoulder, two feet six inches ; length of head x from oc-
ciput to point of nose, eleven inches ; circumference of chest,
three feet one inch. In Labrador, these large dogs are used
in drawing sledges loaded with wood, and are of great
service to the settlers."
The finest specimen of the Labrador dog that I have ever
seen, is Hollo, property of Lady Bellew, lady of Sir Patrick
BeJlew, of Barmeath, whose baronetcy is the oldest in Ireland.
Rollo stands above twenty-nine inches in height at the
shoulder. As \ve have given a faithful portrait of him, de-
scription is unnecessary.
THE LABRADOR SPANIEL, OR LESSER LABRADOR DOG.
This dog presents an appearance intermediate between the
Newfoundland dog and the Land Spaniel ; he is generally
8*
PC NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
called by the above name, but whether or not he is fully en
titled to it, is in my judgment at least questionable. These
dogs are remarkable for their diving powers. I saw one
some years ago with an officer, who was quartered at Porto-
bello Barracks, Dublin, which dived repeatedly to the bottom
of the canal, between the locks, when full of water, and
fetched up such stones, &c., as were thrown in. I subjoin
the following anecdote, on the authority of Saunders's News-
letter, in which paper it appeared, of date September 21,
1846. I can only observe, that if strictly true, it places
the sagacity and gratitude of this dog in a most interesting
light:
" PEELER, THE DOG OF THE POLICE. During the recent in-
vestigation relative to the manner in which the policeman
came by his death at Kingstown, a little active and inquisi-
tive dog, of the Labrador breed, was seen from time to time
during each day running in and out of the room as if he
toek a personal interest in the inquiry. The dog was ad-
mired, and a gentleman in the police establishment was
asked to whom it belonged. ' Oh,' said he, ' don't you know
him ? we thought every one knew Peeler, the dog of the
police.' The gentleman then proceeded to give the inter-
rogator the history of this singular dog. It appeared from
the story, that a few years ago poor little Peeler tempted the
canine appetite of a Mount St. Bernard, or Newfoundland
dog, and was in peril of being swallowed up by him for a
luncheon, when a policeman interposed, and with a blow of
his baton, levelled the assailant, and rescued the assailed.
From that time ' Peeler' has united his fortunes with those of
the police ; wherever they go, he follows ; whether pacing
with measured tread the tedious ' beat,' or engaged in the en-
ergetic duty of arresting a disturber of the public peace.
He is a self-constituted general-superintendent of the police,
visiting station after station, and after he has made his ob-
servations in one district, wending his way to the next. He
is frequently seen to enter a third class carriage at the
Kingstown Railway, get out at Black Rock, visit the police
station there, continue his tour of inspection to Booterstown,
reach there in time for the train as before, and go on to
Dublin to take a peep at the ' metropolitans ;' and having
satisfied himself that ' all is right,' return by an early even-
ing train to Kingstown. He sometimes takes a dislike to an
individual, and shuns him as anxiously as he wags his tail at
the approach, and frisks about the feet of another for whom
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 01
he has a regard. There is one man in the force for whom
he has this antipathy ; and a day or two ago, seeing him in
' the train,' he left the carriage, and waited for the next, pre-
ferring A delay of half an hour, to such company ; and
when the bell rang, with the eagerness with which protracted
.joy is sought, he ran to his accustomed seat in ' the third
class.' His partiality for the police is extraordinary ; where-
ever he sees a man in the garb of a constable, he expresses
his pleasure by walking near him, rubbing against and
dancing about him ; nor does he forget him in death, for he
was at his post in the funeral of Daly, the policeman who
was killed in Kingstown. He is able to recognise a few in
plain clothes, but they must have been old friends of his.
Wherever he goes, he gets a crust, a piece of meat, a pat on
the head, or a rub down upon his glossy back, from the hand
of a policeman ; and he is as well known among the body as
any man in it. We have heard of the dog of Montargis,
the soldier's dog, the blind beggar's dog, and the dog of the
monks of St. Bernard, and been delighted by stories of their
fidelity and sagacity, but none are more interesting than
' Peeler, the dog of the Police,' * whose heart, enlarged with
gratitude to one, grows bountiful to all.' '
THE ITALIAN OR PYRENEAN WOLF-DOG,
Called, also, the Calabrian, and shepherd's dog of the
Abruzzo. These dogs stand about twenty-nine or thirty
inches in height at the shoulder, are usually of a white
color, with one or two patches of a buff or tan color on the
head or sides ; the ears are not hairy, and are half erect ;
when pendent, you may suspect a cross of Newfoundland ;
the tail is very bushy, and is carried, in a curl, close over
the back ; the nose is pointed, and the general aspect of the
head wolfish. They are the sheep-dogs of the Italian and
Spanish shepherds, but they are rather guardians than herd-
dogs. The chief occasion of their usefulness is in summer,
when the wolves are abundant on the hills, but are of less
value in winter, when the shepherds with their flocks de-
scend into the plains.
Doctor Barker, of Cumberland-street, Dublin, had lately
a very fine specimen of the Pyrenean wolf-dog, since, how-
ever, unfortunately, deceased. This dog has been very
strangely confounded, by Mr. Youatt, with the old Irish
wo^f-dog. At page 66, under the head of the " Italian 01
92 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
Pomeranian Wolf-dog," he says " The Wolf-dog is no
longer a native of Great Britain, because his services are
not required there, but he is useful in various parts of the
Continent, in the protection of the sheep from the attacks of
the wolf." Mr. Youatt is also incorrect in calling this the
" Pomeranian" the true Pomeranian being, as I shall show ,
a very different animal. At page 40, speaking of the Irish
wolf-dog, Mr. Youatt again confounds him with the dog
at present under consideration. I shall have to advert 10
more mistakes Mr. Youatt lias made relative to the va-
rieties of dog ; and I am sorry to be compelled to do so, his
volume being so valuable for its physiological and pathologi-
cal details.
THE POMERANIAN DOG,
By some writers confounded with the last described, is a
small dog, of usually a white color. In stature, it is under
twenty inches at the shoulder ; its ears are perfectly erect,
like those of a fox, and the tail is not fringed like that of the
Pyrenean dog, but bushed all round like that of the fox.
This is often called the " fox-dog," from its resemblance to
that animal.
There is a small Chinese variety of dog, so closely re-
sembling the Pomeranian, (except in color, being usually
yellow or black,) that they cannot be distinguished from one
another. I knew an officer in Edinburgh, about ten or
twelve years ago, who had in his possession two of these
Chinese dogs, one of which was remarkable for his com-
bative powers, frequently conquering dogs of treble his own
size and force.*
THE HARE INDIAN DOG.
First described by Dr. Richardson, and found by that emi-
nent naturalist on the Mackenzie River. It is of small size,
and slenderly made, with broad, erect ears, sharp at the tips ;
the tail is pendent, with a slight curve upwards, near the tip.
These resemble the preceding dog in size, and somewhat in
appearance, and their resemblance to the fox is also consider-
* These are the dogs used as food by the natives. There are regular
dog-butchers in most of the Chinese towns, and dog's flesh, especially
roasted, is held in high esteem. It is not long since, that not only was
" roasted dog" regarded as the very quintessence of good living, but that,
like " lively turtle" among us, its promised appearance at the board wa
regularly announced as an attraction to the invited guests.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 93
able. One which Dr. Richardson had in his possession, and
which was accustomed to follow his sledge, was killed and
eaten by one of his Indian guides, who stated that he mistook
it for a fox.~ The feet of this dog are large, spread, and
thickly clothed with fur, in consequence of which he can run
upon the snow with rapidity and ease, without sinking. In their
native country, these dogs never bark ; in confinement the}' do
It would be, perhaps, somewhat negligent, on my part, were
I not to describe, in this place, a*very curious-looking dog,
apparently belonging to the Esquimaux, or Greenland breed,
lately exhibited in London, and since figured and described in
The Pictorial Times. This dog was completely clothed in
plated armor, composed of some kind of horny substance, the
result, I imagine, of a depraved growth of hair. I did not see
this dog myself, or perhaps I might be able to speak more de-
cidedly as to the real nature of his very singular clothing :
perhaps it was the result of a disease analogous to that ter-
rible one occasionally presented in human creatures, and
known as " Plique Polonaise," (Polish plait.) Of course it is
unnecessary for me to remark, that this appearance is mere-
ly accidental, and that no known variety of dog possesses ha-
bitually such a covering.
THE ESQUIMAUX DOG.
About the size of a large Newfoundland ; hair long, straight,
and coarse ; tail bushy, curling over the back ; ears erect
and pointed : in general aspect he closely resembles the wolf.
This is a remarkably good-tempered and intelligent animal ;
in his native country, I need scarcely inform my readers that
he answers the purposes of a horse, being employed in draught.
They are active, swift, and enduring.
/
THE SIBERIAN DOG
Is large, wolfish, and powerful. The ears are rounded at
the tips, like those of a bear ; the color is usually grayish, and
the tail resembles a fox's brush.
