The Dog

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The increased vigour that is now given for the cultivation of sheep, to
supply the necessary demands of the numerous woollen factories springing
up in every quarter, renders the services of this faithful creature
absolutely indispensable, not only as a guardian of the flocks, but as a
mere expedient of economy.

Many portions of our country, now lying idle, particularly the
mountainous ranges, are peculiarly adapted for the grazing of sheep, and
we are destined not only to supply the world with cotton, but may hope
ere long to add to our national wealth the other equally valuable staple
commodity, that of wool.

In the care of sheep, each dog not only supplies the place of two or
three men, but, as is seen in the foregoing pages, renders such
assistance as cannot be obtained from any other source.

The shepherds of Mexico lead a life not unlike the patriarchs of old,
shifting about from day to day, watching their immense flocks, attended
only by a few dogs, who have the entire control of the sheep, keeping
them from straying away, and not only defending them from the
blood-thirsty wolf, but even attacking, if necessary, the skulking
savage.

These dogs of Mexico are represented as being much larger than the
English variety, and no doubt are the descendants of the Spanish
shepherd dog, so highly prized in protecting the Merino flocks from the
wolves that infest the mountainous parts of Spain, most frequented by
the herds during the summer season.

These dogs are the same breed as those engaged by the philanthropic
monks of St. Bernard in hunting up the benumbed traveller when sinking
from exhaustion, or already overwhelmed by the sudden rushing of an
avalanche into some one of the mountain passes.

The original Spanish shepherd dog is a very powerful animal, and even
those of Mexico, when armed with spiked collars, are a sufficient match
for the largest wolves. Mr. Kendall mentions having met on the grand
prairie with a flock of sheep numbering seventeen thousand, which
immense herd was guarded by a very few men, assisted by a large number
of noble dogs, which appeared gifted with the faculty of keeping them
together.

"There was no running about, no barking or biting in their system of
tactics; on the contrary, they were continually walking up and down,
like faithful sentinels, on the outer side of the flock, and should
any sheep chance to stray from his fellows, the dog on duty at that
particular post would walk gently up, take him carefully by the ear,
and lead him back to the fold. Not the least fear did the sheep
manifest at the approach of these dogs, and there was no occasion for
it."
Vol. I. p. 268.

This account coincides with the remarks of Mr. Trinner upon this dog in
old Spain; and Mr. Skinner very justly remarks, that the Mexican
sheep-dog has not his equal in any part of the world, except, perhaps,
in his native country, and that the Scotch or English dog sinks into
insignificance when compared with him.

A flock of a thousand sheep in Spain requires the attendance of two men
and an equal number of dogs, who never for a moment quit their charge,
watching them without intermission day and night. The great inferiority
of the English dogs, may be attributed, perhaps, to their want of care
in training and bringing up, which is considered the most essential, and
actually the foundation of all their future usefulness with the
Mexicans. The pups when first born, are taken from the bitch, and put to
a sucking ewe, already deprived of her own lamb. For several days the
ewe is confined with the pups in the shepherd's hut, and either from
force, or an instinctive desire to be relieved of the contents of the
udder, she soon allows the little strangers to suck, and in the course
of a few days more, becomes quite reconciled to the change, and exhibits
a great degree of affection for her foster children, who, knowing no
other parentage, becomes thus early engrafted into the general
community, and returns their early kindness by every mark of affection
and fidelity hereafter; never being willing for a moment to quit their
society, but remains with them night and day, expressing a peculiar
attachment to this particular flock, and seeming able to distinguish
each member of it from all other intruders.

In the third volume of the 'American Agriculturist' will be found an
interesting article connected with this subject, and from which we might
extract much useful information, if our limits would allow of its
insertion in the present volume.

Mr. Skinner states, that in 1832 he had two of these dogs, a male and
female, both trained, but unfortunately lost the latter before obtaining
any pups from her; he also remarks, that they can be imported via Havana
and Santander, at an expense of not less than $70 or $80. We see no
reason why the same dogs might not be obtained at a much less cost by
the Santa Fe traders, who, no doubt, would be glad to bring them into
the country as companions de voyages, provided there was any demand for
them.--L.]

