The Dalmatian. 193 



Leaving a somewhat fabulous statement like the 

 above, and coming to more modern instances, we 

 have our common " coach " dog likened to a bull 

 terrier, and then to a pointer. Richardson says 

 that he has seen one trained to do a pointer's work, 

 and did it as well as the genuine article. This I 

 doubt very much, for no Dalmatian could possess 

 either the range, or pace, or nose, or natural intelli- 

 gence where game is concerned, as a dog whose 

 parents had been specially trained for a purpose 

 for many generations. 



There is little doubt that our modern " coach 

 dog " originally sprang from Dalmatia, a province 

 in the southern part of Austria, hence his name, 

 but from there he might have gone over to 

 Spain, or, perhaps, in the first instance some 

 Spaniard might have sent him out to Dalmatia, 

 where the enterprising inhabitants soon claimed 

 him as their own. However, it does not matter 

 much what country first gave him birth. 



The Dalmatian is with us now, and towards the 

 end of last century and up to the middle of the 

 present one, he was usually seen following the 

 carriages of those wealthy enough to keep such 

 an ornament. He was fond of the horses, lived in 

 the stables with them, was little or no trouble to 

 the grooms, and the portly coachman did not think 



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