THE KAMTSCHATKA DOG
Is like the preceding, but smaller, and the tips of the ears
drop. These dogs are remarkable for instinctively returning
to their master at the period when they are annually required
94 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
for the sledge. They are generally badly used by their un-
feeling masters, and appear conscious of it, and anxious for
vengeance, not un frequently purposely overturning the sledge.
THE ICELAND DOG.
About the size of the Kamtschatkan, but coated and col-
ored like the Esquimaux. It is said by Colonel H. Smith to
have been brought to Iceland by the Norwegians, and he sup-
poses it to have been originally obtained from the Skrelings,
or Esquimaux, by the adventurers who first visited Green-
land.
THE GREENLAND DOG.
This is a variety of the Esquimaux, but is smaller. Its col-
ors are usually gray and white. It is very hardy, and endu-
ring, and five of these dogs will draw a heavily-laden sledge,
at a rapid rate.
THE LAPLAND DOG
Is thus described by Clarke, (" Scandinavia," vol. i. page
432 :) " We had a valuable companion in a dog belonging to
one of the boatmen. It was of the true Lapland breed, and
in all respects similar to a wolf, excepting the tail, which was
bushy and curled, like those of the Pomeranian race. This
dog, swimming after the boat, if his master merely waved his
hand, would cross the lake as often as he pleased, carrying
half his body and the whole of his head and tail out of the
water. Wherever he landed, he scoured all the long grass
by the side of the lake, in search of wild fowl, and came back
to us, bringing wild ducks in his mouth to the boat, and then,
having delivered his prey to his master, he would instantly
set off again in search of more."
. , THE SHEPHERD'S DOG, OR COLLEY.
The genuine original Shepherd's dog is now nearly alto-
gether confined to Scotland, where he is called the " Colley.''
He stands about twenty-one inches in height at the shoulder ;
is very gracefully shaped ; muzzle pointed ; ^ars half erect \
coat long, but fine and silky ; tail and hams fringed with hair ,
color usually black and tan, or sandy yellow.
This animal is remarkable for his sagacity ; and his dispo-
sition to tend sheep appears to be inherent and hereditary,
The late lamented Hogg, better known as the " Ettrick Shep
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 95
herd," had a dog of this breed, named Sirrah, to whom, from
his extraordinary intelligence, one would almost be disposed
to allow the possession of reason. Mr. Hogg has immortal-
ized his favorite ; and perhaps the following anecdote may
not prove uninteresting to the reader :
One night, a large flock of lambs that were under the
shepherd's charge, startled at something, scampered away in
three different directions across the hills, despite his efforts to
keep them together. "Sirrah," said the shepherd, "they're
awa !"
It was too dark for dog and master to see each other at any
distance apart ; but " Sirrah" understood him, and set off af-
ter the fugitives. The night passed on, and Hogg and his
assistant traversed every neighboring hill in anxious but fruit-
less search, but could hear nothing of either lambs or dog ;
and he was returning to his master with the doleful intelli-
gence that his charge were lost. " On our way home, how-
ever," says he, " we discovered a lot of lambs at the bottom
of a deep ravine, called the 'Flesh Cleuch,' and the indefati-
gable Sirrah standing in front of them, looking round for some
relief, but still true to his charge."
THE SHEPHERD'S DOG OF ENGLAND
Is larger and stronger than the preceding, and has nvach
of the appearance of a cross with the great rough water-dig.
96 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
It is coarser in the muzzle and in coat, and is destitute of tail.
In sagacity, however, I believe it is fully equal to its more nor-
them relative.
THE SHEPHERD'S DOG OF FRANCE.
This dog is not to be confounded with the MATIN. He re-
sembles, in form, size, and disposition, the common sheep-dog
of England, and, like that animal, usually possesses little or no
tail. Mr. Whyte Baker has favored me with the following
interesting notice of this dog : " In France, where, from the
absence of fences, the dogs are placed in care of the various
flocks, it is usual for these animals, at the bidding of their mas-
ter, to keep ranging round their charge, from flock to flock, till
he calls them off again. In one case this was forgotten, and
the faithful animal continued his rounds till he died of the fa-
tigue ! a parallel case among animals to the celebrated one
among the human kind, of the French admiral's son in the
ship Orient,' at the Battle of the Nile the theme of Mrs.
Heman's beautiful song, 'Casabianca.' '
THE DROVER'S DOG
Is larger than the colley, and seems to have sprung from a
cross with the lurcher. He is as sagacious as the shepherd's
dog, but more courageous ; and will pin and pull down a bul-
lock in a moment, if directed to do so by his master.
THE CUR-DOG
Is the colley mongreUzed. He is a bully and a coward, and
is very fond of running after the heels of a horse ; but, with
all his faults, is the best watch-dog in existence, and is, on that
account, valuable to the poor cottager, of whose humble dwell-
ing he is ever a faithful guardian.
CHAPTER IX.
THE SPANIELS.
THE beautiful lace at which we are now arrived, is one of
ewiecial celebrity ; and is peculiarly endeared to us from this
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 97
nany intellectual and moral qualities by which it is character-
ized, and from its sagacity and affection. As the shepherd's
dog is the faithful friend of those in the humbler walks of
life, so are the Spaniels to " chiefs and ladies bright" to the
gentler sex, par excellence, and to those high in "honor and in
place." Examples of the good qualities of these dogs are
everywhere notorious. As the shepherd's dog represents the
"utile," so may these represent the "dulce." The former,
the rough and honest comrade of the rough and honest
peasant the latter, the associate of luxurious courtiers, and
of powerful princes ; but still, though moving amidst tinsel
and falsehood, never losing the primitive honesty and purity
of intention which characterizes its disposition.
Spaniels are of several sub-varieties, amongst which I may
enumerate
THE SETTER, OR LAND-SPANIEL.
This Spaniel was first broken in to set partridges, and other
feathered game, as an assistant to the net, by Dudley, Duke
of Northumberland, A. D. 1335 ; and Mr. Daniel, in " Rural
Sports," gives a copy of a document, dated 1685, in which a
yeoman binds himself, for ten shillings, to teach a Spaniel to
set partridges and pheasants. That the Setter and the old
original Land-spaniel are identical, there can, therefore, be
no doubt.
There are several varieties of Setter. The ordinary old
English Setter, with rather a square head and heavy chops,
looking as if he had a dash of Spanish pointer in him ; color
usually liver and white. The Irish Setter, narrower in the
head, finer in the muzzle, usually of a dun or yellow color.
This is a dog in very high esteem ; no trace of the pointer is
seen in him. These are the genuine, unmixed descendants
of the original Land-spaniel ; and so highly valued are they,
that a hundred guineas is by no means an unusual price for a
single dog. A very superior breed of these dogs, belonging
to Sir John Blunden, Bart., of Castle Blunden, in the County
Kilkenny, is described and figured in a work published some
time ago, by Jennings, London. There was also a celebrated
breed of these dogs now, I believe, extinct kept by that
ancient and noble Irish family, the O'Conors of OfFaly : those
belonging to the late Maurice O 'Conor were highly renowned,
and the breed is described by his grandson as yet remaining.
The Scotch Setter stands high on his legs ; is usually black
and tan in color ; has the apex of the skull very prominent ;
9
98 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DO(y.
the hair long and silky ; the tail well fringed and fan-line ,
and is altogether a very beautiful dog. He is somewhat
quarrelsome, however, and of a forgetful disposition ; whence
he is not only hard to break, but, in general, requires &
repetition of the lesson at the commencement of each season.
The black Setter is a scarce dog ; very beautiful and verj
stanch. I saw lately a superb brace in Dublin, the property
of Mr. Maziere.
The Setter is by some sportsmen preferred to the pointer,
and where water is to be got at occasionally, during a day's
shooting, there can be no doubt of his superiority. He cannot,
however, work without a drink so long as the pointer can, al-
though if he can obtain a sufficient supply, he can work still
longer than that dog. In disposition, the Setter is more affec-
tionate and more attached to his master, individually, than the
pointer is. He requires more training than the latter dog ;
but that training must be of a very mild and gentle descrio.
tion, lest the dog be blinked or spirit-broken.
THE WATER-SPANIEL.
The genuine Water-spaniel is strongly and compactly
formed ; the nose fine ; the forehead high ; apex of the heac
very prominent, and furnished with a tuft or top-knot of hair;
eara very long, and deeply fringed ; color brown j coat curl-
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 99
ed all over the body, in close, crisp curls ; the tail not fringed,
but covered with close curls to the point. The smallest
speck of white may be regarded as indicative of foul
breeding.
There is also a Mack Water-spaniel. I jaw several in
Edinburgh, but I do not find them common anywhere else.
Some (and Mr. Youatt amongst others) describe two varieties
of Water-spaniel a large and a small ; but the fact is, that
we might describe two dozen varieties the variations depend-
ing on size and color only, the results of whims or fancies on
the part of breeders, who, resorting to crosses, have produced
so many aberrations from the pure and original breed, which
is that I have just described.
