Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/344

326 326 DOG courageous dog will often tremble at the sudden rustle of a leaf. While the possession of such faculties has rendered him fit above all other animals for the companionship of man, the physical and intellectual qualities characteristic of the various breeds have been seized upon and de veloped to their utmost by man, so as to enable him to use the dog for a great variety of purposes ; what these are will appear in the following necessarily brief account of the more important breeds of dogs. According to Professor Fitzinger, there are at least 189 distinct varieties of the domestic dog, and when it is con sidered that the origin of many if not most of these is un certain, it is not surprising that considerable difference of opinion should exist as to the most natural mode of group ing them together. Their arrangement into the following six races, founded to a certain extent on the form and de velopment of the ears, probably affords an approximation to a natural classification, viz., WOLF-DOGS, GREYHOUNDS, SPANIELS, HOUNDS, MASTIFFS, and TERRIERS. I. WOLF-DOGS. Throughout the northern regions of both hemispheres there are several breeds of semi-domesti cated wolf-like dogs having nearly erect ears, and long woolly hair ; these include among others the dogs of the Esquimaux and the Kamtchadales. The Esquimaux Dog is usually of a black and white colour, nearly as large as a mastiff, with a fine bushy tail, and sharp pointed muzzle. It is of the greatest value to the inhabitants of the boreal regions of America in hunting the seal, bear, and reindeer ; while it is equally useful as a beast of burden, carrying loads on its back a kind of work for which dogs are by no means well suited and drawing sledges over the snow. On a good road half a dozen of these dogs will draw, it is said, from 8 to 10 cwts., at the rate of 7 miles an hour; and Kane, the Arctic traveller, tells how that number of dogs, well worn by previous travel, carried him with a fully burdened sledge, between seven and eight hundred miles during the first fortnight after leaving his ship a mean rate of 57 miles a day. According to the same authority, the training of these dogs is of the most ungracious sort. &quot; I never neard,&quot; he says, &quot; a kind accent from the Esquimaux to his dog. The driver s whip of walrus hide, some 20 feet long, a stone or a lump of ice skilfully directed, an imprecation loud and sharp, made emphatic by the fist or foot, and a grudged ration of seal s meat, make up the winter s entertainment of an Esquimaux team.&quot; Owing to the ill-treatment to which they are thus habitually subjected, they are highly irritable and difficult to manage, and in sleighing it is necessary to have a well-trained dog as leader, to whom the driver speaks, and by whom the other dogs in the team are guided. They readily relapse into the wild state, and have been known thus to hunt the reindeer in packs like wolves. These dogs have borne a prominent part in Arctic exploration, and much of the difficult work done in this field would have been well-nigh impossible without them. The Kamtchatka dogs are also used for sledging, and are famed for their swiftness and endurance. During summer they run at large and cater for themselves, returning in winter to their masters, who feed them principally with the heads of dried fish. The Sheep-dog. In Eastern countries where the sheep follow the shepherd, the duties that fall upon the dog are simpler, and require less intelligence, than those performed by the European breeds. Their task is chiefly to defend the flocks and herds from wild beasts and robbers, and for this purpose the wolf-like Turkoman Watch-dog and the Sheep-dog of Natolia are, by their great strength and courage, eminently fitted. The former is described by Sir J. M Neill as a shaggy animal, nearly as large as the New foundland dog, and very fierce and powerful, the dam of the specimen he describes having killed a full-grown wolf without assistance. The sheep-dog of Europe is generally classed among the wolf-like dogs, owing to the erect or semi-erect character of its ears, its pointed nose, and shaggy covering ; and Buffou, for such reasons, regarded it as nearest to the primitive type of the domestic dog. It is more reasonable to suppose with Martin (History of the Dog} that those points &quot; only indicate purity of breed unalloyed by admixture with other varieties.&quot; The fact that its life is spent almost entirely out of doors, and that it has little or no opportunity of mixing with dogs other than of its own kind, would tend to preserve uniformity in external appearance ; while its high cerebral development and intelligence prove beyond a doubt that the breed of sheep-dogs is one of the most highly improved, and in this respect remotest from the primitive type. Its whole intellect is devoted to the one duty of tending its master s flocks, and in the performance of this it is equally sagacious, vigilant, and patient. At a word, or even a look, from its master, it will gather the sheep, scattered for miles around, to one place. During and after the snowstorms to which highland districts are so frequently exposed, the sheep-dog is invaluable in saving its master s property from almost total destruction. Without it the Highlands of Scot land would be almost useless for sheep-farming purposes. &quot; It would require,&quot; says the Ettrick Shepherd, &quot; more hands to manage a stock of sheep, gather them from the hills, force them into houses and folds, and drive them to markets, than the profits of the whole stock would be capable of maintaining.&quot; The sheep-dog stands about FlQ. 1. Sheep Dog. 15 inches high, is covered with long shaggy hair of a black colour varied with dark grey or fulvous brown, and its tail is of moderate length, slightly recurved and bushy. In dis position it is quiet; and although not quarrelsome, it shows great courage in defending its charge. It will not wantonly attack a stranger, but evidently regards him with suspicion, and rejects all friendly advances. There are three varieties of the sheep dog found in Great Britain, viz. the Scottish Collie, standing only from 1 2 to 14 inches high, and regarded as the purest and most intelligent; the Southern Sheep-dog, of larger size, but with shorter fur, and having the tail often very short a peculiarity which, according to Bell, &quot; appears to be perpetuated from parents whose tails have been cut ; &quot; and the Drover s Dog or Cur, generally black and white iu colour, and taller in its limbs than the others. It ia employed in driving sheep and cattle to the city markets, and in the discharge of this duty shows intelligence quite equal to that of the other varieties ; although in the treat ment of the herds under its charge, it often displays a more savage disposition. Th e sheep-dogs of South America are so trained as to unite in themselves the duties of dog and shepherd. &quot; When riding, &quot; says Darwin, &quot; it is a common thing to meet a large flock of sheep, guarded by one or two