Page:Bird Haunts and Nature Memories - Thomas Coward (Warne, 1922).pdf/229

Rh extent, a parallel, but the habits under domestication must be considered in relation to those of their wild relatives. The main object of killing in wild animals of the dog tribe and in the larger cats is to obtain food; but, it must be admitted, the lust of blood has grown, and many wild creatures of predatory habits will slay far more than they require to assuage their hunger. To kill the edible prey becomes instinctive, almost reflex, and doubtless the habit increases skill, makes the meal more sure when it is required; preservation for future supplies does not enter into their primitive economy. Domestication has not entirely eliminated the hunting spirit in most dogs, though certain debased varieties have through ages of pandering become lethargic and effete. The well-trained sporting dog, though retaining the hunting spirit, has lost desire to feed upon its prey, and in certain breeds man has practically eliminated the wish to kill; setters and pointers hunt and enjoy the hunt, but the killing is left to their masters; the well-trained retriever will bring an unbroken egg or an uninjured rabbit at command. Yet even in the best dogs survives the ancient craving, and now and again lapses occur. I knew a small West Highlander which was ruining the morals of a young setter by frequently taking it off for days at a spell to chase the deer on a Scottish forest; punishment, when the worn and jaded pair returned, had an effect which lasted until the shame was forgotten, and that was all. W. H. Hudson's story of "a dog in exile" is a most interesting study of canine psychology. "With this excellence," he says, after describing what the sheep-killing exiled retriever could do, "there was the innate capacity to go wrong, a sudden reversion to the irresponsible wild dog—the devilry, to keep to human terms, that sent him into exile and made him at the last so interesting and pathetic a figure."