The Water-spaniel, however, is much improved in beauty
by intermixture with the /and variety. A female of this kind
named " Duck," which we have figured, is in possession of
Mr. Macneil, the well-known and justly-esteemed musical
instrument maker, Capel-street, (Dublin,) and is one of the
most beautiful and affectionate creatures I have ever seen.
Macneil reflects credit on "Irish manufacture;" but I pre-
sume that he and his establishment are too well known to re-
quire further eulogy. Many prefer a medium, or even small-
sized Water-spaniel, and I confess that I am of this number, as J
conceive them better suited to work, and more active as re-
trievers. Some, on the other hand, conceive that small size
is incompatible with strength ; these accordingly take pains
to breed large dogs, and some have even resorted to a cross
with the Newfoundland to effect this object ; a cross is, how-
ever, unnecessary all that is requisite being care in the se-
lection of such whelps as are to be reared, and judicious pair^
ing. In proof of this assertion, I may mention the dogs of
Justin Macarthy, Esq., of Dublin, of the highest possible
blood, and at the same time little inferior to mastiffs in size and
strength. The Water-spaniel is, I think, the most docile and
affectionate of the canine race, and the best dog that such as
require him as a companion could possibly keep. He can be
trained to do any thing but speak an accomplishment itself,
indeed, that was, to a limited extent, possessed some years ago
by a spaniel in Germany, (Leibnitz, Opera, 1768.)
The Water-spa.niel is of considerable antiquity, having
been known to the Romans, as we find him figured on many
of their monuments. Colonel H. Smith regards it as identi-
cal with the " Canis Tuscus," praised by Nemesian.
Some years ag3 this dog was in great repute iff Dublin
100 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
In those days, duck-hunting was a favorite amusement ; i
used to be practised in the " brackish canal," near the north
wall, and the brown Water-spaniel was found superior to all
other dogs at this sport ; further, he was soft-mouihed, and
did not injure the duck when he succeeded in capturing her,
consequently, the same unfortunate bird answered for a
second hunt. Among many other improvements that have
characterized the present generation, I may observe that this
inhuman sport is no longer permitted.
THE COCKER
Is in appearance a diminutive land-spaniel, but with a
shorter muzzle, a more rounded head, and longer ears. He
is a lively, amusing little dog, and a great favorite with the
fair sex. The use of the Cocker is to spring woodcocks and
pheasants in copses and thickets which larger dogs cannot
enter.
THE SPRINGER
Is the same with the cocker, but of somewhat larger size
and heavier form. He is less lively in his movements, takes
matters more coolly, and can, consequently, better stand a
hard day's work.
THE BLENHEIM SPANIEL.
Blenheim Castle, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, was formerly
the residence of King Ethelred, and since that, of Henry II.,
as also the birthplace of several princes of the royal line of
England ; subsequently the prison of Queen Elizabeth,
during a portion of Queen Mary's reign ; and was after-
wards granted by Queen Anne to John Duke of Marlborough,
for obtaining illustrious victories over the French and Ba-
varians, at the village of Blenheim, in Suabia, A. D. 1704.
In this superb mansion has been preserved, for the last
century and a half, the small red and white spaniel or com-
forter, the " Pyrame" of Buffon the Blenheim Spaniel of
the present day.
THE KING CHARLES SPANIEL
Is distinguished by the shortness of his muzzle the round
and bullet-like shape of his head the prominence of his
S ye the length of his ears, and his color, which must be
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DCG. 101
black and tan. These were the favorite companions of King
Charles II., and the breed has since been carefully preserved
by the Duke of Norfolk. Mr. Youatt speaks of this breed,
but oddly enough describes it as the result of a cross with
<he terrier, a dog from which this breed differs far more in
form than does the common cocker. The present Duke
possesses two varieties of the King Charles breed, oie black
and tan, and of a middling size, like the ordina, y fieV i
cocker, and it is, perhaps, these to which Mr. Youatt alludes-
and the other breed of very diminutive size, with extremely
long ears, and silky coat ; these latter sometimes occur black
and white; they are kept at Arundel Castle, Sussex, the
ancient seat of the Howard family. They are admitted to
the apartment in which the Duke dines ; and his grace has
been known to select the first cuts for them off the joints of
which he himself was partaking. They are introduced
into nearly all the family pictures. It is also on record,
that James II. was particularly attached to these Spaniels, so
that they are justly entitled to their appellation of " ROYAL
RACE."
In London, where these two dogs are bred with great
care, and to the highest degree of perfection, the Blenheim
is frequently crossed with the Charles, so that the variety
of color on which the difference of nomenclature depends,
often appears in the same litter ; the black and tan being
denominated " King Charles," and the red and white, " Blen-
heim."
Several " Spaniel Clubs" have been formed with a view
to promote the careful breeding of these dogs, and of some
of these His Royal Highness Prince Albert is the patron,
both her Majesty and the Prince being enthusiastic admirers
102 NATURAL HISTOB5T OF THE DOG.
of these beautiful little creatures. His Royal Highness has,
at no sparing outlay, erected a superb kennel for them at
Windsor.
The members of these Spaniel Clubs subscribe a small
sum each, and with the amount contributed a handsome col-
lar of silver, with gold entablature, is purchased ; a particular
day is then named, and judges are appointed, when each
member brings to the club-room a dog of his own rearing,
and that dog adjudged to possess the greatest number of
good points, attains the collar as a prize. Mr. Nolan, of
Bachelor's-walk, in Dublin, has one of these collars, and
his prize-dog " Blouse," of which we have given a figure, is
admitted by all judges to be far superior to any thing of the
kind that has ever been seen in any part of the British do-
minions, or elsewhere. Mr. Nolan has refused most ex-
traordinary offers for this dog, which he keeps as a sire.
No price will tempt him to part with his favorite, whom,
however, I feel convinced, he will have great pleasure in
showing to any admirer of the breed that may call upon
him.
King 'Jharles and Blenheim Spaniels have been known in
London to fetch the price of from 150 to 200 guineas! I
have already detailed the points on which excellence de-
pends.
The keeper of a gaming house in Dublin had lately a
little black and tan Spaniel of this breed, for which he re-
fused the sum of eighty guineas ; within a fortnight from
his refusal, the animal was run over by a carriage, and
killed upon the spot.
Both the Blenheim and King Charles breeds are remarka-
bly affectionate to their owners; they are likewise very
watchful, and in other respects extremely sagacious. I
recollect reading an account of one which saved his sleeping
master's life, by biting his finger, and thus awakening him
in time to perceive that a stone summer temple in which he
had been reading, was tottering, and about to fall upon him :
catching the little dog in his arms, he rushed hastily into the
open air, which he had no sooner reached, than the temple
was a mass of ruins.
Both these dogs have also been found perfectly fit foi
service in the field, and if the pets were occasionally per-
mitted to do duty there, the race would be greatly improved
in health and beauty, and considerably enhanced in value.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 10
THE WATER -POG.
THE GREAT ROUGH WATER-DOG.
This is a dog of considerable size, being about the height
r' a stout setter, but much more powerfully built. His coat is
long and curled ; the head is large and round ; the frontal
sinuses ample ; ears long, and well furnished with hair ;
legs rather short; color usually brown and white, or black
and white ; he possesses great courage and sagacity ; he is
an excellent water-dog, and well adapted to the duties of a
retriever ; he, however, requires considerable training to in-
duce him to be tender of his game, as he is apt to drive in
his teeth, and consequently mangle his bird.
This dog is not to be confounded with the poodle of either
France or Germany ; he is a more original, and a very dif-
ferent dog.
I recollect a singularly large dog of this breed, about ten
years ago, in possession of Mr. Griers-on, of N. Hanover-
street, Edinburgh, near the foot of the Mound, which was
possessed of unusual intelligence. Among other eccentrici-
ties, this dog followed the profession of mendicancy, and
regularly solicited the charity of the passers-by. On re-
ceiving a halfpenny, his habit was, if hungry, to proceed at
once to the shop of Mr. Nelson, at the corner of Rose-street,
and purchase a biscuit ; but it sometimes happened that he
put by his halfpence until the calls of appetite returned,
when he would go to his repository, take the money to the
baker's, and make his purchase. A servant of Mr. Grier-
son's accidentally came upon this sagacious and provident
animal's hoarding-place on one occasion, where were found
about five-pence halfpenny in halfpence. The dog chanced
to enter at the moment of the discovery, and with a growl of
displeasure he rushed to the spot, and snatching up his
wealth, proceeded at full speed to the shop, and dashed the
money on the counter, barking vehemently at the same
time, probably deeming it safer to turn it into bread at once,
than risk being robbed by keeping it. This dog was stuffed
at his death, and is preserved in the Ed. Mus. of Nat. History.
THE POODLE.
The Poodle resembles the great water-dog in general ap-
pearance, but may be very easily disting fished from him by
104 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
the circumstance of his being furnished with wool instead of
hair. The Poodle is an excellent water-dog, but is not so
hardy, and consequently not capable of remaining in the
water so long as the preceding variety ; he is, however,
more active, more easily trained, and far more tender-
mouthed. Mr. Jesse, in his " Gleanings," mentions a Poodle
belonging to a friend of his, for whom correction was found
necessary, he being sometimes rather unruly : 4he gentleman
bought a whip, with which he corrected him once or twice
when out walking ; on his return he left the whip on the
hall-table, and in the morning it was missing. Having been
found concealed in an out-building, and, as before, used
when occasion required, in correcting the dog, it was once
more missed ; but on the dog, who was suspected of having
stolen it, being watched, he was seen to take it from the hall-
table, in order to hide it as before.
