LOLA 31 



occasions on which it is of importance to carry out 

 the work with as little noise as possible. 



" This breed provides a favourite ' house dog ' ; 

 they have proved invaluable as Army Medical Service 

 dogs, and are friendly with children. Jocularly they 

 are called (in Germany) Petroleum dogs (= a play on 

 the name Airedale, as pronounced in German, i.e. 

 'Erd-oel'"). 



As already said, Lola's parents were the much 

 spoken-of Rolf, the so-called " thinking " or " speak- 

 ing " dog, and Jela, no longer owned by the Moekels. 

 Jela seems to have been an unimportant little animal, 

 not even very affectionate as a mother. The litter 

 Lola was dropped at consisted of twelve pups ; of 

 these one died at once, and after the vicissitudes 

 puppies are heirs to, those that remained and have 

 become known to us, are Heinz, Harras, Use, and Lola. 

 The first-named three all have their different owners 

 by whom they are being taught with a certain amount 

 of success as indeed their reports have shown. 



Previously to coming into my possession, Lola, had 

 been removed from Mannheim at an early age, and had 

 passed through many hands, undergoing, moreover, 

 the most various attempts of instruction. Lack of 

 time and also the war, had been answerable for these 

 changes ; twice, however, her own fidgetiness had 

 resulted in her being deemed unsuitable, and it was 

 felt that the attempt had proved a failure. Even 

 Frau Dr. Moekel, into whose hands she had finally 

 returned is said not to have thought much of her, 

 having only been able to get her to learn " yes " 

 (=2), and "no" (=3). I mention this, because 

 it became clear to me later on that the success of such 

 teaching does not depend solely on the patience, the 

 love and the attention, nor even on the ability to, 



