INTRODUCTION vii 



round " breed, able to follow a horse, a trap, be a good 

 guard or companion, take care of himself in his " walks 

 abroad," or have a turn at anything which comes in 

 his way in the vermin line. 



Two more breeds I can strongly recommend to any 

 in doubt as to a suitable dog to take up as household 

 guard or companion. These are the Scottish Ter- 

 rier, often called the Die-hard, or Aberdeen-Terrier, 

 a rather cobby, short legged breed, with a pointed 

 head, ears standing straight up, short back, and 

 gaily carried tail, colour generally, nearly black, griz- 

 zled, or brindled. I believe I brought, in 1868, the 

 first of the breed ever seen in England (at any rate I 

 had not seen one before), from a place called Uig, 

 in the island of Skye, and quite a character he was, 

 and I could give many instances of his great sa- 

 gacity, and very quaint ways, during the many years 

 he lived with me. I regret to say he has long gone to 

 the " happy hunting grounds." I shall say something 

 more of him amongst the " Anecdotes of Dogs," fur- 

 ther on. 



The other breed I referred to is the Dandie Dinmont 

 Terrier, immortalized by Sir Walter Scott. For intelli- 

 gence, pluck, faithfulness, and general adaptability to 

 the ways, and wishes, of his owner, I do not know any 

 breed to surpass it. In many cases, I have known a 

 strain of Dandies kept up for generations, in families, 

 and the affection between the dogs, and their owners, 

 is so great, that no money would bring about a parting, 

 and I have often seen pedigrees and genealogical trees 

 of well known strains of Dandies, taking them back a 



