NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



225 



Wh^0'^- 



THB SCOTCH SHEEP DOG. 



There are various races of dogs, which seem 

 made by nature for certain definite purposes, to 

 which they attend without training. There are 

 the sheep dog, the pointer, the setter, the hound, 

 the terrier, the spaniel and the bull dog, almost per- 

 fected by nature for one office alone. So fixed and 

 peculiar are the traits in some races, that they 

 will all attack an animal in the same way, and at 

 the same point, though the young may not have 

 the example of the old. 



The sheep dog, in all ages and climates, preserves 

 its peculiar properties, and though there may he 

 several races, their characteristics are similar; and 

 it is the least removed of any race from the natu- 

 ral type of the dog. For certain purposes this 

 race has been modified, as liy a cross with the mas- 

 tiff a stronger race is produced to guard the flocks 

 against wolves. When the dog is to serve as a 

 guide rather than a protector, he is rather small, 

 activity being an important object. 



The muzzle of tlie shepheid's dog is sharp, the ears 

 short and erect, tlie tail is long and bushy, like 

 that of a fox; and he is generally covered with 

 thick shaggy hair, particularly about the neck. 

 He is usually black, or black prevails, mixed with 

 gray or brown. The true sheep dog is regarded by 

 the sheep as a guide and friend, but some of the 

 crosses with ferocious races are an object of dread, 

 and often injure the sheep by fright and violent at- 

 tacks upon them, especially under a brutal shep- 

 herd. In sjch cases the dog is worse than useless. 



The sheep dog is distinguished for his intelli- 

 gence, fidelity, obedience and sagacity, performing 

 naturally what other dogs would do only af- 

 ter a long course of training. In many cases this 

 dog will do more in assisting a shepherd than sev-' 



eral men, and often performs what it is not in the 

 power of man to do. The following remarks, show- 

 ing the fidelity, sagacity and intelligence of this 

 valuable animal, will be read with interest. 



Mr. James Hogg, the Ettiick Shepherd, living 

 in his early days among the sheep and their quad- 

 ruped attendants, and an accurate observer of na- 

 ture, as well as an exquisite poet, gives some an- 

 ecdotes of the colley, (the Highland term for sheep 

 dog,) with which the reader will not be displeased. 

 "My dog Sirrah," says he, in a letter to the edi- 

 tor of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, "was, 

 beyond all comparison, the best dog I ever saw. 

 He had a somewhat surly and unsocial temper, dis- 

 daining all flattery, and refusing to be caressed; 

 but his attention to my commands and interest will 

 never again be equalled by any of the canine race. 

 When I first saw him, a drover was leading him 

 with a rope. He was both lean and hungry, and 

 far from being a beautiful animal; for he was al- 

 most black, and had a grim face, striped with dark 

 brown. I thought I perceived a sort of sullen in- 

 telligence in his countenance, notwithstanding his 

 dejected and forlorn appearance, and I bought him. 

 He was scarcely a year old, and knew so little of 

 herding that he had never turned a sheep in his 

 life; but, as soon as he discovered that it was his 

 duty to do so, and that it obliged me, I can never 

 forget with wiiat anxiety and eagerness he learned 

 his different evolutions; and when I once made him 

 understand a direction, he never forgot or mistook 

 it." 



On one night, a large flock of lambs that were 

 under the Ettrick Shepherd's care, frightened by 

 something, scampered away in three different di- 

 rections across the hills, in spite of all that he 

 could do to keep them together. "Sirrah," said 

 the shepherd, "they're a' awa !" 



It was too dark for the dog and his master to see 

 each other at any considerable distance, but Sirrah 

 understood him, and set olf after the fugitives. 

 The night passed on, and Hogg and his assistant 



