Chapter 4

THE VARIETIES OF THE DOG.

THIRD DIVISION.

'The muzzle more or less shortened, the frontal sinus enlarged, and the cranium elevated and diminished in capacity.'

At the head of this inferior or brutal division of dogs stands

THE BULL-DOG.

The round, thick head, turned-up nose, and thick and pendulous lips of this dog are familiar to all, while his ferocity makes him in the highest degree dangerous. In general he makes a silent although ferocious attack, and the persisting powers of his teeth and jaws enable him to keep his hold against any but the greatest efforts, so that the utmost mischief is likely to ensue as well to the innocent visitor of his domicile as the ferocious intruder. The bull-dog is scarcely capable of any education, and is fitted for nothing but ferocity and combat.

The name of this dog is derived from his being too often employed, until a few years ago, in baiting the bull. It was practised by the low and dissolute in many parts of the country. Dogs were bred and trained for the purpose; and, while many of them were injured or destroyed, the head of the bull was lacerated in the most barbarous manner. Nothing can exceed the fury with which the bull-dog rushed on his foe, and the obstinacy with which he maintained his hold. He fastened upon the lip, the muzzle, or the eye, and there he hung in spite of every effort of the bull to free himself from his antagonist.

Bull-dogs are not so numerous as they were a few years ago; and every kind-hearted person will rejoice to hear that bull-baiting is now put down by legal authority in every part of the kingdom.

THE BULL TERRIER.

This dog is a cross between the bull-dog and the terrier, and is generally superior, both in appearance and value, to either of its progenitors. A second cross considerably lessens the underhanging of the lower jaw, and a third entirely removes it, retaining the spirit and determination of the animal. It forms a steadier friendship than either of them, and the principal objection to it is its love of wanton mischief, and the dangerous irascibility which it occasionally exhibits.

Sir Walter Scott, a warm friend of dogs, and whose veracity cannot be impeached, gives an interesting account of a favourite one belonging to him.

"The cleverest dog I ever had was what is called a bull-dog terrier. I taught him to understand a great many words, insomuch that I am positive the communication between the canine species and ourselves might be greatly enlarged. Camp, the name of my dog, once bit the baker when bringing bread to the family. I beat him, and explained the enormity of the offence; after which, to the last moment of his life, he never heard the least allusion to the story without creeping into the darkest corner of the room. Towards the end of his life when he was unable to attend me while I was on horseback, he generally watched for my return, and, when the servant used to tell him, his master was coming down the hill, or through the moor, although he did not use any gesture to explain his meaning, Camp was never known to mistake him, but either went out at the front to go up the hill, or at the back to get down to the moor-side."

THE MASTIFF

The head considerably resembles that of the bull-dog, but with the ears dependent. The upper lip falls over the lower jaw. The end of the tail is turned up, and frequently the fifth toe of the hind feet is more or less developed. The nostrils are separated one from another by a deep furrow. He has a grave and somewhat sullen countenance, and his deep-toned bark is often heard during the night. The mastiff is taller than the bull-dog, but not so deep in the chest, and his head is large compared with his general form.

It is probable that the mastiff is an original breed peculiar to the British islands.

He seems to be fully aware of the impression which his large size makes on every stranger; and, in the night especially, he watches the abode of his master with the completest vigilance; in fact, nothing would tempt him to betray the confidence which is reposed in him.

Captain Brown states that,

"notwithstanding his commanding appearance and the strictness with which he guards the property of his master, he is possessed of the greatest mildness of conduct, and is as grateful for any favours bestowed upon him as is the most diminutive of the canine tribe. There is a remarkable and peculiar warmth in his attachments. He is aware of all the duties required of him, and he punctually discharges them. In the course of the night he several times examines every thing with which he is intrusted with the most scrupulous care, and, by repeated barkings, warns the household or the depredator that he is at the post of duty." [1]

The mastiff from Cuba requires some mention, and will call up some of the most painful recollections in the history of the human race. He was not a native of Cuba, but imported into the country.