In a most amusing paper, entitled " Sketches of Burschen
Life," published in that excellent periodical, THE DUBLIN
UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE, for July, 1846, is the following
laughable anecdote of a Poodle and a short-sighted Pro-
fessor :
" There was a story, when we were in Heidelberg, going
about of a certain student who had a remarkably fine white
Poodle ; the intelligence and sagacity of the animal were un-
common, and as he used daily to accompany his master to
the lecture-room of a professor, who was not very remark-
able for the distinctness of his vision, he would regularly
take his seat upon the bench beside his master, and peer into
his book, as if he understood every word of it.
" One wet morning, the lecture-room, never, at any time,
remarkable for its fulness, was deserted, save by the student
who owned the Poodle. The dog, however, had somehow
happened to remain at home.
" ' Gentlemen,' said the short-sighted professor, as he com-
menced his lecture, * I am sorry to notice, that the very
attentive student in the white coat, whose industry I have
not failed to observe, is, contrary to his usual custom, absent
to-day !' "
THE LITTLE BARBET
Is a diminutive poodle, the head being covered with straight
and silky hair the rest of the body having a curly and
woolly coat.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LOG 105
THE LION DOG
Has a mane like a lion, the remainder of the body having
close hair ; supposed to have sprung from a cross between
the small barbet and naked Turk ; it is a very rare variety,
and useless.
CHAPTER X.
THE third great group of domestic dogs may be best re-
presented by the mastiff, of which dogs, indeed, it is ex-
clusively composed. This group and the first, or that
represented by the greyhounds, 'present the strongest marks
of originality.
THE MASTIFFS.
The Dog of Thibet.
The Dog of St. Bernard, or Alpine Mastiff.
The Spanish, or Cuban Mastiff.
The Bull-dog.
The Pug-dog.
The British Mastiff.
THE DOG OF THIBET.
Placed by Mr. Youatt at the head of the first or grey-
hound group, but in reality the extreme opposite to that
group, presenting all the mastiff attributes to a degree of per-
fection amounting almost to exaggeration or caricature.
The mastiff of Thibet is a dog of vast size, standing from
thirty to thirty-three inches in height at the shoulder, and
being bulky in proportion. His head is large and broad,
and the divergence of the parietal bones is very strongly
marked. His lips are very full and pendulous, and the skin
from the eyebrows forms a fold towards the outer edge of the
eyes ending in the jowl ; the neck is remarkably full, and
the chest is furnished with a dewlap. The usual color of
this dog is black and tan ; the coat is large and rugged ; the
tail very bushy, and carried up over the back. The *igure
of this noble dog, given in Mr. Youatt's book, is very good,
and most faithfully depicts the animal it is designed to repre-
106
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG,
sent ; and this renders it still more singular that the dog and
its description should be so misplaced as at the head of the
greyhound group.
In disposition, the Thibet dog is said to be very fierce, bu
much attached to his master. They were originally noticed
by Marco Polo, who described them as being " as large as
asses," a description contradicted by some subsequent travel-
lers, but since amply confirmed. The probable cause of these
discrepant accounts is, that the Thibet mastiff degenerates
rapidly if removed to a milder climate, and several inferior,
though similar breeds, exist in different portions of the Him-
alaya chain of mountains.
The mastiff of Thibet is well figured in that interesting
work, " Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society."
Colonel Smith most justly refers to this dog as the typical
mastiff the Canis Urcanus described of old by Oppian.
THE DOG OF ST. BERNARD, OR ALPINE MASTIFF.
So many conflicting accounts of this dog have appeared
from time to time, that it is impossible to trust to the accura-
cy of any of them ; accordingly, I have rejected all, and
Mimed to nature itself to the existing dogs, and thf* verbal
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 107
ccounts of such faithworthy persons as have actually seen
them.
It is not every one whose description of a dog would have
weight with me. He must be a lover of the race in short,
a dog-fancier to understand the animal's points, and hence
give a correct description. By some writers, the St. Bernard
dog is described as a large spaniel! with soft, curly coat, and
long, fringed ears. My esteemed old friend, Captain Thomas
Brown, in his very amusing " Anecdotes of Dogs," actually
gives a figure of this dog, representing him as a large CQcker !
Mr. Jesse does not describe the dog's appearance at all, and it
would not be easy to make out what the figure is intended 1o
represent, whether, indeed, a dog, or some nondescript ani-
mal. Mr. Martin places him with the Newfoundland and
Calabrian dogs, and, to a certain extent, he is not far astray.
Colonel H. Smith, (Nat. Lib.) and whose valuable work
seems to-have furnished Mr. Martin with more than the ground-
work of his classes the St. Bernard dog also with the wolf-
dog group ; but he, at the same time, informs us, that more
than one description of dog is trained by the monks of the
Great St. Bernard, for their pious and charitable purposes.
One sort he describes as being long-coated, and resembling
the Newfoundland, and the other as being short-coated, and
resembling the Great Dane in color and hair,
The animal figured by Colonel Smith ~a dog belonging to
108 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, and stated by that gentleman t
have been brought direct from the Great St. Bernard, by Sii
Henry Dalrymple, of North Berwick displays in his ap
pearance all the characteristics we might expect to arise fron,
a cross between the short-coated, mighty mastiff of the Alps
and the slighter and more hairy wolf-dog of the Pyrenees ,
and such I believe to have been the cross whence that fine
animal sprang.
I have, as I have already stated, been at considerable pains
to discover the true character and history of this noble breed
of dogs ; and the result of my inquiries tends to show that
the dog originally trained to this service, was a large and
powerful mastiff, short-coated, deep-jowled, of a yellow color^
with a long, fine tail. L'Ami, who was brought, in 1829,
from the convent on the Great St. Bernard, was of this de-
scription. He was exhibited, in both London and Liverpool,
1o many thousand people, at the charge of one shilling ad-
mission. I was favored by Mr. Clarke of Holborn, who lith-
ographed L' A mi's portrait, and who is himself an ardent fan-
cier of dogs, and of this breed in particular, with a full ac-
count of the true dogs of St. Bernard, obtained by him from
the very best authorities. A good many years ago a pestilence
made its appearance amongst the dogs of the convent, and
all were destroyed save one single specimen. Under these
circumstances, the monks had no alternative but to cross the
breed, which they did with the Spanish or Pyrenean wolf-dog
the most likely cross to which they could have resorted;
hence arose the race of dogs ordinarily known as St. Ber-
nard's. Some of the true race have been now restored ; but
they are very scarce, and are not to be possessed under enor-
mous prices ; in fact, not to be had from the convent at all :
Mr. Clarke being acquainted with a nobleman who offered one
hundred guineas for a brace of puppies, without success.
Hence the mistakes arising from spurious dogs, supposea to
be original, merely because they came from the mountain.
Mr. Youatt gives a very excellent figure of the present most
common race of St. Bernard dogs ; but, notwithstanding the
figure he gives, persists in naming it a spaniel. Perhaps the
finest of this breed in existence is the dog recently kept at
Chatsworth. I know not whether it be still living. It was
a dog of amazing stature, of a yellow color, with a blacK
muzzle. There is also one at Elvaston Castle, in Derbyshire,
fcr wnich Lord Harrington gave fifty guineas. In Dublin,
jiese oogs used to oe common. They were introduced by a
NATURAL HISTORY OF TII DOG. 109
Frenchman, named Casserane, a butcher in Ormond Market.
He had male and female, and their whelps were eagerly
purchased at five guineas each, as soon as weaned. W.
Flood, Esq., of Stillorgan, possesses a noble specimen, of which
we give a figure ; and there was also, until lately, a beauti-
ful specimen, named " Donna," in possession of my relative,
John Richardson, Esq., of Newington Terrace, Rathmines.
Donna was one of the best water-dogs I ever saw. She was
gentle ; but very wild and playful, and her tremendous size
rendered her romping caresses any thing but agreeable. My
relative went on one occasion to bathe, accompanied by Don-
na, who watched the progress of unrobing with much appa-
rent curiosity. No sooner had her master plunged into the
water, however, than Donna sprang after him, and, doubtless
uneasy for his safety, seized him by the shoulder, and dragged
him, in spite of all his resistance and he is both a powerful
man and a capital swimmer with more zeal than gentleness,
to land ; nor could he ever enter the water in Donna's pres-
ence.
Mr. Otley, of Rathmines, possesses a noble dog of this breed,
of remarkably large size and striking appearance : and Mr.
Bryan (late Sheriff Bryan) has a fine dog, which was brougl
some years ago from the Alps direct.
THE SPANISH OR CUBAN MASTIFF
Is not to be confounded which he, however, has been
with the Spanish or Cuban bloodhound. This is a totally
different dog.
