William Youatt

“ 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. ”

“ He is no longer a faithful domesticated animal, faithfully attached to his master, and ever ready to defend him even at the expense of his own life. He is cruel and blood-thirsty, his look is savage, and his appearance revolting; carrion, filth, anything is good enough for him if he can but appease his hunger. They seldom bite one another, but they unite against a stranger who approaches the Arab tents, and would tear him to pieces if he did not seek his safety in flight. ”

“ It is somewhat astonishing that an organ, so delicate and so much exposed as the eye of the hunting dog necessarily is, should not more frequently be attacked with disease, or suffer from the thorns, poisonous briars, and bushes that so constantly oppose their progress while in search of game. Nature, ever wise in her undertakings, while endowing this organ with extreme sensibility, also furnished it with the means of protecting itself in some measure against the many evils that so constantly threaten its destruction. ”

“ The stag-hound is a beautiful animal. He is distinguished from the fox-hound by the apparent broadness and shortness of his head, his longer cheek, his straighter hock, his wider thigh and deeper chest, and better feathered and more beautifully arched tail. His appearance indicates strength and stoutness, in which indeed he is unequalled, and he has sufficient speed to render it difficult for the best horses long to keep pace with him; while, as is necessary, when the distance between the footmarks of the deer is considered, his scent is most exquisite. ”

“ It is like a pack of hounds, running breast high, with the game in view. They are then running by sight, and not by scent, almost doubling their usual pace, and sometimes, from an unexpected turning of the fox or hare, thrown out for a little while. The hound soon recovers the track by his exquisite sense of smell. The English greyhound is never taught to scent his game, but, on the contrary, is called off the moment he has lost sight of the hare, the re-starting of which is left to the spaniel. ”

“ His voice should be strong and clear, with an eye so quick as to perceive which of his hounds carries the scent when all are running, and an ear so excellent as to distinguish the leading hounds when he does not see them. He should be quiet, patient, and without conceit. Such are the qualities which constitute perfection in a huntsman. He should not, however, be too fond of displaying them until called forth by necessity; it being a peculiar and distinguishing trait in his character to let his hounds alone while they thus hunt, and have genius to assist them when they cannot. ”

“ I have no longer recognised the dog, that friend of man, the attached and faithful companion — the lively and honest courtier. He is here a gloomy egotist, and cut off from all human intercourse without being the less a slave. He does not know him whose house he protects, and devours his corpse without repugnance. ”

“ In figure, the most high-bred are a prodigy of beauty; their eyes, their hair, their colour, and bodily shape throughout. Such brilliancy of gloss is there about the spottiness of the parti-coloured, and in those of uniform colour, such glistening over the sameness of tint, as to afford a most delightful spectacle to an amateur of coursing. ”

“ Bernard, and near one of the most dangerous of these passes, is a convent, in which is preserved a breed of large dogs trained to search for the benighted and frozen wanderer. Every night, and particularly when the wind blows tempestuously, some of these dogs are sent out. They traverse every path about the mountains, and their scent is so exquisite that they can discover the traveller, although he may lie many feet deep in the snow. ”

“ For the dog, with his long, rough, shaggy hair, that covered his whole body, rushed with open mouth, barking terribly, and thundering, as it were, upon the elephant. Soon after he leaps and flies upon him, advancing and retreating, now on one side, now on the other, maintaining an ingenious combat; at one time assailing him with all vigour, at another shunning him. So actively did he continue this artificial warfare, causing the huge beast to turn around so frequently on every side to avoid his attacks, that he ultimately came down with a crash that made the earth tremble with his fall. ”

“ This account of the French sheep-dog, or of the sheep-dog everywhere, is as true as it is beautiful. One age succeeds to another, we pass from one climate to another, and everything varies and changes, but the shepherd's dog is what he ever was — the guardian of our flocks. ”

“ These thoughts seem to pass through his mind with wonderful rapidity, and to keep him in a state of the greatest distress, unless he is quickly spoken to or addressed by his name, and, then, in a moment the charm is broken; every phantom of imagination disappears, and at once he begins to talk as calmly and as connectedly as in perfect health. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Let not this obedience, however, be purchased by the infliction of a degree of cruelty that disgraces both the master and the menial. A young fox-hound may, possibly, mistake the scent of a hare for that of a fox, and give tongue. In too many hunts he will be unmercifully flogged for this, and some have almost died under the lash. Mercy is a word totally unknown to a great proportion of whippers-in, and even to many who call themselves gentlemen. ”

