Canine

“ And here, good reader, you must permit us, en parenthese, a slight disgression, not altogether, we hope, uninteresting. We wonder if in the great family of dogs anywhere throughout the world there is anything to equal in hardihood, pluck, and all endurance the Highland fox-hunter’s canine following? ”

“ For the idea of dog comprises the head thereof, and the tail, the four legs, the eyes, the mouth, the nose, the neck, the body, the toes, the hair, the bark, the bite, the canine teeth that inflict it, and all the other known and remembered peculiarities of perfect doghood as ideally realizable. If we are to assign peradventure a special tract in the brain to the concept dog, it must be clear at once that that tract will be itself a very large and much subdivided region. ”

“ All the individuals in the great host of life affect each other as do the soldiers of a well-organized army in the movements of a battle.
The shepherd-dog, the turnspit, and the bull-dog are the three remarkable variations of the canine blood which were brought about by a process of training and selection unconsciously directed to the institution of breeds suited to special economic ends. The other varieties of dogs have been shaped more distinctly for purposes of amusement or for the indulgence of mere fancy. ”

“ A thoroughly vagabond dog, accustomed to low company and public- houses; a terrific dog to sheep, ready at a whistle to scamper over their backs and tear out mouthfuls of their wool; but an educated, improved, developed dog who has been taught his duties and knows how to discharge them. ”

“ We'll have as many as we want; there'll be an Irish setter, soft-eyed and chestnut-coated, the perfect gentleman among dogs; there'll be a bull terrier, bright and loving; there'll be a collie, wisest and most observing, and, possibly, a toy dog, for your plaything at times, when you are tired of me. ”

“ The upper lip during the act of grinning is retracted, as in snarling, so that the canines are exposed, and the ears are drawn backwards; but the general appearance of the animal clearly shows that anger is not felt. Sir C. Bell [503] remarks “Dogs, in their expression of fondness, have a slight eversion of the lips, and grin and sniff amidst their gambols, in a way that resembles laughter.” Some persons speak of the grin as a smile, but if it had been really a smile, we should see a similar, though more pronounced, movement of the lips and ears, when dogs utter their bark of joy; ”

“ I slept sometimes and had pipe dreams about being out chasing cats into basements and growling at old ladies with black mittens, as a dog was intended to do. Then she would pounce upon me with a lot of that drivelling poodle palaver and kiss me on the nose—but what could I do? A dog can’t chew cloves. ”

“ A pretty dog was he,
Where'er I went, 'twas his intent
To run and follow me.
His tail was but ten yards long,
His ears but five feet wide,
And round the world in half a day
Upon him I might ride. ”

“ Any old dog about the house will soon show him the unwisdom of biting big dogs' ears. Being young, he remembers and goes abroad, at six months, a well-mannered little beast with a chastened appetite. If he had been kept away from boots, and soap, and big dogs till he came to the trinity full-grown and with developed teeth, just consider how fearfully sick and thrashed he would be! ”

“ Happy indeed the dog born in the kennel of a park; no canister for his tail, no halter for his neck; physiologists shall try no experiments on his eighth pair of nerves; his wants are liberally supplied; a Tartar might envy him his rations of horseflesh, shut up with congenial and select associates with whom he courses twice a-week,
He enjoys himself thoroughly while in health, and when he is sick a veterinary surgeon feels his pulse, and prescribes for him in dog-Latin! ”

“ At last, the dog stood upon his hind legs, put his paws upon the man's shoulders and looked him in the face, with such a human meaning, such a piteous expression, that the man determined to follow him. ”

“ The fourth creature there was a dog, as thin as the horse, but younger, a lank, yellow, ugly, big-bodied dog, with a clever head, bright, speaking brown eyes, and as keen a nose for scent as any dog ever born possessed. ”

“ The howlings and lamentations of a dog produce a sensible concern in his fellows. And 'tis remarkable, that though almost all animals use in play the same member, and nearly the same action as in fighting; a lion, a tiger, a cat, their paws; an ox, his horns; a dog, his teeth; a horse, his heels: yet they most carefully avoid harming their companion, even though they have nothing to fear from his resentment; which is an evident proof of the sense brutes have of each other's pain and pleasure. ”