The Spanish or Cuban Mastiff is a very powerfully built
dog, of from twenty-six to twenty-eight inches in height, with
extraordinary development of bone and muscle. His head is
of prodigious size, even apparently too large in proportion to
his body ; his eyes are placed very far apart ; his upper lip
pendulous, but not so much so as in the preceding dog ; the
ear is small, and not perfectly pendulous, being erect at the
root, but the tip falling over ; color usually tawny or light ru-
fus ; the under jaw is also undershot, and I do not think I can
give my readers a better idea of the dog, than by describing
him as a gigantic bull-dog, occupying precisely the same po-
sition with regard to the prodigious mastiff of the Alps, which
our own British bull-dog does in reference to the English
mastiff. The Spanish or Cuban Mastiff is a dog of great cour-
age ; in Spain he is used in the combats of the amphitheatre,
10
110 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
and is commonly known on the Continent as the " Spanish
bull-dog." The dogs procured from Spain and Portugal will
be found to answer my present description more fully than
such as we may now procure from Cuba ; the latter breed
having, in many instances, undergone much alteration and
deterioration by crossing with the Cuban bloodhound. J. Ayl-
rner, Esq., of 5, Bachelor's Walk, Dublin, has the finest of
the breed, perhaps, in Britain. He is frequently importing
new and perfect specimens from Cadiz ; for doing which he
possesses peculiar facilities. Colonel H. Smith conceives this
race to have been identical with the broad-mouthed dogs for
which Britain was celebrated during the Roman era; and
certainly, as this race' answers to ancient description far better
/han our common bull-dog, I am disposed fully to concur with
him.
Some years ago, I saw a remarkably fine specimen of this
breed, at the Portobello Gardens, which fell since into the
possession of Dr. Gilgeous, of Demerara. There was also a
good specimen recently presented to our Zoological Society,
by Sir George Preston, which is, I believe, still in the Soci-
ety's gardens.
THE BULL-DOG.
The British Bull-dog is, when a good dog, perhaps one of
the most courageous animals in existence. I am obliged to
qualify my meed of praise, however, as I have myself seen
Bull-dogs, not merely of very doubtful courage, but absolute-
ly coiuards. I attribute this moral degeneracy to the practice
of too close, or " in and in" breeding a practice certain to
prejudice the mental qualifications, even though external or
physical conformation remain apparently the same.
Th-e Bull-dog needs little description : he usually stands
twenty inches in height if smaller, he is so much the more
highly esteemed ; his head is large and round ; his eyes
small and far apart ; ears small and partly erect ; muzzle
short, truncated, and turned upwards ; under jaw projecting
beyond the upper, displaying the lower incisor teeth ; color
usually brindled, but white is the fancy color ; party col-
ors, as black and white, &c., are to be condemned ; his tail
must be fine as a rush.
The Bull-dog is remarkable for the obstinacy with which
ie keeps his hold, suffering himself to be dismembered and
the merciless experiment has, to the disgrace of human na
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. Ill
ture, been tried more than once rather than quit it. He is
an excellent water-dog, very faithful to his master ; but, un-
fortunately, has become too notorious, from the inhuman and
blackguard sports for which he has been generally used, to be
suffered to follow the heel of any man who does not desire to
be set down as a patron of ruffianism and infamy.
The Bull-dog is not wholly destitute of good qualities, as
some writers have represented him to be. Besides his cour-
age, he possesses strong attachment to his master. Mr. Jes-
se relates an anecdote of a Bull-dog, that having been accus-
tomed to be his master's travelling companion, in his carriage,
for several years, on his place being allotted to a new favor-
ite, refused to eat, sickened, pined, and died.
A Bull-dog saved a shipwrecked crew, by towing a rope
from the vessel to the shore, after two fine Newfoundland dogs
had perished in the attempt. I should attribute his success
to his indomitable courage, which prevented him from giving
up his exertions while life remained.
THE PUG.
This dog was a sort of miniature of the bull-dog, but with-
out his courage. His muzzle was usually black ; the rest of
his body of a buff color ; and the tail curled tightly over the
hinder end.
The Pug has been replaced, as a lady's pet, by the more el-
egant Italian greyhound, and the Blenheim and King Charles
spaniels. He is now very rarely to be seen, and will soon
become extinct, if, indeed, such has not already been his fate.
THE BRITISH MASTIFF.
This dog appears to owe his origin to a mixture of the bull-
dog of ancient Britain with the old Talbot hound. He is usu-
ally of a brindled color, or buff, with dark ears and muzzle.
" Chicken,'-'* a dog belonging to the 43d regiment, stood twen-
ty-nine inches and a half in height at the shoulder. He was
very gentle to human beings, but was not to be trifled with by
his own kind ; for on one occasion he killed his brother in com-
bat. Chicken was once passing up Union-street, at Plymouth,
when he was beset by a troop of curs, who at length actually
impeded him in his walk, and excited his anger, on which he
paused, raised one of his hind legs, and astonished them all.
* Colonel Smith.
112 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
The disposition of the Mastiff is characterized by courage,
generosity, and forbearance : even the midnight marauder
will be held by him uninjured, until human aid arrives, pro-
vided he refrain from struggle or resistance. The attacks
of puny antagonists are despised ; but if they become intoler
able, the noble Mastiff is satisfied with showing his contempt,
or inflicting chastisement of rather a humiliating than a pain-
ful nature. The story 'of the Mastiff that, when greatly an-
noyed by the incessant barking of a little cur, took him by the
back of the neck, and dropped him over a quay wall into the
river, is well known ; but I recollect an instance of this na-
ture, when the Mastiff, standing for a moment contemplating
the struggles of his late tormenter, and perceiving that the cur-
rent was likely to carry him away, actually sprang into the
water, and rescued him from his dangerous position.
Henry VII. ordered a Mastiff to be hanged, because he had
singly coped with and overcome a lion ! And in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, when Lord Buckhurst was ambassador at
the court of Charles IX., a Mastiff is said to have, alone and
unassisted, successively engaged a bear, a leopard, and a li-
on, and pulled them all down. Stow relates an engagement
which took place, in the reign of James I., between three mas-
tiffs and a lion. One of the dogs being put into the den, was
soon disabled by the lion, who took him by the head and
neck, and dragged him about. Another dog was next let
loose, which shared the same fate ; but the third, on being
put in, immediately seized the lion by the lip, and held him
for a considerable time, till being severely torn by his claws,
the dog was obliged to quit his hold ; and the lion, greatly ex-
hausted by the conflict, refused to renew the engagement, but
taking a sudden leap over the dogs, fled into the interior part
of his den. Two of the dogs soon died of their wounds : but
the third recovered, and was taken care of by the king's son,
who said, " He that had fought with the king of beasts should
never after fight with any inferior creature" a far nobler
determination than that arrived at by the usurper, Henry
VII., as already detailed.
The English Mastiff is now very rare, even more so than
that of the Alps. He was in high esteem formerly as a
watch-dog, but is now generally superseded in that duty by
the Newfoundland, who is more than competent to supply hi*
place.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 113
CHAPTER XL
MONGRELS.
THE principal Mongrels are :
The Lurcher,
The Bandog,
The Dropper,
The Bull-terrier,
The Alicant Dog,
The Shock Dog,
The Artois Dog,
The Griffin Dog,
The Kangaroo Dog.
These Mongrel" races may be quickly dispatched. The
LURCHER I have already treated of among the rough grey,
hounds.
The BANDOG is figured and described by Bewick. He
seems to have been a sort of light mastiff, and has all the ap-
pearance of having been a cross between that dog and fox.
hound. He is now, I should imagine, quite extinct.
THE DROPPER
Is a cross between pointer and setter. He is a most useful
dog in the field, and in high esteem with such sportsmen as,
shooting in a wet country, like a dog of all work. The
" Yorkshire Dropper" has been long famous among sporting
dogs.
THE BULL-TERRIER.
A cross between terrier and bull-dog, varying in aspect ac-
cording to the sort of terrier to which he owes descent : a
lively, courageous dog, well adapted for all kinds of mischiev-
ous sport, and affording fewer unpleasant associations than
the bull-dog, while he is hardier than the terrier.
THE ALICANT DOG
Is a small, silky-haired spaniel, with a pug's head and muz.
zle. I have often thought this dog is related to our King
Charles and Blenheim breeds.
10*
14 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
THE SHOCK DOG.
A small poodle, with silky hair instead of wool, and the
short, turned- up nose of the pug.
THE ARTOIS DOG.
Between the shock and the pug.
THE GRIFFIN DOG.
Apparently a cross between the sheep-dog and water-dog.
With the exception of the bull-terrier and dropper, none of
these dogs are of any use.
THE KANGAROO DOG.
This is a tall and handsome dog, bred between a mastiff,
or Newfoundland, and greyhound, with a dash of bull-dog.
