SPORTING AND GUARD DOGS 



Very few specimens have reached Europe or have ever been 

 seen by foreigners, consequently, attempts at accurate de- 

 scription of the breed do not seem justified. A pair of dogs 

 of the breed, including the Prince of Wales 's " Siring," figured 

 in Dalziel's " British Dogs,"* was exhibited at the Alexandra 

 Palace Show in 1875. 



The race is represented throughout Mongolia by species 

 no doubt closely allied, which, in size and ferocity, approach 

 those of the native of Tibet. The partiality of Chinese 

 leopards for canine diet is crystallized in an old Chinese 

 saying, " The dog is the wine of the leopard." In Mongolia, 

 however, the tables are turned, and the natives attribute 

 comparative freedom from leopards to the ferocity of their 

 dogs. So fierce and dangerous are these, that the Mongolians 

 are obliged by their laws to come out and protect travellers 

 entering their encampments. Until they receive this pro- 

 tection, horsemen remain in the saddle ; foot-travellers keep 

 the dogs at bay as best they can with sticks. 



The race is similar to the British mastiff, but stronger and 

 more heavily built. The head is longer, the pendent ears 

 larger, the lips deeper, the tail long and brush-like, the coat 

 heavier, and the expression more fierce. The colour is often 

 black or brown, with light muzzle and legs. The race, native 

 of a country whose tablelands average 16,500 ft. above sea- 

 level, is difficult to acclimatize in foreign countries, apparently 

 through inability to bear the heat of summer. A pair taken 

 to the alpine climate of Yunnanfu in 1911 succumbed within 

 four months. The Tibetan priests have occasionally suc- 

 ceeded in rearing the breed in Peking, keeping the dogs in a 

 cellar during the hot weather. Sarat Chandra Das f con- 

 sidered that the race was found in a wild state in the country. 

 He speaks of a collection of stuffed animals in one of the mon- 



* Vol. ii, p. 185. f " Narrative of a Journey to Lhasa," 1885. 



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