THE DROVER'S DOG

bears considerable resemblance to the sheep-dog, and has usually the
same prevailing black or brown colour. He possesses all the docility of
the sheep-dog, with more courage, and sometimes a degree of ferocity,
exercised without just cause upon his charge, while he is in his turn
cruelly used by a brutal master.

There is a valuable cross between the colley and the drover's dog in
Westmoreland, and a larger and stronger breed is cultivated in
Lincolnshire; indeed it is necessary there, where oxen as well as sheep
are usually consigned to the dog's care. A good drover's dog is worth a
considerable sum; but the breed is too frequently and injudiciously
crossed at the fancy of the owner. Some drovers' dogs are as much like
setters, lurchers, and hounds, as they are to the original breed.

Stories are told of the docility and sagacity of the drover's dog even
more surprising than any that are related of the sheep-dog. The Ettrick
Shepherd says, that a Mr. Steel, butcher in Peebles, had such implicit
dependence on the attention of his dog to his orders, that whenever he
put a lot of sheep before her, he took a pride in leaving them entirely
to her, and either remained to take a glass with the farmer of whom he
had made the purchase, or travelled another road to look after bargains
or business. At one time, however, he chanced to commit a drove to her
charge, at a place called Willenslee, without attending to her
condition, which he certainly ought to have done. This farm is about
five miles from Peebles, over wild hills, and there is no regularly
defined path to it. Whether Mr. Steel chose another road is uncertain;
but, on coming home late in the evening, he was surprised to hear that
his faithful animal had not made her appearance with her flock. He and
his son instantly prepared to set out by different paths in search of
her; but, on going into the street, there was she with the flock, and
not one of the sheep missing; she, however, was carrying a young pup in
her mouth. She had been taken in travail on those hills; and how the
poor beast had contrived to manage the sheep in her state of suffering
is beyond human calculation, for her road lay through sheep-pastures the
whole way. Her master's heart smote him when he saw what she had
suffered and effected; but she was nothing daunted; and, having
deposited her young one in a place of safety, she again set out at full
speed to the hills, and brought another and another little one, until
she had removed her whole litter one by one; the last, however, was
dead.

Mr. Blaine relates as extraordinary an instance of intelligence, but not
mingled, like the former, with natural affection. A butcher and
cattle-dealer, who resided about nine miles from Alston, in Cumberland,
bought a dog of a drover. The butcher was accustomed to purchase sheep
and kine in the vicinity, which, when fattened, he drove to Alston
market and sold. In these excursions he was frequently astonished at the
peculiar sagacity of his dog, and at the more than common readiness and
dexterity with which he managed the cattle; until at length he troubled
himself very little about the matter, but, riding carelessly along, used
to amuse himself with observing how adroitly the dog acquitted himself
of his charge. At length, so convinced was he of his sagacity, as well
as fidelity, that he laid a wager that he would intrust the dog with a
number of sheep and oxen, and let him drive them alone and unattended to
Alston market. It was stipulated that no one should be within sight or
hearing who had the least control over the dog, nor was any spectator to
interfere. This extraordinary animal, however, proceeded with his
business in the most steady and dexterous manner; and, although he had
frequently to drive his charge through other herds that were grazing, he
did not lose one; but, conducting them to the very yard to which he was
used to drive them when with his master, he significantly delivered them
up to the person appointed to receive them by barking at his door. When
the path which he travelled lay through grounds in which others were
grazing, he would run forward, stop his own drove, and then, chasing the
others away, collect his scattered charge, and proceed.

THE ITALIAN OR POMERANIAN WOLF-DOG.

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. A pair of these dogs was brought to the Zoological Society of
London in 1833, and there long remained, an ornament to the Gardens.
They appeared to possess a considerable degree of strength, but to be
too gentle to contend with so powerful and ferocious an animal as the
wolf. They were mostly covered with white or gray, or occasionally black
hair, short on the head, ears and feet, but long and silky on the body
and tail. The forehead is elevated, and the muzzle lengthened and
clothed with short hair. The attachment of this dog to his master and
the flock is very great, and he has not lost a particle of his sagacity,
but, where wolves are common, is still used as a sheep-dog.

