Introductory. 



the dog would be of the utmost value to him, and when the time came 

 that other of our more domesticated animals were subdued, or partially 

 so, and the shepherd's crook was taken up in addition to the rude 

 instruments of war and chase, the pliant nature of the dog would be 

 quickly moulded into agreement with the new state of things, and become, 

 as we find he had in the days of the patriarch Job, and as he still is in 

 many countries, both tender and defender of the flocks and herds. 



In this case the new duties and conditions of life would develop new 

 traits of character and variety of form and shape. The shepherd's dog 

 would gradually assume a character of his own, and the Nimrods of 

 those early days would have their own branches of the family chosen as 

 best suited for their particular purpose, which, being used for special 

 work, certain faculties being constantly used whilst others were allowed 

 to lie dormant, the latter would become almost extinguished, and thus 

 still further divergence of type from the original and differences between 

 existing breeds become more distinct. 



This alone, carried out extensively, as it was certain to be, would 

 produce great variety in form, size, colour, and capabilities, and with the 

 growth of civilisation these influences would increase in strength and 

 variety, and, together with the powerful influence of climate and accidental 

 circumstances, impossible to gauge, fully account for the extraordinary 

 varieties of form we see in the dog as he exists at present. 



Anecdotes of dogs are not embraced in our scheme. We have not 

 inflicted insipidities of that kind on our readers ; these are usually 

 mere extensions of personal vanity, using the dog as the medium of 

 praising the writer, and are generally, in addition, a compromise between 

 the marvellous and the silly, that might be fairly described as attenuated 

 twaddle. All such we have mercilessly excluded, and found room only 

 for a few which are exceptionally apt and strongly illustrative of some 

 distinguishing characteristic. 



It may be said that with works to hand, wherein the subject is so well 

 and exhaustively treated as those of " Stonehenge," Youatt, Hamilton, 

 &c., there is no necessity for further writing on the subject. We trust, 

 however, the reader will find in the following pages the best justification 

 of our efforts ; and as this is one of those subjects of which so many 

 never tire, and on many points of which there is still considerable dif- 

 ference of opinion, we have reason to hope it will not be without its use, 