“ On the other hand there are rabid dogs whose ferocity knows no bounds. If they are threatened with a stick, they fly at, and seize it, and furiously shake it. They are incessantly employed in darting to the end of their chain, and attempting to crush it with their teeth, and tearing to pieces their kennel, or the wood work that is within their reach. They are regardless of pain. The canine teeth, the incisor teeth are torn away; yet, unwearied and insensible to suffering, they continue their efforts to escape. A dog was chained near a kitchen fire. ”

“ The dog being kept in motion, the ducks will not arrest their progress until within a few feet of the water's edge, and oftentimes will stand on the shore staring, as it were, in mute and silly astonishment at the playful motions of the dog. If well trained the dog takes no notice whatever of the duck, but continues his fascination until the quick report of the battery announces to him that his services are now wanted in another quarter, and he immediately rushes into the water to arrest the flight of the maimed and wounded, who, struggling on every side, dye the water with their rich blood. ”

“ He was incessant in his endeavours to escape, and, when he found that he could not effect it, he seized, in his impotent rage, the burning coals as they fell, and crushed them with his teeth.
If by chance a dog in this state effects his escape, he wanders over the country bent on destruction. He attacks both the quadruped and the biped. He seeks the village street, or the more crowded one of the town, and he suffers no dog to escape him. The horse is his frequent prey, and the human being is not always safe from his attack. ”

“ He is most gentle and kindly affectioned, and never before had I any such a dog for myself, or my friend, or my fellow-sportsman. When he is not actually engaged in coursing, he is never away from me. On his return he runs before me, often looking back to see whether I had turned out of the road, and as soon as he again catches sight of me, showing symptoms of joy, and once more trotting away before me. If a short time only has passed since he has seen me or my friend, he jumps up repeatedly by way of salutation, and barks with joy as a greeting to us. ”

“ The power of keeping the mind steadily bent upon one purpose, is the great secret of individual and moral improvement. We see the habit of attention carried in the dog to a very considerable extent. The terrier eagerly watching for vermin — the sporting dog standing staunch to his point, however he may be annoyed by the blunders of his companion or the unskilfulness of his master — the foxhound, insensible to a thousand scents, and deaf to every other sound, while he anxiously and perseveringly searches out the track of his prey — these are striking illustrations of the power of attention. ”

“ Every sound uttered by the rabid dog is more or less changed. The huntsman, who knows the voice of every dog in his pack, occasionally hears a strange challenge. He immediately finds out that dog, and puts him, as quickly as possible, under confinement. Two or three days may pass over, and there is not another suspicious circumstance about the animal; still he keeps him under quarantine, for long experience has taught him to listen to that warning. At length the disease is manifest in its most fearful form. ”

“ Cuvier eloquently states that the dog exhibits the most complete and the most useful conquest that man has made. Each individual is entirely devoted to his master, adopts his manners, distinguishes and defends his property, and remains attached to him even unto death; and all this springing not from mere necessity, or from constrain, but simply from gratitude and true friendship. The swiftness, the strength, and the highly developed power of smelling of the dog, have made him a powerful ally of man against the other animals ”

“ He is often attacked with fits of a different description; he first staggers, then tumbles, rolls, cries as if whipped, and tears up the ground with his teeth and fore feet: he then lies down senseless and exhausted. On recovering, he gets up, moves his tail, looks placid, comes to a whistle, and appears in every respect much better than before the attack. The eyes, during this paroxysm, look bright, and, unless previously rendered dim by mucus, or opacity of the cornea, seem as if they were starting from their sockets. ”

“ Of the stanchness and incorruptible fidelity of the dog, and his disregard of personal inconvenience and want, when employed in our service, it is impossible to entertain a doubt. We have sometimes thought that the attachment of the dog to its master was increased, or, at least, the exhibition of it, by the penury of the owner. At all events one fact is plain enough, that, while poverty drives away from us many a companion of our happier hours, it was never known to diminish the love of our quadruped friend. ”

