804 



DOG. 



guardians of property, when their masters have occa- 

 sion to leave it with them. Considering these things, 

 it would, perhaps, be desirable to pay a little more 

 attention to the kind of work which dogs could be 

 made to perform, and the best modes of training and 

 applying them to the performance of it. We shall 

 now give very short notices of the leading varieties. 

 This is a part of the subject in which it is not pos- 

 sible to be systematic, for those reasons which have 

 been already explained, and therefore we shall take 

 the grouping of M. F. Cuvier, which is founded 

 chiefly upon the greater or less elongation of the 

 muzele ; but there is little dependance to be placed 

 on the accounts which authors give of the way in 

 which the varieties have beeu produced, either by 

 change of climate or otherwise. 



Dogs, of the first division, have the muzzle con- 

 siderably elongated, and the capacity of the cranium 

 comparatively small ; many of them are very hand- 

 some in their forms ; but they are not accounted so 

 intelligent as some of tiie others. 



Dogs, of the second division, have their muzzles 

 shorter than those of the first, and the capacity of 

 the cranium much larger in proportion ; among them 

 are to be found the species which are most service- 

 able to man, and we may mention the shepherd's 

 dog as an instance. 



Those of the third division have the muzzle still 

 shorter ; and they are, generally speaking, stouter 

 jnade than any of the others, and some of them are 

 more ferocious. 



The character on which these divisions are founded 

 is a very imperfect one : and the varieties in each, in 

 eome instances, differ more from each, both in appear- 

 ance and in character, than those of the different divi- 

 sions. It may generally be said that the long-nosed 

 varieties bite by snapping, and give a very powerful 

 bite from the length and quick motion of the jaw ; 

 but they do not keep their hold ; that those of the 

 third division bite by seizing and retaining their hold, 

 and performing a good deal of their operations by 

 shaking their prey, while they retain a firm hold 

 with the teeth ; and those of the second division 

 incline more to the one mode of biting or the other, 

 according to circumstances. 



1. LONG-MUZZLED DOGS. The species which are 

 most nearly in a state of nature belong to this divi- 

 sion, and we shall take them first in order. 



THE WILD DOG OF NEPAL (Canis primezvus). This 

 variety, which was first accurately described by Mr. 

 Hodgson, extends over a very large portion of India ; 

 and as the country is inhabited by many races, it is 

 known by different names in different districts. In 

 Nepal and the adjoining countries where it is found 

 upon all the lower ridges of the Himalaya, from the 

 Sutledge to the Burhampootra, it is called Buansu ; 

 in Bengal it is Dhok ; and with the Mahratlas of the 

 Deccan, it is Kl&ur. Over so wide a range as fifteen 

 hundred miles in latitude, and more than a thousand 

 in longitude in some places, it must have conside- 

 rable climatal differences ; and there seems also to 

 be some slight difference in its appearance upon the 

 elevated grounds, and in the valley of the Ganges ; 

 but all its more essential characters are the same 

 wherever it has been observed ; and one of these 

 characters is peculiar, the want of the second tuber- 

 culated tooth in the lower jaw. Mr. Hodgson is of 

 opinion that this is the parent stock of all the domes- 

 ticated dogs ; and it is for this reason that he has 



given it the name of primavus ; but the hypothesis is a 

 mere assumption, which does not admit of proof, and 

 therefore the name is somewhat objectionable. The 

 chief climatal difference is that in the elevated and com- 

 paratively cold country of Nepal, it has much thicker 

 and stronger fur, and is darker in the colour than in 

 the more southerly parts of India. 



This dog certainly belongs to the long-nosed divi- 

 sion ; for the character of that division consists more 

 in the compressed form and small capacity of the 

 scull, than in the mere elongation of the muzzle. 

 Its nose is not very sharp ; its eyes are obliquely set 

 with round pupils, and brown irides. The ears are 

 long, erect, and a little rounded at the tips. The 

 body is rather slender, but deep in the chest ; and 

 the legs are long, very strong, and rather thick ; the 

 tail is tapering, and borne with no recurvature. The 

 neck is long. The whole character has, indeed, a 

 considerable resemblance to that of a Persian grey- 

 hound, in a rude and savage state, and exposed to the 

 vicissitudes of a very variable climate. The colour 

 is, generally speaking, a sort of reddish brown, a little 

 darker toward the tip of the tail, and also between the 

 eyes and nose. 



These dogs prey equally during the night and 

 during the day, but their chief dependence seems to 

 be upon the scent : they hunt in small packs of eight 

 or ten ; and when in pack they are described as giving 

 tongue in a sharp savage bark, unlike that of any 

 domesticated dog, or of the fox, or the jackall ; but 

 when they pursue their prey singly, they only utter 

 an occasional growl. They are animals of great 

 vigour and perseverance, and seldom fail in running 

 down antelopes, deer, and other swift-footed game. 

 As we have already mentioned, this species is wild as 

 well as fleet, and therefore it is seldom seen. When 

 a pack are met with, they do not attack human 

 beings, and thus they are quite harmless to the inha- 

 bitants ; but when they are assailed, they defend 

 themselves, and turn on their assailants with great 

 courage and vigour. When old ones are taken they 

 do not appear to be susceptible of acquaintance with 

 mankind ; but when the young are reared in a kennel 

 with other dogs, they recognise their masters and 

 associates, and evince nearly the average intelligence 

 of the usual sporting breeds which are used for run- 

 ning down game. 



The Pariah dogs which we have mentioned as 

 abounding in and about the villages, have sometimes 

 been referred to this division ; but they have many 

 more of the characters of the more capacious-headed 

 dogs of the second division ; so that, though in some 

 respects they stand intermediate between the present 

 variety and the various bred dogs of India, it does 

 not appear that these can be considered as bearing 

 any general relationship to them, though it is not 

 unlikely that there may be crosses and mongrel 

 breeds. The Pariah dogs themselves are, indeed, a 

 mongrel race ; and it cannot well be otherwise ; for 

 they mix freely, and without quarrelling with the 

 domestic dogs. 



All the native dogs of India, we may remark, 

 appear to be different from any of the European 

 breeds ; though among them there are hairless races 

 something like those which are found in Egypt and 

 the parts adjacent. 



THE MALAY DOG seems to be nothing else but 

 the wild dog of India, farther changed by still greater 

 difference of climate ; and as it is pretty generally 



