THE DOG-FIELD-SPORTS-ANGLING. 



THE DOG. 



A CCORDING to naturalists, the dog belongs 

 /"x to the family Canidce, which includes the 

 wolf, fox, and jackal. It is generally agreed that 

 the different breeds of the domestic dog are 

 merely varieties, and not distinct species. But 

 the question as to what was the parent stock is 

 still undecided ; some zoologists hold that the 

 breed is derived from the wolf, others that it is 

 a tamed jackal. Into this and other difficult 

 questions of the natural history of the dog, we 

 refrain from entering, and proceed to make some 

 remarks on 



EFFECTS OF TRAINING. 



In no case is the fact of animal educability 

 more strikingly demonstrated than in that of the 

 dog. The original animal is only supposed to 

 have been gifted by nature with a fine scent for 

 game, and a disposition to make a momentary 

 pause on seeing it, for the purpose of springing 

 upon it. Man has converted this inclination to a 

 temporary pause into a habit of making a full 

 stop, or point, as it is termed ; and the animal, 

 instead of gratifying his destructive tendency by 

 springing upon the game, has been trained to be 

 contented with witnessing a vicarious execution by 

 the gun of his master. 



It is a mistake to suppose that only the spaniel 

 tribe is capable of serving sportsmen in the 

 capacity of pointers and setters. Mr Elaine 

 (Encyclopedia of Rural Sports) is of opinion that 

 this power can be cultivated in most dogs. It 

 has even been elicited in another and very differ- 

 ent class of animals the hog. Some years ago, 

 Mr Toomer, gamekeeper to Sir Henry Mildmay, 

 bethought him of teaching a pig to act as a 

 pointer, having been struck by the scenting 

 powers of the animal in its search for palatable 

 roots under ground. He began by allowing a 

 young female pig to accompany his pointers, in 

 their breaking-lessons, to the field. Within a 

 fortnight, to his own surprise, she was able to 

 hunt and point partridges and rabbits. There 

 being an abundance of these creatures near the 

 keeper's lodge, her education advanced rapidly 

 by frequent exercise, and in a few weeks she was 

 able to retrieve game as well as the best pointer. 

 Slut, as this extraordinary animal was called, was 

 considered to have a more acute scent than any 

 pointer in the charge of the keeper ; and he kept 

 a kennel of the highest character. They hunted 

 her principally on moors and heaths ; and it often 

 happened, that when left behind, she would come 

 of her own accord and join the pointers. In con- 

 sequence of the dogs being not much inclined to 

 hunt when she was with them for they dropped 

 their sterns and shewed symptoms of jealousy she 

 did not very often accompany them, except for 

 the novelty. Her pace was mostly a trot ; she was 

 seldom known to gallop, except when called to go 

 out shooting ; she would then come home from 

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the forest at full stretch, and be as much elated 

 as a dog on being shewn the gun. 



But the most wonderful effect of training is 

 the transmission of acquired qualities by ani- 

 mals to progeny. The habit which education 

 has conferred upon the pointer appears in his 

 puppy, which may be seen earnestly standing 

 at chickens and pigeons in a farmyard, before 

 he has ever accompanied his seniors to the 

 field, or received the least instruction. Here 

 only the object is amiss ; the act itself is 

 perfect. On the subject of the hereditary trans- 

 mission of acquired qualities by animals, we 

 have some curious information from the natu- 

 ralist, Mr T. A. Knight, in a communication 

 to the Royal Society in 1807. In all animals,' 

 he says, 'this is observable; but in the dog it 

 exists to a wonderful extent ; and the offspring 

 appears to inherit not only the passions and pro- 

 pensities, but even the resentments of the family 

 from which it springs. I ascertained that a 

 terrier, whose parents had been in the habit of 

 fighting with pol^ats, will instantly shew every 

 mark of anger when he first perceives the scent of 

 that animal, though the animal itself be wholly 

 concealed from his sight A young spaniel 

 brought up with the terriers shewed no marks of 

 emotion at the scent of the polecat, but it pursued 

 a woodcock, the first time it saw one, with 

 clamour and exultation : and a young pointer, 

 which I am certain had never seen a partridge, 

 stood trembling with anxiety, its eyes fixed and 

 its muscles rigid when conducted into the midst 

 of a covey of those birds. Yet each of those 

 dogs are mere varieties of the same species, and 

 to that species none of these habits are given by 

 nature. The peculiarities of character can there- 

 fore be traced to no other source than the acquired 

 habits of the parents, which are inherited by the 

 offspring, and become what I call instinctive 

 hereditary propensities' 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DOG. 



The general form and aspect of the dog is too 

 well known to require any description. He has 

 six incisory or cutting teeth in both jaws ; beyond 

 which there are, on each side, both above and 

 below, a canine tooth ; and still farther into the 

 mouth are six cheek-teeth, or molars, in each side 

 of the upper jaw. The first three are sharp and 

 cutting, which Cuvier calls false molars. The next 

 tooth on each side is a carnivorous tooth, furnished 

 with two cutting lobes, beyond which the other 

 two teeth on each side are flat. There are seven 

 cheek-teeth, on both sides, in the under jaw ; four 

 of these are false molars, a carnivorous tooth, with 

 the posterior part flat, and behind it two tuber- 

 culous teeth. The muzzle is elongated, subject to 

 great variety of length in different varieties. The 

 tongue is smooth and soft ; the ears erect in the 

 wild varieties, and in some of the tame ones, but, 

 in the latter kinds, for the most part pendulous. 



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