THE CUR

is the sheep-dog crossed with the terrier. He has long and somewhat
deservedly obtained a very bad name, as a bully and a coward; and
certainly his habit of barking at everything that passes, and flying at
the heels of the horse, renders him often a very dangerous nuisance: he
is, however, in a manner necessary to the cottager; he is a faithful
defender of his humble dwelling; no bribe can seduce him from his duty;
and he is likewise a useful and an effectual guard over the clothes and
scanty provisions of the labourer, who may be working in some distant
part of the field. All day long he will lie upon his master's clothes
seemingly asleep, but giving immediate warning of the approach of a
supposed marauder. He has a propensity, when at home, to fly at every
horse and every strange dog; and of young game of every kind there is
not a more ruthless destroyer than the village cur.

Mr. Hogg draws the following curious parallel between the sheep-dog and
the cur:

"An exceedingly good sheep-dog attends to nothing but the particular
branch of business to which he is bred. His whole capacity is exerted
and exhausted in it; and he is of little avail in miscellaneous
matters; whereas a very indifferent cur bred about the house, and
accustomed to assist in everything will often put the more noble breed
to disgrace in these little services. If some one calls out that the
cows are in the corn or the hens in the garden, the house colley needs
no other hint, but runs and turns them out. The shepherd's dog knows
not what is astir, and, if he is called out in a hurry for such work,
all that he will do is to run to the hill, or rear himself on his
haunches to see that no sheep are running away. A well-bred sheep-dog,
if coming hungry from the hills, and getting into a milk-house, would
likely think of nothing else than filling his belly with the cream.
Not so his initiated brother: he is bred at home to far higher
principles of honour. I have known such lie night and day among from
ten to twenty pails full of milk, and never once break the cream of
one of them with the tip of his tongue, nor would he suffer cat, rat,
or any other creature to touch it. While, therefore, the cur is a
nuisance, he is very useful in his way, and we would further plead for
him, that he possesses a great deal of the sagacity and all the
fidelity of the choicest breed of dogs."

The dog who, according to the well-known and authentic story, watched
the remains of his master for two years in the churchyard of St.
Olave's, in Southwark, was a cur.

The following story is strictly authentic:

"Not long ago a young man, an acquaintance of the coachman, was
walking, as he had often done, in Lord Fife's stables at Banff. Taking
an opportunity, when the servants were not regarding him, he put a
bridle into his pocket. A Highland cur that was generally about the
stables saw him, and immediately began to bark at him, and when he got
to the stable-door would not let him pass, but bit him by the leg in
order to prevent him. As the servants had never seen the dog act thus
before, and the same young man had been often with them, they could
not imagine what could be the reason of the dog's conduct. However,
when they saw the end of a valuable bridle peeping out of the young
man's pocket, they were able to account for it, and, on his giving it
up, the dog left the stable-door, where he had stood, and allowed him
to pass." [10]

THE LURCHER.

This dog was originally a cross between the greyhound and the shepherd's
dog, retaining all the speed and fondness for the chase belonging to the
one, and the superior intelligence and readiness for any kind of work
which the latter possessed. This breed has been crossed again with the
spaniel, combining the disposition to quest for game which distinguishes
the spaniel with the muteness and swiftness of the greyhound. Sometimes
the greyhound is crossed with the hound. Whatever be the cross, the
greyhound must predominate; but his form, although still to be traced,
has lost all its beauty.

The lurcher is a dog seldom found in the possession of the honourable
sportsman. The farmer may breed him for his general usefulness, for
driving his cattle, and guarding his premises, and occasionally coursing
the hare; but other dogs will answer the former purposes much better,
while the latter qualification may render him suspected by his landlord,
and sometimes be productive of serious injury. In a rabbit-warren this
dog is peculiarly destructive. His scent enables him to follow them
silently and swiftly. He darts unexpectedly upon them, and, being
trained to bring his prey to his master, one of these dogs will often in
one night supply the poacher with rabbits and other game worth more
money than he could earn by two days' hard labour.