“ Nothing can be more absurd. A disease attacking so many organs, and presenting so many and such different symptoms, must require a mode of treatment varying with the organ attacked and the symptom prevailing. The faith in these boasted specifics is principally founded on two circumstances — atmospheric influence and peculiarity of breed. There are some seasons when we can scarcely save a dog; there are others when we must almost wilfully destroy him in order to lose him. ”

“ The attacks usually come on rather suddenly, the joints swell, the pulse becomes full and tense, the parts tender, and the eyes blood-shot, the stomach deranged, and the bowels costive. Severe lancinating pain runs through the articulation, and along the course of the larger muscles, the tongue is coated, the muzzle hot and dry, and the poor animal howls with agony. The breathing becomes laboured, all food is rejected, and if you attempt to move the sufferer he sends forth piteous cries of distress. ”

“ Into this cavity the fox or badger is thrust, and a terrier rushes after him, and drags him out again. The question to be ascertained is, how many times in a given period the dog will draw this poor tortured animal out of the barrel — an exhibition of cruelly which no one should be able to lay to the charge of any human being. It is a principle not to be departed from, that wanton and useless barbarity should never be permitted. The government, to a certain extent, has interfered, and a noble society has been established to limit, or, if possible, to prevent the infliction of useless pain. ”

“ Generally speaking, none but the sportsman can form an adequate conception of the perfect obedience of the hound both in the kennel and the field. At feeding-time, each dog, although hungry enough, will go through the gate in the precise order in which he is called by the feeder; and, in a well-broken pack, to chop at, or to follow a hare, or to give tongue on a false scent, or even to break cover alone, although the fox is in view, are faults that are rarely witnessed. ”

“ There is a natural predisposition for the office he has to discharge, which it requires little trouble or skill to develop and perfect.
It is no unpleasing employment to study the degree in which the several breeds of dogs are not only highly intelligent, but fitted by nature for the particular duty they have to perform. The pointer, the setter, the hound, the greyhound, the terrier, the spaniel, and even the bull-dog, were made, and almost perfected, by nature chiefly for one office alone, although they maybe useful in many other ways. This is well illustrated in the sheep-dog. ”

“ The dog is the only animal that is capable of disinterested affection. He is the only one that regards the human being as his companion, and follows him as his friend; the only one that seems to possess a natural desire to be useful to him, or from a spontaneous impulse attaches himself to man. We take the bridle from the mouth of the horse, and turn him free into the pasture, and he testifies his joy in his partially recovered liberty. We exact from the dog the service that is required of him, and he still follows us. ”

“ Instinct and education combine to fit this dog for our service. The pointer will act without any great degree of instruction, and the setter will crouch; and most certainly the sheep-dog, and especially if he has the example of an older and expert one, will, almost without the teaching of the master, become everything that can be wished, obedient to every order, even to the slightest motion of the hand. ”

“ There was scarcely an animal in the menagerie of the Zoological Society that did not acknowledge the superintendent as his friend; but it was only a casual intercourse, and might be dissolved by a word or look. At the hour of feeding, the brute principle reigned supreme, and the companion of other hours would be sacrificed if he dared to interfere; but the connexion between man and the dog, no lapse of time, no change of circumstances, no infliction of evil can dissolve. We must, therefore, look far beyond the wolf for the prototype of the dog. ”

“ The memory of the suffering will remain; but the feeling of attachment to the master will also remain, or rather be increased. The temper of a young dog must be almost as carefully studied as that of a human being. Timidity may be encouraged, and eagerness may be restrained, but affection must be the tie that binds him to his master, and renders him subservient to his will. ”

“ Hogg says, and very truly, that a single shepherd and his dog will accomplish more in gathering a flock of sheep from a Highland farm than twenty shepherds could do without dogs; in fact, that without this docile animal, the pastoral life would be a mere blank. It would require more hands to manage a flock of sheep, gather them from the hills, force them into houses and folds, and drive them to markets, than the profits of the whole flock would be capable of maintaining. Well may the shepherd feel an interest in his dog ”