The Spaniards had possessed themselves of several of the South American islands. They found them peopled with Indians, and those of a sensual, brutish, and barbarous class--continually making war with their neighbours, indulging in an irreconcilable hatred of the Spaniards, and determined to expel and destroy them. In self-defence, they were driven to some means of averting the destruction with which they were threatened. They procured some of these mastiffs, by whose assistance they penetrated into every part of the country, and destroyed the greater portion of the former inhabitants.

Las Casas, a Catholic priest, and whose life was employed in endeavouring to mitigate the sufferings of the original inhabitants, says that

"it was resolved to march against the Indians, who had fled to the mountains, and they were chased like wild beasts, with the assistance of bloodhounds, who had been trained to a thirst for human blood, so that before I had left the island it had become almost entirely a desert."

THE ICELAND DOG.

The head is rounder than that of the northern dogs; the ears partly erect and partly pendent; and the fur soft and long, especially behind the fore legs and on the tail. It much resembles the Turkish dog removed to a colder climate.

This dog is exceedingly useful to the Icelanders while travelling over the snowy deserts of the north. By a kind of intuition he rarely fails in choosing the shortest and the safest course. He also is more aware than his master of the approach of the snow storms; and is a most valuable ally against the attack of the Polar bear, who, drifted on masses of ice from the neighbouring continent, often commits depredations among the cattle, and even attacks human beings. When the dog is first aware of the neighbourhood of the bear, he sets up a fearful howl, and men and dogs hasten to hunt down and destroy the depredator.

The travelling in Iceland is sometimes exceedingly dangerous at the beginning of the winter. A thin layer of snow covers and conceals some of the chasms with which that region abounds. Should the traveller fall into one of them, the dog proves a most useful animal; for he runs immediately across the snowy waste, and, by his howling, induces the traveller's friends to hasten to his rescue.

THE TERRIER

The forehead is convex; the eye prominent; the muzzle pointed; the tail thin and arched; the fur short; the ears of moderate size, half erect, and usually of a deep-black colour, with a yellow spot over the eyes. It is an exceedingly useful animal; but not so indispensable an accompaniment to a pack of fox-hounds as it used to be accounted. Foxes are not so often unearthed as they formerly were, yet many a day's sport would be lost without the terrier. Some sportsmen used to have two terriers accompanying in the pack, one being smaller than the other. This was a very proper provision; a large terrier might be incapable of penetrating into the earth, and a small one might permit the escape of the prey. Many terriers have lost their lives by scratching up the earth behind them, and thus depriving themselves of all means of retreat.

The coat of the terrier may be either smooth or rough; the smooth-haired ones are more delicate in appearance, and are somewhat more exposed to injury or accident; but in courage, sagacity, and strength, there is very little difference if the dogs are equally well bred. The rough terrier possibly obtained his shaggy coat from the cur, and the smooth terrier may derive his from the hound.

The terrier is seldom of much service until he is twelve months old; and then, incited by natural propensity, or the example of the older ones, or urged on by the huntsman, he begins to discharge his supposed duty.

An old terrier is brought to the mouth of the earth in which a vixen fox--a fox with her young ones--has taken up her abode, and is sent in to worry and drive her out. Some young terriers are brought to the mouth of the hover, to listen to the process that is going forward within, and to be excited to the utmost extent of which they are capable. The vixen is at length driven out, and caught at the mouth of the hole; and the young ones are suffered to rush in, and worry or destroy their first prey. They want no after-tuition to prepare them for the discharge of their duty.

This may be pardoned. It is the most ready way of training the young dog to his future business; but it is hoped that no reader of this work will be guilty of the atrocities that are often practised. An old fox, or badger, is caught, his under jaw is sawn off, and the lower teeth are forcibly extracted, or broken. A hole is then dug in the earth, or a barrel is placed large and deep enough to permit a terrier, or perhaps two of them, to enter. 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.

The terrier is, however, a valuable dog, in the house and the farm. The stoat, the pole-cat, and the weazel, commit great depredations in the fields, the barn, and granary; and to a certain extent, the terrier is employed in chasing them; but it is not often that he has a fair chance to attack them. He is more frequently used in combating the rat.

The mischief effected by rats is almost incredible. It has been said that, in some cases, in the article of corn, these animals consume a quantity of food equal in value to the rent of the farm. Here the dog is usefully employed, and in his very element, especially if there is a cross of the bull-dog about him.

