248 THE ESKIMO DOG 



paws thrusting against my chest and his fierce, yet 

 intelligent, face on a level with my own." 



Although these dogs under native conditions are 

 fierce and intractable, we must make many allowances 

 for the circumstances under which they have been 

 reared for many generations. There is little doubt that 

 they are as amenable to kindly treatment as any other, 

 animal, and those who have kept them in this country 

 are, as a rule, prepared to give them good characters. 

 They will not stand rating, and a sound thrashing 

 is never forgiven. On the whole, it can scarcely 

 be said that they make ideal pets, a disposition to 

 go for any other living creature being apt to bring 

 trouble upon the owner. We know that they will 

 fight to the death among themselves, and it is not 

 unusual for the unlucky victim to be consumed by 

 the survivors. 



An Eskimo should stand about 23 or 24 inches 

 at the shoulder, and he should be cobbily built, 

 neither high on the leg nor long in the back. The 

 head is wolflike, but the skull is broader than that 

 of the wild animal. The erect ears are small, 

 rounded, and inclined slightly forwards. The muzzle 

 is sharp. The shoulders are heavy and slightly 

 sloped, and the chest is deep and broad. The front 

 legs are heavily boned, and, like the hind, full of 

 muscle. They should be perfectly straight. The 

 ribs are round, the back straight and broad, and 

 the loins powerful and arched. The thighs are 

 very muscular and the tail is very bushy, with a' 

 graceful curve over the back. The undercoat 

 is thick and furlike, while the outercoat is thick, 

 standing out from the body almost like bristles. 

 The neck carries an ample frill, but the legs are 



