210 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



takes the place of the perspiration, and drops from 

 their tongues, which they let hang from their mouths 

 when they are overheated. 



Development The senses of the Dog are acute, but 

 of the not evenly developed in the different 

 Senses in Dogs, breeds. Smelling, hearing and sight 

 seem to rank first, some being distinguished by their 

 scent, some by their keenness of sight. The sense 

 of taste in Dogs cannot be disputed, but it finds 

 expression in a strange manner. Everything that 

 excites their organs of sense too much is distasteful 

 to them. They are least susceptible to light, and 

 most to loud, yelling sounds and pungent odors. 

 Ringing bells and music make them howl. Cologne 

 water, ammonia and ether excite their disgust when 

 held under their noses. The sense of smell is exceed- 

 ingly well developed in some breeds of Dogs and 

 attains a degree of acuteness which is scarcely com- 

 prehensible to a human being. 



Scheitlin on Books might be written about the 



Mental Charac- mental characteristics of Dogs; it 

 teristics of Dogs. j s very difficult to describe them in 

 a few words. The description of the Dog's mind 

 which' has pleased me most, has been given by 

 Scheitlin, and I will here reproduce some portions 

 of it: "As great as may be the physical difference 

 between Dogs," says he, "the mental dissimilarity is 

 still greater; for some breeds are incapable of learn- 

 ing, while others learn all kinds of tricks and duties 

 almost instantly. Some cannot be tamed at all, 

 others become tame very soon, and what some love, 

 others hate. The Poodle goes into the water of its 

 own accord, the Spitz desires to always remain at 

 home. The Mastiff may be trained to attack Man, 

 the Poodle cannot be made to do so. The Hound 

 alone has a perfect scent. The Bear Hound is the 

 only Dog that will attack a Bear by biting at its 

 hind legs; and it is only the long Badger Dog, 

 which seems to need an additional pair of legs in 

 the middle, that is so low in stature and has such 

 crooked limbs that it can easily crawl into a Badg- 

 er's burrow; a feat it performs with a degree of 

 pleasure equal to that with which the Drover's Dog, 

 describing great curves, compels a drove of Calves 

 and Cattle to hurry onward. 



" The Newfoundland Dog does not fear the Wolf, 

 and is therefore fitted for guarding flocks ; he 

 digs, swims and dives, and pulls people out of the 

 water. The Drover's Dog, which also contends 

 with the Wolf, is a good guardian of flocks, hunts 

 Wild Boars and all other large animals; shows 

 reasoning powers and affection, but will not go into 

 water unless compelled to do so. He is used and 

 abused in the chase, and according to a settled psy- 

 chological law, this renders him a real brute, espe- 

 cially with young Calves, which do not defend them- 

 selves with their heels, and which he consequently 

 does not fear. His bloodthirstiness is repellant, and 

 his inclination to bite, to drink blood, and to pull 

 about and devour remains of animals, are his worst 

 qualities. The Greyhound is said to lack nearly 

 all reasoning powers, capability of education and 

 faithfulness, and to be childishly fond of a stran- 

 ger's caresses; still he may be trained to course 

 Hares. The Setter indicates its most striking trait 

 by its name. The Dog and every other animal must 

 first give an intimation of what it likes, before it can 

 be trained. The King Charles Spaniels seem to have 

 been created for the sole pleasure of being carried 

 in ladies' arms, to sleep on sofas, to lie in people's 

 laps, to growl at strangers, to stay in rooms, to 



drink out of their mistress' glass and eat out of her 

 plate, and to be kissed. The Hound is praised for 

 his keen scent, his sagacity, docility and faithful 

 affection for his master. The house and Shepherd 

 Dogs are equally sagacious, and are also good 

 watch Dogs. The Spitz, or Pomeranian Dog, is 

 said to be clever, docile, lively and agile, to be 

 addicted to biting, and a good watch Dog, but some 

 varieties of this species are treacherous and deceitful. 

 The northern Dog is devoted to Man, but does not 

 know his master, is not afraid of blows, has an insa- 

 tiable appetite, and yet can endure hunger for a long 

 time. The Mastiff's character is a combination of 

 faithfulness with little sagacity. He is a good watch 

 Dog, a fierce, courageous antagonist of the Wild 

 Boar, Lion, Tiger and Panther, and sets little value 

 on his life. He can be guided by a wink of the eye, 

 a gesture, or still more by a word from his master ; 

 and may be trained to attack Man, not fearing to 

 enter into combat with three or four Men. When 

 engaged m an onslaught he pays no attention to 

 shots, stabs or lacerated limbs, and enters into 

 dreadful fights with animals of his own kind. The 

 Mastiff is very strong, being able to pull down the 

 strongest Man and strangle him, or hold him captive 

 and helpless until he is released, and he can hold an 

 enraged Wild Boar by the ear so that it cannot move. 

 The Mastiff is remarkably obedient, and has con- 

 siderably more sense than is usually accredited to 

 him. The Dog which stands on the lowest plane is 

 undeniably the Pug Dog. He owes his degeneration 

 to mental deterioration, and naturally cannot elevate 

 himself. He does not comprehend the human mind, 

 neither does the human mind understand him. 



Great "The body of the Dog has in life so 



Capabilities of spiritual an expression that the skin 

 the Dog. f the dead animal cannot be effect- 

 ually stuffed. The mind of the Dog is undeniably 

 as perfect as an animal's mind can be. Of no other 

 brute creature can it so appropriately be said that 

 the only human quality he lacks is that of speech. 

 Of no other animal have we so many pictures of all 

 his different varieties, such an extraordinary number 

 of anecdotes illustrating his sagacity, his memory, 

 his reasoning powers, his imagination and even his 

 moral qualities, such as faithfulness, affection, grati- 

 tude, vigilance, love for his master, patience with 

 human beings, ferocity toward and hatred of his 

 master's enemies, etc., and no other animal is there- 

 fore so frequently pointed out to us as a pattern. 

 How much there is to tell of his docility ! He can 

 dance, drum, walk a rope, mount guard, take and 

 defend fortresses, shoot off pistols; he turns the 

 spit, drags the wagon; he can be taught to recognize 

 notes, numbers, cards, letters; to take his master's 

 hat off, bring his slippers, and even attempt to take 

 his shoes off; he knows the language of the eyes and 

 of the face and many other things." 



"I have known Dogs," says Lenz, "which ap- 

 peared to understand nearly every word their master 

 uttered, opened and shut doors at his command, 

 brought in a chair, a table or a bench, took off or 

 brought his hat, looked for and brought a hidden 

 handkerchief or such things, sought and found a 

 stranger's hat among a lot of others by scent, etc. 

 It is a pleasure to watch a clever Dog, the manner 

 in which he turns his ears and eyes when expecting 

 his master's command, how pleased he is when he is 

 allowed to follow his master's footsteps, what a mis- 

 erable face he makes when he is made to remain at 

 home; how, when he has run ahead, he stops at a 