It usually reaches the height of twenty-seven or twenty-eight
inches at the shoulder ; is swift, strong, and with a fair ave-
rage share of courage ; and is, consequently, about the best
description of dog that could be employed in the chase of
kangaroo a chase attended with considerable danger to the
dogs, as the kangaroo often rips up a dog from jaw to belly
with a single stroke of the hind-foot. A mongrel is therefore
the best for such a use, as it would not answer to expose val-
uable or high-bred dogs to so much risk. In appearance the
Kangaroo dog is not very unlike the tiger-hound of South
America.
CHAPTER XII.
GENERAL TREATMENT OF THE DOG.
THOSE who desire to breed dogs of peculiar excellence for
themselves, will be certain of success, if they attend to one or
two simple directions. Do not be satisfied with the appearance
alone of either parent. Ascertain the pedigree as far as possi-
ble ; for it not unfrequently happens that a whelp, having all
the appearance of high breeding, will be accidentally produced
when one parent is absolutely of a different breed, or haply a
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 115
common cur : from such stock, however, it would be unsafe
to breed, as the probability is, in such cases, in favor of the
whelps, more or less, taking after the bad blood, or, as it is
called, throwing back. Ascertain the pedigree, therefore, for
at least four generations.
Let your next consideration be the age and health of the
parents. The male should be, at least, two years old, and
the female at least fifteen months. The male need not be
rejected as unfit until his eighth year, provided he have worn
well, not been hardly used, and have retained his health and
vigor. The female, under similar circumstances, need not
be rejected until her sixth year.
Both parents should be in perfect health. The female goes
with young sixty-three days; she has from four to thirteen
young at a birth. The whelps are born blind, and their eyes
open about the eleventh or twelfth day. The dam should not
be permitted to breed -oftener than three times in two years,
"aor to rear" more than five puppies; and if delicate, she must
not rear so many. If the whelps are very valuable, you can
readily procure a foster-nurse, who can, without difficulty, bo
induced to adopt as many whelps as you find it necessary to
remove from the dam. The whelps should not be suckled
longer than six weeks ; but five, or even four, is sufficiently
long, if necessity calls for their removal so soon ; the only
difference being, that in such case they require more care at
your hands.
After weaning, the -pups will feed voraciously, but should
.not be given as much as they will eat, or they will surfeit
themselves*.- Their diet may consist of well-boiled oatmeal
porridge, mashed' potatoes, with skim milk, or new milk, to
dilute the mess ; give it cool, and do not add the milk until the
mess be cool. Do not make more than will be wanted at one
time ; give the food fresh and fresh, and keep the vessels scru-
pulously clean. Let the whelps have a bed of clean straw over
pine shavings, or pine sawdust ; the turpentine contained in
the wood will banish fleas. Let there be a supply of fresh
water always within their reach, and let them have a free,
open, airy court, in which to disport themselves. A grass-
plot is a great advantage ; and if you have no such accommo-
dation, get some nice fresh grass cut twice or thrice a week,
and lay it down in your court. The dog is the best physician
in his own sickness, and will resort to the grass with much
satisfaction if his stomach be out of order.
At about four months old, the first set of teeth, or milk
116 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
teeth, begin to drop out, and are replaced by the permanent
set, which change is complete between the sixth and seventh
month. The tusks have acquired their full length about the
twelfth or thirteenth month. At about two years old, a
yellow circle makes its appearance around the base of the
tusks, which gradually develops itself, with more and more
intensity, until the third year. About this time you will
find the edges of the front, or cutting teeth, begin to be worn
down, and the little nick on the crown of the lateral incisors
to disappear. As the fourth year approaches, the tusks lose
their points, and the teeth present a gradual progress of de-
cay, until the fifth or sixth year, when the incisors begin to
fall, and the tusks become discolored over their entire surface.
The sixth or seventh year finds the dog less lively than of
old ; he is evidently no longer young ; as soon as his eighth
year has passed away, a few gray hairs show themselves
around his eyes, and at the corners of the mouth. These
appearances increase in intensity to the eleventh or twelfth
year, when actual decrepitude usually sets in, and increases
so rapidly, that by the fourteenth year, if the animal survive
so long, he is a nuisance to himself and all with whom he
comes in contact ; sares break out in different parts of his
body, his whole carcass emits a fetid smell, and it is with
difficulty he can drag his aged limbs along: it is, then, a
source of congratulation when death comes in, and releases
him from his sufferings.
DEWCLAWS.
It frequently happens that puppies are born with a fifth toe
upon the hind foot; this is called a dewclaw. It is usually
only a false toe, possessing no connection with the bony struc-
ture of the limb ; but, in any case, should be taken off. Mr.
Youatt calls the practice an inhuman one, and seems to think
that this claw is seldom any hinderance to the dog. I see no
great inhumanity in it ; for if it be done at the proper age
viz., between the third and fourth week the operation is
scarcely felt by the pup, and the tongue of the dam soon heals
the wound. Let it also be properly done, with a pair of large,
sharp scissors ; let the pup be firmly held by one person, while
a second operates, and let the operator feel for the proper
place to cut, and also not be nervous, but do his work with
decision. The dewclaws, when left on, are constantly com-
ing in the way, getting entangled in grass or roots, and
NATURAL HIST.'RY OF THE DOG. 117
rendering their possessor quite unfit to enter cover, and
ready, if he could speak, to curse the maudlin sentimentality
,o which he owed the annoyance.
CROPPING AND TAILING.
Some persons like to crop the ears of a terrier ; others like
them to be left in their natural condition. Mr. Youatt ob-
jects to cropping : so do many. I say nothing either for or
against ; but if you be resolved on cropping, do it humanely ;
let three cuts suffice. Draw the ears over the head until the
points meet ; with a very sharp pair of scissors, cut both
points off to the length you desire ; then with a single cut to
each, from below upwards, cut away the hinder portion of
the flaps of the ears up to the point.
In a week the ears will be well ; and I have never known
deafness or any other of the bad effects prognosticated by Mr,
Youatt, to result from the operation. As I have already
stated, however, I am not advocating the practice ; I merely
give instructions as to how it should be done in the most mer-
ciful manner. The tail of a well-bred pup should never be
meddled with ; and if the dog be badly bred, and his tail,
consequently, coarse, he is not worth keeping.
In training your dogs, keep your temper / never correct the
dog in vengeance for your own irritation ; gentleness does far
more than violence will ever effect ; and a dog that requires
the latter treatment had better be got rid of; he will ever be
a nuisance.
In proof of my assertion I adduce the following most inte-
resting account of the performances of two dogs, exhibited
some time ago in London. The account was published in the
"Lancet."
" Two fine dogs, of the Spanish breed, were introduced by
M Leonard, with the customary French politesse the largest,
by the name of M. Philax ; the other, as M. Brae, (or Spot.).
The former had been in training three the latter, two years.
They were in vigorous health, and, having bowed very grace-
fully, seated themselves on the hearth-rug side by side. M.
Leonard then gave a lively description of the means he had
employed to envelope the cerebral system in these animals ;
how, from having been fond of the chase, and ambitious of
possessing the best-trained dogs, he had employed the usual
course of training how the conviction had been impressed on
bis mind, that by gentle usage, and steady perseverance in
119 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
inducing the animal to repeat, again and again, what was re-
quired not only would the dog be capable of performing that
specific act, but that part of the brain, which was brought in-
to activity by the mental effort, would become more largely
developed ; and hence a permanent increase of mental power
be obtained. This reasoning is in accordance with trie
known laws of the physiology of the nervous system, and is
fraught with the most important results. We may refer the
reader interested in the subject, to the masterly little work
of Doctor Verity, ' Changes produced in the Nervous System
by Civilization.' After this introduction, M. Leonard spoke
to his dogs in French, in his usual tone, and ordered one of
them to walk, the other to lie down, to run, to gallop, halt
crouch, &c., which they performed as promptly and correct-
ly as the most docile children. Then he directed them to go
through the usual exercises of the manage, which they per-
formed as well as the best-trained ponies at Astley's. He
next placed six cards of different colors on the floor, and,
sitting with his back to the dogs, directed one to pick up the
blue card, and the other the white, &c., varying his orders
rapidly, and speaking in such a manner, that it was impossi-
ble the dogs could have executed his commands if they had
not a perfect knowledge of the words. For instance, M.
Leonard said, ' Philax, take the red card, and give it to Brae ;
and Brae, take the white card, and give it to Philax/ The
dogs instantly did this, and exchanged cards with each other.
He then said, * Philax, put your card on the green, and Brae,
put yours on the blue,' and this was instantly performed.
Pieces of bread and meat were placed on the floor, with
figured cards, and a variety of directions were given to the
dogs, so as to put their intelligence and obedience to a severe
test. They brought the meat, bread, or cards, as command-
ed, but did not attempt to eat or to touch, unless ordered.
Philax was then ordered to bring a piece of meat, and give it
to Brae, and then Brae was told to give it back to Philax,
who was to return it to its place. Philax was next told he
might bring a piece of bread, and eat it ; but, before he had
time to swallow it, his master forbade him, and directed him
to show that he had not disobeyed, and the dog instantly pro
truded the crust between his lips.
" While many of these feats were being performed, M.