Mr. H. Faull, of Helstone, in Cornwall, lost no fewer than fifteen fine
sheep, and some of them store sheep, killed by lurchers in January,
1824. [11]

We now proceed to the different species of dog belonging to the second
division of Cuvier, which are classed under the name of Hound; and,
first we take

THE BEAGLE.

The origin of this diminutive hound is somewhat obscure. There is
evidently much of the harrier and of the old southern, connected with a
considerable decrease of size and speed, the possession of an
exceedingly musical voice, and very great power of scent. Beagles are
rarely more than ten or twelve inches in height, and were generally so
nearly of the same size and power of speed, that it was commonly said
they might be covered with a sheet. This close running is, however,
considered as a mark of excellence in hounds of every kind.

There are many pleasurable recollections of the period when "the good
old English gentleman" used to keep his pack of beagles or little
harriers, slow but sure, occasionally carried to the field in a pair of
panniers on a horse's back; often an object of ridicule at an early
period of the chase, but rarely failing to accomplish their object ere
the day closed, "the puzzling pack unravelling wile by wile, maze within
maze." It was often the work of two or three hours to accomplish this;
but is was seldom, in spite of her speed, her shifts, and her doublings,
that the hare did not fall a victim to her pursuers.

The slowness of their pace gradually caused them to be almost totally
discontinued, until very lately, and especially in the royal park at
Windsor, they have been again introduced. Generally speaking, they have
all the strength and endurance which is necessary to ensure their
killing their game, and are much fleeter than their diminutive size
would indicate. Formerly, considerable fancy and even judgment used to
be exercised in the breeding of these dogs. They were curiously
distinguished by the names of "deep-flewed," or "shallow-flewed," in
proportion as they had the depending upper lip of the southern, or the
sharper muzzle and more contracted lip of the northern dogs. The
shallow-flewed were the swiftest, and the deep-flewed the stoutest and
the surest, and their music the most pleasant. The wire-haired beagle
was considered as the stouter and better dog.

The form of the head in beagles has been much misunderstood. They have,
or should have, large heads, decidedly round, and thick rather than
long; there will then be room for the expansion of the nasal membrane,
that of smell, and for the reverberation of the sound, so peculiarly
pleasant in this dog.

The beagle runs very low to the ground, and therefore has a stronger
impression of the scent than taller dogs. This is especially the case
when the scent is more than usually low.

Among the advocates for beagles, several years ago, was Colonel Hardy.
He used to send his dogs in panniers, and they had a little barn for
their kennel. The door was one night broken open, and every hound,
panniers and all, stolen. The thief was never discovered, not even
suspected.

The use of beagles was soon afterwards nearly abandoned by the
introduction of the harrier, and by his yielding in his turn to the
fox-hound; but the beagles of Colonel Thornton and Colonel Molyneux will
not be soon forgotten. [12]

There is, however, a practice which fair sportsmen will never resort
to--the use of a beagle to start a hare in order to be run down by a
brace of greyhounds, or perhaps by a lurcher. The hare is not fairly
matched in this way of proceeding.

THE HARRIER

occupies an intermediate station between the beagle and the fox-hound.
It is the fox-hound bred down to a diminished size, and suited to the
animal he is to pursue. He retains, or did for a while retain, the long
body, deep chest, large bones, somewhat heavy head, sweeping ears, and
mellow voice, which the sportsman of old so enthusiastically described,
with the certainty of killing, and the pleasing prolongation of the
chase. With this the farmer used to be content: it did not require
expensive cattle, was not attended with much hazard of neck, and did not
take him far from home.

Almost every country squire used in former days to keep his little pack
of harriers or beagles. He was mounted on his stout cob-horse, that
served him alike for the road and the chase; and his huntsman probably
had a still smaller and rougher beast, or sometimes ran afoot. He could
then follow the sport, almost without going off his own land, and the
farmer's boys, knowing the country and the usual doublings of the hare,
could see the greater part of the chase, and were almost able to keep up
with the hounds, so that they were rarely absent at the death: indeed,
they saw and enjoyed far more of it than the fox-hunter or the
stag-hunter now does, mounted on his fleetest horse.

The harrier was not more than 18 or 19 inches high. He was crossed with
the fox-hound if he was getting too diminutive, or with the beagle if he
was becoming too tall.