There are some extraordinary accounts of the dexterity, as well as courage, of the terrier in destroying rats. The feats of a dog called "Billy" will he long remembered. He was matched to destroy one hundred large rats in eight and a half minutes. The rats were brought into the ring in bags, and, as soon as the number was complete, he was put over the railing. In six minutes and thirty-five seconds they were all destroyed. In another match he destroyed the same number in six minutes and thirteen seconds. At length, when he was getting old, and had but two teeth and one eye left, a wager was laid of thirty sovereigns, by the owner of a Berkshire bitch, that she would kill fifty rats in less time than Billy. The old dog killed his fifty in five minutes and six seconds. The pit was then cleared, and the bitch let in. When she had killed thirty rats, she was completely exhausted, fell into a fit, and lay barking and yelping, utterly incapable of completing her task.

The speed of the terrier is very great. One has been known to run six miles in thirty-two minutes. He needs to be a fleet dog if, with his comparatively little bulk, he can keep up with the foxhound.

A small breed of 'wry-legged' terriers was once in repute, and, to a certain degree, is retained for the purpose of hunting rabbits. It probably originated in some rickety specimens, remarkable for the slow development of their frame, except in the head, the belly, and the joints, which enlarge at the expense of the other parts.

THE SCOTCH TERRIER

There is reason to believe that this dog is far older than the English terrier. There are three varieties: first the common Scotch terrier, twelve or thirteen inches high; his body muscular and compact-- considerable breadth across the loins--the legs shorter and stouter than those of the English terriers. The head large in proportion to the size of the body--the muzzle small and pointed--strong marks of intelligence in the countenance--warm attachment to his master, and the evident devotion of every power to the fulfilment of his wishes. The hair is long and tough, and extending over the whole of the frame. In colour, they are black or fawn: the white, yellow, or pied are always deficient in purity of blood.

Another species has nearly the same conformation, but is covered with longer, more curly, and stouter hair; the legs being apparently, but not actually, shorter. This kind of dog prevails in the greater part of the Western Islands of Scotland, and some of them, where the hair has obtained its full development, are much admired.

Her Majesty had one from Islay, a faithful and affectionate creature, yet with all the spirit and determination that belongs to his breed. The writer of this account had occasion to operate on this poor fellow, who had been bitten under somewhat suspicious circumstances. He submitted without a cry or a struggle, and seemed to be perfectly aware that we should not put him to pain without having some good purpose in view.

A third species of terrier is of a considerably larger bulk, and three or four inches taller than either of the others. Its hair is shorter than that of the other breeds, and is hard and wiry.

THE SHOCK-DOG

is traced by Buffon, but somewhat erroneously, to a mixture of the small Danish dog and the pug. The head is round, the eyes large, but somewhat concealed by its long and curly hair, the tail curved and bent forward. The muzzle resembles that of the pug. It is of small size, and is used in this country and on the Continent as a lap-dog. It is very properly described by the author of "The Field Book" as a useless little animal, seeming to possess no other quality than that of a faithful attachment to his mistress.

THE ARTOIS DOG

with his short, flat muzzle, is a produce of the shock-dog and the pug. He has nothing peculiar to recommend him.

THE ANDALUSIAN, OR ALICANT DOG,

has the short muzzle of the pug with the long hair of the spaniel.

THE EGYPTIAN AND BARBARY DOG,

according to Cuvier, has a very thick and round head, the ears erect at the base, large and movable, and carried horizontally, the skin nearly naked, and black or dark flesh-colour, with large patches of brown. A sub-variety has a kind of mane behind the head, formed of long stiff hairs.

Buffon imagines that the shepherd's dog--transported to different climates, and acquiring different habits--was the ancestor of the various species with which almost every country abounds; but whence they originally came it is impossible to say. They vary in their size, their colour, their attitude, their usual exterior, and their strangely different interior construction. Transported into various climates, they are necessarily submitted to the influence of heat and cold, and of food more or less abundant and more or less suitable to their natural organization; but the reason or the derivation of these differences of structure it is not always easy to explain.

[Footnote 1: Brown's 'Biographical Sketches', p. 425.]

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