“ With his large, prominent forehead, giving evidence of the ample brain within, one need not, perhaps, wonder at his being one of the most sagacious of animals; although it is certainly almost startling to find all the intelligence of a dog in a wee thing which you can put in your pocket, or which, if buttoned up on a cold day inside the breast of your ulster, is as likely as not, when tired of that retreat, to squirm out down your sleeve. ”

“ The Dog, next to the human being, ranks highest in the scale of intelligence, and was evidently designed to be the companion and the friend of man. We exact the services of other animals, and, the task being performed, we dismiss them to their accustomed food and rest; but several of the varieties of the dog follow us to our home; they are connected with many of our pleasures and wants, and guard our sleeping hours.
The first animal of the domestication of which we have any account, was the sheep. ”

“ Long-haired, rough-haired, long-eared, short-eared, brush-tailed, smooth-tailed, long-legged, short-legged, black-eyed, black-nosed; white, brown, black, tan, sandy, mixed; every degree of pure or mongrel blood; terriers of all kinds swarm around us, playing all sorts of antics, evincing all kinds of impertinences, catching all sorts of vermin, and presenting themselves to us in every shape of beauty or ugliness, of which their race is capable. ”

“ Whatever the skin, the color, the form, the proportions of the dog, he remains a dog; whatever the proportions, the figure, the color of horses or of oxen, they remain horses and oxen. So, when we cross a water-spaniel with a greyhound, a lap-dog with a Havana dog, the offspring are fertile, and we get what are called fertile mixed races. ”

“ Your little dog rushes frantically up and down the front bed of your garden, barking and racing, and tearing up the ground, because his rival little dog, who lives down the street, is going past with his master, and each pretends that he wants to be at the other—as they have pretended every day for the past three years. ”

“ Whenever he caught sight of a dog coming his way, he began fanning his tail, and, laying back his ears, would strain desperately at the full length of his tether, that he might smell at the mouth of the dog, and use all his arts to induce him to have a romp, even though he had never set eyes on that especial dog before. ”

“ As the horse swung along in his perfect gait, the great dog making playful leaps and feinted snaps at his beautiful muzzle with a dog's derisive smile and sense of humor, and if any one doubts that dogs have this quality they simply don't know the animal, the girl sang at the top of her voice. ”

“ The dog is placed at the feet of women in monuments to symbolise affection and fidelity, as a lion is placed at the feet of men to signify courage and magnanimity. Many of the Crusaders are represented with their feet on a dog, to show that they followed the standard of the Lord as faithfully as a dog follows the footsteps of his master.
(8) Dog in proverbs, fables, and proverbial phrases:
Barking dogs seldom bite. (See Barking.)
Dog don't eat dog. Ecclesia ecclesiam non decimat; government letters are not taxed; church lands pay no tithes to the church. ”

“ The ordinary dull-nosed dog goes past a wainscoting and never suspects a thing; then your terrier comes along and he takes one whiff at the bottom of that baseboard and immediately starts pawing for his prey. ”

“ One of these remarkable characteristics is the strange loathing with which he regards the Dog. In all other parts of the world, the Dog is one of the most cherished and valued of animals, but among those people whom we popularly class under the name of Orientals, the Dog is detested and despised. ”

“ The nobleman 250had no proof that his dog killed the lamb; but, as he was just about starting upon a long journey, and not wishing either to take the dog with him, or leave him behind to the angry farmers, he said to his servant, pointing to the dog, who lay upon the carpet, “Take that dog, after I have gone, and give him away to somebody at a distance, that these farmers may not be finding fault with him, and troubling me when I come back.” ”

“ Comedian dogs, spectacular dogs, gloriously human dogs, Sunnybank collies of every phase of heart and brain and soul—one common and pathetically early tragedy has waited or waits for you all! Among you, you have taught me more of true loyalty and patience and courtesy and divine forgiveness and solid sanity and fun and a hundred other worth-while lessons, than all the masters I have studied under. ”

“ A man with a pail slung on his shoulder, and with a milking stool in his hand, comes slowly out from the farm buildings, a dog following at his heels; a dog grey and shabby and unkempt, of breed altogether past description. ”