The principal objects the sportsman endeavoured to accomplish were to
preserve stoutness, scent, and musical voice, with speed to follow the
hare sufficiently close, yet not enough to run her down too quickly, or
without some of those perplexities, and faults, and uncertainties which
give the principal zest to the chase.

The character and speed of the hound much depend on the nature of the
country. The smaller harrier will best suit a deeply enclosed country;
but where there is little cover, and less doubling greater size and
fleetness are requisite. The harrier, nevertheless, let him be as tall
and as speedy as he may, should never he used for the fox; but every dog
should be strictly confined to his own game.

Mr. Beckford, in his 'Thoughts upon Hunting', gives an account,
unrivalled, of the chase of the hare and fox. Many sporting writers have
endeavoured to tread in his steps; but they have failed in giving that
graphic account of the pleasures of the field which Mr. Beckford's essay
contains.

He says that the sportsman should never have more than 20 couple in the
field, because it would he exceedingly difficult to get a greater number
to run together, and a pack of harriers cannot be complete if they do
not. A hound that runs too fast for the rest, or that lags behind them,
should be immediately discarded. His hounds were between the large
slow-hunting harrier and the fox-beagle. He endeavoured to get as much
bone and strength in as little compass as possible. He acknowledges that
this was a difficult undertaking; but he had, at last, the pleasure to
see them handsome, small, yet bony, running well together, and fast
enough, with all the alacrity that could be desired, and hunting the
coldest scent.

He anticipates the present improvement of the chase when he lays it down
as a rule never to be departed from, that hounds of every kind should be
kept to their own game. They should have one scent, and one style of
hunting. Harriers will run a fox in so different a style from the
pursuit of a hare, that they will not readily, and often will not at
all, return to their proper work. The difference in the scent, and the
eagerness of pursuit, and the noise that accompanies fox-hunting, all
contribute to spoil a harrier.

Mr. Beckford pleasingly expresses a sportsman's consideration for the
poor animal which he is hunting to death.

"A hare," he says, "is a timorous little animal that we cannot help
feeling some compassion for at the time that we are pursuing her
destruction. We should give scope to all her little tricks, nor kill
her foully nor overmatched. Instinct instructs her to make a good
defence when not unfairly treated, and I will venture to say that, as
far as her own safety is concerned, she has more cunning than the fox,
and makes shifts to save her life far beyond all his artifice." [13]

THE FOX HOUND

is of a middle size, between the harrier and the stag-hound; it is the
old English hound, sufficiently crossed with the greyhound to give him
lightness and speed without impairing his scent; and he has now been
bred to a degree of speed sufficient to satisfy the man who holds his
neck at the least possible price, and with which few, except
thorough-bred horses, and not all of them, can live to the end of the
chase. The fox-hound is lighter, or as it is now called, more highly
bred, or he retains a greater portion of his original size and
heaviness, according to the nature of the country and the fancy of the
master of the pack: therefore it is difficult to give an accurate
description of the best variety of this dog; but there are guiding
points which can never be forgotten without serious injury.

He derives from the greyhound a head somewhat smaller and longer in
proportion to his size than either the stag-hound or the harrier. But
considerable caution is requisite here. The beauty of the head and face,
although usually accompanied by speed, must never be sacrificed to
stoutness and power of scent. The object of the sportsman is to
amalgamate them, or rather to possess them all in the greatest possible
degree. This will generally be brought to a great degree of perfection
if the sportsman regards the general excellence of the dog rather than
the perfection of any particular point. The ears should not,
comparatively speaking, be so large as those of the stag-hound or the
harrier; but the neck should be longer and lighter, the chest deep and
capacious, the fore legs straight as arrows, and the hind ones well bent
at the hock.

Some extraordinary accounts have been given of the speed of the
fox-hound. A match that was run over the Beacon Course at Newmarket is
the best illustration of his fleetness. The distance is 4 miles 1
furlong and 132 yards. The winning dog performed it in 8 minutes and a
few seconds; but of the sixty horses that started with the hounds, only
twelve were able to run in with them. Flying Childers had run the same
course in 7 minutes and 30 seconds.