Leonard snapped a whip violently, to prove that the animals
were so completely under discipline that they would not heed
any interruption.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 119
" After many other performances, M. Leonard invited a
gentleman to play a game of dominoes with one of them.
The younger and slighter dog then seated himself on a chair
at the table, and the writer and M. Leonard seated them-
selves opposite. Six dominoes were placed on their edges in
the usual manner before the dog, and a like number before
the writer. The dog having a double number, took one up
in his mouth, and put it in the middle of the table; the
writer placed a corresponding piece on one side ; the dog
immediately played another correctly ; and so on until all
the pieces were engaged. Other six dominoes were then given
to each, and the writer intentionally played a wrong number.
The dog looked surprised, stared very earnestly at the writer,
growled, and finally barked angrily. Finding that no notice
was taken of his remonstrances, he pushed away the wrong
domino with his nose, and took up a suitable one from his
own pieces, and placed it in its stead. The writer then
played correctly; the dog followed, and won the game. Not
the slightest intimation could have been given by M. Leonard
to the dog ; this mode of play must have been entirely the
result of his own observation and judgment. It should be
added, that the performances were strictly private. The
owner of the dogs was a gentleman of independent fortune,
and the instruction of his dogs had been taken up merely as
a curious and amusing investigation."
Some years ago, a Spaniard, named Germondi, exhibited a
company of performing dogs in the different towns of Great
Britain and Ireland. In Dublin, where he made some stay,
he occupied, with his company, the large building at the
corner of D'Olier-street, which is now the handsome shop of
Messrs. Kinahan. The performances of these dogs were ex-
tremely curious. They danced, waltzed, and pirouetted.
One, in the costume and character of a lady, sat down to
a spinning-wheel, which he kept in motion for a considerable
time.
The company was divided into two groups : one-half ap-
pearing in dresses of a red color, and the other being attired
in blue. The blues occupied the model of a fortress, which
the red troop attacked, drawing up their artillery in front,
and opening a heavy fire upon the enemy, which the blues
returned with their cannon from the fortress. The reds
were, however, at length victorious ; the fortress tottered,
and the reds dashed across the defences. Suddenly the
blew up with a tremendous crash, and several dogs*
120 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
on both sides, lay motionless as they fell, apparently severely
maimed, if not entirely dead. When the effects of the ex-
plosion had died away, the proprietor advanced, and pulled
the performers about as dead dogs, to the no small horror
and amazement of the spectators ; but immediately on the
dropping of the curtain, the apparently wounded or dead
dogs sprang to their feet, and resumed their proper places.
The next scene introduced one of the dogs a captive be-
tween two of his comrades, all attired in military costume.
The captive, being condemned as a deserter, was sentenced
to be shot, and the sentence carried forthwith into execution
by his canine comrades. On being fired at, he fell, struggled
convulsively^ for a few seconds, then 'apparently died ; in
this state he was dragged about the stage ; his comrades
then placed him in a barrow, and wheeled him away. He
subsequently appeared placed in a bier drawn by dogs, with
likewise a canine driver, who flourished a whip over his
companions, and with a procession of the whole company at-
tired as soldiers, moved slowly to the solemn dead march,
deposited their comrade in the grave, and thus concluded
their performance. These dogs were of various descrip-
tions pugs, poodles, mongrels.
There was an interlude of young puppies, who tumbled
head over heels in various diverting attitudes, after which
he introduced a fine specimen of bull-dog, which the ex-
hibiter called his fire-king. This dog was trained to exhibit
in the midst of a brilliant display of fireworks, and nothing
could exceed the courage he preserved when wholly sur-
rounded by flames, or the resolution he manifested not to
quit his position until the fire was entirely extinguished.
I adduce these interesting accounts, in order to impress
upon my readers' mind the grand fact, that gentleness, and
not cruelty, is the " modus operandi" likely to succeed with
an animal capable of so much intellectual culture as is the
dog ; and I hope that the above anecdotes may touch other
minds as deeply as they have mine, and save many a poor
dog from the ill-usage to which he might otherwise have been
subjected.
NATURAL HISTORY OP THE DOG.
CHAPTER XIII.
DISEASES OF THE DOG.
THIS portion of my subject might truly be made to occupy
treble the space of the present entire treatise. Such an ex-
tended dissertation, however, would not be within the limits
of such a work as this ; nor do I think it would prove very
useful. The less any one quacks his dog the better. If a
veterinary surgeon can be called in, let him prescribe, and
do you implicitly follow his directions. It may happen that
you are not so circumstanced as to be able to obtain such
assistance ; then let nature work her own will, and, in nine
cases out of ten, you will find her successful. Still, how-
ever, though nature does not require absolute aid in her
operations, she requires the removal of obstacles of such
attendant circumstances as might interfere with her opera-
tions. I shall not pretend to offer more than a little advice
on such subjects generally ; and I may here observe, that
when a human surgeon happens also to be a dog-fancier, you
will find his opinion and advice far more valuable than that
of half a hundred "quack pretenders.
RABIES, OR CANINE MADNESS,
SOMETIMES IMPROPERLY CALLED HYDROPHOBIA.
Hydrophobia, a term expressing fear of water, is, when
applied to this malady as occurring in the dog, grossly in-
correct, a dog laboring under rabies drinking water not only
willingly, but greedily to the very last.
I need scarcely say that no curative treatment will avail,
once a dog has been seized with this terrible disease : my
duty, therefore, merely consists in describing the symptoms
which indicate the approach of danger, that the affected ani-
mal may be timely destroyed ; and also to point out the
treatment to be pursued in the event of a fellow-creature
having been bitten. One of the earliest symptoms of rabies
in the dog is restlessness. He is constantly turning round
and round before he will lie down ; his countenance becomes
anxious ; his eyes bloodshot ; he fancies that he sees objects
around him which have no real existence, and he snaps at
11
122 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
the empty air ; his fondness for his master increases, and
with it his propensity to lick the hands and face a filthy
practice at any time, and one most dangerous ; the appetite
becomes depraved, his natural food is neglected, and, at
the same time, every sort of filthy trash is greedily de-
voured ; eating Ms own excrement is an early symptom, and so
sure a one, that the moment a dog is seen doing so he should
be destroyed, or, at all events, carefully confined.
Rubbing the paws against the sides of the mouth. If this
be done to remove a bone, the mouth will remain open ; but
when it takes place as the precursor of rabies, the jaws close
after the rubbing ceases.
Soon follows an insatiable thirst; so insatiable that the
poor animal often plunges his whole muzzle into the water ;
and here you may observe spume left upon the surface.
Soon the dog falls or staggers, and sometimes, but not in-
variably, becomes delirious. Death speedily ensues.
DUMB MADNESS
Is chiefly characterized by stupidity, ana, at the same
time, restlessness of demeanor ; the tongue becomes of a
dark color, and much swollen ; the animal is also constantly
rubbing its jaws with its paws, as if seeking to remove a
bone from its throat ; and is in general unable to keep its
mouth shut, or the tongue within it.
If a person be bitten by a dog supposed to be rabid, let the
bitten part be carefully excised, and liquid caustic copiously
applied to the wound thus formed. Rabies has been known
to supervene after seven months from the infliction of the
bite, having lain dormant in the system during that period.
Although horror at the sight of liquids is not present in this
disease when occurring in the dog, it is one of its strongest
characteristics when occurring in the human subject, and
the disease is then, with propriety, termed HYDROPHOBIA.
CANKER IN THE EAR
A disease to which all water-dogs are very subject, proba-
bly produced by a determination of blood to the head, result-
ing from that part not sharing in the general immersion. The
.reatment should, therefore, commence with keeping the affect-
ed dogs from water. The earliest symptoms are, shaking the
head, holding it to one side, and violent scratching of the car*
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 123
When th^se are perceived, the ears should be well washed
with warm water and soap ; and then syringed out with a so-
lution of sugar of lead, in the proportion of about a teaspoon-
ful of the lead to one pint of distilled water. If distilled water
cannot, be procured, use rain-water. Besides this, the washing
should be repeated twice or thrice daily, and the bowels of the
dog kept open by a daily laxative ; if these remedies fail, a
seton must be run through the back of the neck, and strong
doses of aloes given every second day. If you can, apply to
a veterinary surgeon.
JAUNDICE.
The dog appears very subject to this disease. Its symptoms
are obvious. The conjunctiva, or " white of the eye," be-
comes suffused with a yellow hue, and soon after, the same
hue spreads over all the skin ; the nose and mouth are dry
and parched; the dog loses appetite; seeks concealment;
becomes weak and emaciated ; vomits greenish matter, some-
times tinged with blood ; loses consciousness ; dies.
Much depends on taking this disease in time ; but it is so
insidious and deceptive in its advances, that two or three weeks
often elapse before its discovery. In such cases the animal is
lost.
If early perceived, give Epsom salts, combined with muci-
lage of gum arabic, or very well-boiled gruel. If you think
the disease has only just made its appearance, an emetic will
be of great service, and common salt will answer the purpose,
if nothing else is at hand. Small doses of calomel and colo-
cynth, in the form of pill, given at night, and followed by an
aperient in the morning, will generally prove successful. If
much fever be present, bleeding should be resorted to.