“ Limbs.—Examine and measure the limbs, comparing them with those of the cat, rabbit, and man. Notice that the claws are blunter than the cat’s, and that they cannot be withdrawn into sheaths. How many toes are there on the feet?
5. The habits of the dog.— (a) Food.—Does the dog prefer animal or vegetable food? Watch a dog gnawing a bone, and observe the use of the clipping teeth. Does a dog eat greedily or deliberately? Does it chew its food or swallow it in lumps? Do dogs hunt singly or in packs? Do they stalk the prey stealthily, as cats do, or do they try to run it down by speed? ”

“ Nature has furnished them better. And the dog not only excels in these, but also in the senses—hearing, seeing, and [41] smelling; and to have gained possession over a tractable and courageous species like the dog, was acquiring new or additional agility, swiftness, strength, and courage with a mysterious increase of power and usefulness of the more important senses. And by the friendship and superior faculties of the dog, man became permanently sovereign and master of all.
“The dog is the only animal whose talents are evident, and whose education is always successful.” ”

“ Just as soon as you have decided that he is almost human, he will straightway unmistakably indicate that he is still very much dog.
As example, select, if you please, the most pampered and carefully nurtured dog in dog tribe: some lady's dog—beribboned King Charles, bejeweled poodle, befatted pug—and give him the luxury of a half-hour in the nearest genuine alley. ”

“ The dog stands or sits on his haunches with open mouth, pendent tongue and staring eyeballs, panting for breath, and has his condition aggravated by every change of position or other source of excitement. ”

“ Leading into the ring is, of course, the crux of the exhibitor's anxiety, for now comes the critical moment—will the dog show or not? Some dogs are born showers—brisk up, look smart and knowing, accept the judge's overtures graciously, and generally exhibit themselves to the best advantage. ”

“ Separated as they are from each other, as the evening closes in the sagacious dog receives a hint from his master, and the sheep are quickly collected from places to which the shepherd could with difficulty make his way. Snow and frost are no check to the labours of the colley dog. ”

“ The dog’s disposition entirely changes, the cheerful one becomes morose and sullen, the quiet one is restless, and the good-tempered dog quarrelsome, and there is an inclination to hide in dark corners, though when called by his owner he comes forward and is very affectionate, licking the hand and even the person’s face if allowed. ”

“ When I see two dogs standing on their hind legs in the streets, clawing each other’s ears, and snapping for each other’s wind-pipes, or howling and swearing and rolling in the mud, I feel sorry they should act so, and pretend not to notice. ”

“ For, as the dog is one of the most adaptable of all domestic animals, and is, to an amazing extent, what his master makes him, to bring a railing accusation against the whole race of dogs is in reality to accuse those who breed and rear them. ”

“ There is no downy cushion before the blazing fire, no chosen corner of the limousine, no tooth brush or manicure set for the work dog of the North; yet they are probably happier than their kin of the governess and college education. ”

“ How sneakin’ it makes ‘em look! They seem for all the world like scared dogs; and a dog when he slopes off with his head down, his tail atween his legs, and his back so mean it won’t bristle, is a caution to sinners. ”

“ Have the kennel thoroughly fumigated, and you'll have no more trouble.' At my wife's request she went into the yard to have a look at it, and the moment she bent down, she cried out like you did, 'Why, there's a dog inside—a terrier!' My wife and I both looked and could see nothing. ”

“ Or else you may get three or four several Dogs prepared in the same manner; and when one begins to fail and leave off bleeding, administer another, and I am confident one Dog will receive all their bloud, (and perhaps more) as long as it runs freely, till they are left almost dead by turns: provided that you let out the bloud proportionably, as you let it goe into the Dog, that is to live. ”

“ A dog approaching a person with a bit of shoe-leather augurs success; with flesh, gain; with a meaty bone, good luck; with a dry bone, death. If a dog enters a house with wire or thread in its mouth, the master of the house must expect to be put in prison. A dog barking on the roof of a house during the dry weather portends an epidemic, and in the wet season a heavy fall of rain. ”