When appetite returns, the food should be light, and given
in small quantities
WORMS.
The dog is very subject to the accumulation of worms in
.he intestines. They are of three kinds : Ascarides, or small
threadlike worms, not more than half an inch in length.
These are chiefly present in the rectum ; and hence the ordi-
nary symptoms of their presence is the dog dragging his fun.
dament along the ground. Puppies are very subject to these
worms.
124 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
The teres, like the earth-worm in form and appearance,
but of a white color. The tcenia, or tapeworm, several inches
in length, and flat for nearly its whole extent. There is also
another description of worm that is, I think, peculiar to very
young puppies, and which appear to be generated in their in-
testines in great quantities. This worm is from two to four
inches in length, of a dirty white color, round, and pointed at
both extremities. Sometimes these worms collect in balls or
masses, to the number of a dozen or more in each mass.
Many young puppies fall away in flesh, until they actually
reach the extreme of emaciation ; fits supervene, and death
soon carries them away. The deaths are attributed to dis-
temper ; but worms are the true cause, and these of the de-
scription I have indicated. I have found the following treat-
ment most efficacious ; and I have had very great experience
in rearing puppies : Give, say on Monday, a small pill
formed of Venice turpentine and flour, from the size of a very
minute pea to that of a small marble, according to the size
and age of the pup. The former will suffice for Blenheim or
King Charles pups, Italian greyhounds, &c. ; the latter for
bloodhounds, Newfoundlands, mastiffs, &c. On Tuesday,
give a small dose of castor-oil ; a teaspoonful to the smaller,
a tablespoonful to the larger breeds ; in neither case, howev-
er, quite full. Oa Wednesday give nothing ; on Thursday
give the turpentine as before ; on Friday, the oil ; on Satur-
day, nothing ; and so on.
Keep your puppies' beds dry, clean, and sweet. Do not
feed them too often, or on food of too nutritious a quality. Pup-
pies should not be fed oftener than three times a day. The
morning and evening meals may be given at 9 A. M., and at
7 P. M., and should consist of vegetables potatoes, oatmeal,
&c. well-boiled, and given with milk. At two, you may
give meat with the mess, but not too abundantly. Between
the meals give a drink of buttermilk, or milk and water.
The general symptoms of the presence of all or any of these
worms, are, fetid breath, staring coat, voracity, or total loss
of appetite, violent purging, or obstinate constipation, with
great emaciation, sometimes fits. Venice turpentine is a good
remedy, and is effective in slight cases. Aloes are useful for
dislodging worms from the reotum, as they pass down the in-
testines, almost unchanged ; but powdered glass is the safest
end most efficacious ; give it pills forme% with butter and gin*
ger, and covered with soft paper.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 125
MANGE
Is of three kinds the common mange, red mange, and
scabby mange.
Common mange is too well known to need description. It
readily yields to cleanliness, with small alterative doses of
sulphur and nitre given daily. If neglected, it runs into
scabby mange ; the skin breaks out into blotches ; the dog
becomes emaciated ; the belly hard and swollen ; and death
will sooner or later ensue. Use aperient medicine for a day
or two ; then for a week give the alterative medicines above
mentioned ; after which have the animal well washed with
soft soap and warm water ; then rub his entire body with the
following :
Train Oil ... One Pint,
Turpentine . . . One Ounce,
Naphtha . . . One Ounce,
Oil of Tar . . . One Ounce,
Soot . . . One Ounce,
and Sulphur in powder sufficient to make the stuff of a
proper consistence.
This is to remain on the dog for three days, during which
time he must be kept dry and warm, and fed sparingly ; let
it be washed off on the fourth day, with soft soap and warm
water, in which some common washing-soda has been dis-
solved ; give clean straw, plenty of exercise, and cooling diet,
and the dog will speedily get well.
This mode of treatment will apply to red, mange also ; but
in its case, a little mercurial ointment may be added to the
above preparation.
Puppies are very liable to display a mangy-looking coat, at
the age of from two to four months. The hair falls off in
spots, and the skin becomes itchy, dry, and scaly. This is
not genuine mange ; but if neglected is apt to run into it.
At this early stage it is easily cured, by washing with soft
soap and water, and change of bedding ; giving also a little
sulphur in the food daily, and in very minute quantities.
This appears to me to be only an effort of nature to throw off
the old or puppy coat of hair, and assume the new one.
Change of feeding is serviceable in the treatment of mange ;
but it is a mistake to suppose that this must always be to a re-
duced regimen. In many cases, mange is only the offspring
11*
126 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG.
of filth and hunger ; and in these cases the change must be
to clean bedding and generous diet. The change of food,
however, should not be sudden, otherwise not only may the
existing disorder be aggravated, but other and less managea
ble affections may be superinduced.
DISTEMPER.
The most fatal disorder, next to rabies, to which the canine
race is liable. Nearly every dog is certain to have it at some
period of his existence ; but in general it makes its appear-
ance during the first year. If an old dog get this disease,
you need not hope to save him.
Distemper is strongly marked in its symptoms, though they
are not invariably of the same character. They are usually
loss of appetite, dulness, fever, weakness of the eyes, a dis-
charge from the nose, a short husky cough, discharge from
both eyes and nose, a peculiar and fetid smell, emaciation,
sometimes Jits, and when they appear, I should prognosticate
a fatal termination to the complaint. Dogs in a fit are some-
times mistaken for mad : let it be understood, then, fits are
never present in rabies.
The distemper is a disease of the mucous surfaces, and usu-
ally commences in nasal catarrh. If the disease be detected
in the first stage, bleeding will be most useful, and that pretty
copious : give an emetic, and follow it up by a gentle purga-
tive ; if as is generally the case when the above treatment
does not effect a cure inflammation of the lungs supervenes,
you must take more blood, give more aperient medicine, with
occasional emetics.. If the animal become weak, and is ap-
parently sinking, give mild tonics, as gentian, quinine ; and
if he will not eat, put some strong beefyelly down his throat.
A seton in the back of the neck is often useful, but should
not be used indiscriminately. If possible, consult a veteri-
nary surgeon, and place your dog in his hands.
The more generous the breed, the more liable is the dog to
have distemper, and to sink under it. Cur-dogs of low de-
gree hardly know what it is. The hardy shepherd's dog of
Scotland, if he have it at all, gets over it u&aided, in a day
or two.
DIARRHCEA.
Wait for a day or two, to ascertain if ihe discharge will
cure itself; if it continue, give castor-oil, with a few drops
of laudanum.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 127
COSTIVENESS.
Change the diet ; give gruel and slops ; and let the dog
have full liberty ; boiled liver will be found useful. If these
measures fail, give small doses of castor oil.
I have not gone into the subject of canine diseases at any
great length ; for I hold all quackery in great abhorrence.
The less a dog is drugged the better ; and he will never be
unwell if allowed sufficient exercise, and be judiciously fed.
When illness presents itself, if you can procure advice, do so
at once ; if you cannot, use some simple remedy. If you
must yourself bleed your dog, tie a ligature round his neck,
and the vein will rise. Bleed the dog standing on his feet;
when he droops his head, or appears weak, cut the cord ;
the bleeding will stop of itself without the aid of a pin.
Warts may be removed by the aid of caustic, and some-
times a ligature.
I do not think that I have now left any necessary or useful
information undetailed. I have been induced to present this
book to the reader, by the conviction that no work on dogs
that has yet appeared, has emanated from the pen of a dog-
fancier, and that no other person is capable of satisfactorily
handling the subject. Whether or not I have succeeded in
doing so, will speedily appear from the reception my work
will meet with from the best of all judges the public.
TH* END.
GARDENING FOR PROFIT,
In the Market and Family Grarden
BY PETER HEXDERSOX.
This is the first work on Market Gardening ever published in this
country. Its author is well known as a market gardener of twenty
years' successful experience. In this work he has recorded this
experience, and given, without reservation, the methods necessary
to the profitable culture of the commercial or
It is a work for which there has long been a demand, and one
which will commend itself, not only to those who grow vegetables
for sale, but to the cultivator of the
AmILY GARDEN,
to whom it presents methods quite different from the old ones gen-
erally practiced. It is an ORIGINAL AND PURELY AMERICAN work, and
not made up, as books on gardening too often are, by quotations
from foreign authors.
Every thing is made perfectly plain, and the subject treated in all
its details, from the selection of the soil to preparing the products
for market.
CONTENTS.
Men fitted for the Business of Gardening.
The Amount of Capital Required, and
Working Force per Acre.
Profits of Market Gardening.
Location, Situation, and Laying Out.
Soils, Drainage, and Preparation.
Manures, Implements.
Uses and Management of Cold Frames.
Formation and Management of Hot-beds*
Forcing Pits or Green-houses.
Seeds and Seed Raising.
How, When, and Where to Sow Seeds.
Transplanting, Insects.
Packing of Vegetables for Shipping.
Preservation of Vegetables in Winter.
Vegetables, their Varieties and Cultivation.
In the last chapter, the most valuable kinds are described, and
the culture proper to each is given in detail.
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