THE SCOTCH SHEEP-DOG. 



297 



its master, and suggests that the shepherd should be liable to a certain fine for every 

 tooth-mark upon his flock. Very great injury is done to the weakly sheep and tender 

 lambs by the crowding and racing that takes place when a cruel Dog begins to run among 

 the flock. However, the fault also lies more with the shepherd than with his Dog, for as 

 the man is. so will his Dog be. The reader must bear in mind that the barbarous treat- 

 ment to which travelling flocks are so often subjected is caused by drovers and not shep- 

 herds, who, in almost every instance, know each sheep by its name, and are as careful of 

 its well-being as if it were a member of their own family. The Dogs which so persecute 

 the poor sheep in their bewilderments among cross-roads and the perplexity of crowded 

 streets, are in their turn treated by their masters quite as cruelly as they treat the sheep. 

 In this, as in other instances, it is " like man and like Dog." 



As a general rule, the Sheep-dog cares little for any one but his master, and so far 

 from courting the notice or caresses of a stranger will coldly withdraw from them, and 

 keep his distance. Even with other Dogs he rarely makes companionship, contenting 

 himself with the society of his master alone. 



The SCOTCH SHEEP-DOG, more familiarly called the COLLEY, is not unlike the Eng- 

 lish Sheep-dog in character, though it rather differs from that animal in form. It is 

 sharp of nose, bright and mild of eye, and most sagacious of aspect. Its body is heavily 

 covered with long and woolly hair, which stands boldly out from its body, and forms a 

 most effectual screen against the heat of the blazing sun, or the cold, sleety blasts of the 

 winter winds. The tail is exceedingly bushy, and curves upwards towards the end, 

 so as to carry the long hairs free from the ground. The color of the fur is always dark, 

 and is sometimes variegated with a very little white. The most approved tint is black 

 and tan ; but it sometimes happens that the entire coat is of one of these colors, and 

 in that case the Dog is not so highly valued. 



The " dew-claws " of the English and Scotch Sheep-dogs are generally double, and 

 are not attached to the bone, as is the case with the other claws. At the present day 

 it is the custom to remove these appendages, on the grounds that they are of no use 

 to the Dog, and that they are apt to be rudely torn off by the various obstacles through 

 which the animal is obliged to force its way, or by the many accidents to which it is liable 

 in its laborious vocation. In the entire aspect of this creature there is a curious re- 

 semblance to the Dingo, as may be seen on reference to the account of that animal in 

 a subsequent page. 



It is hardly possible to overrate the marvellous intelligence of a well-taught Sheep- 

 dog ; for if the shepherd were deprived of the help of his Dog his office would be 

 almost impracticable. It has been forcibly said by a competent authority that, if the 

 work of the Dog were to be performed by men, their maintenance would more than swal- 

 low up the entire profits of the flock. They, indeed, could never direct the sheep 

 so successfully as the Dog directs them ; for the sheep understand the Dog better than 

 they comprehend the shepherd. The Dog serves as a medium through which the 

 instructions of the man are communicated to the flock ; and being in intelligence the 

 superior of his charge, and the inferior of his master, he is equally capable of com- 

 municating with either extreme. 



One of these Dogs performed a feat which would have been, excusably, thought im- 

 possible, had it not been proved to be true. A large flock of lambs took a sudden 

 alarm one night, as sheep are wont, unaccountably and most skittishly, to do, and 

 dashed off among the hills in three different directions. The shepherd tried in vain to 

 recall the fugitives ; but finding all his endeavors useless, told his Dog that the lambs 

 had all run away, and then set off himself in search of the lost flock. The remainder 

 of the night was passed in fruitless search, and the shepherd was returning to his master 

 to report his loss. However, as he was on the way, he saw a number of lambs stand- 

 ing at the bottom of a deep ravine, and his faithful Dog keeping watch over them. He 

 immediately concluded that his Dog had discovered one of the three bands which had 

 started off so inopportunely in the darkness ; but on visiting the recovered truants he 

 discovered, to his equal joy and wonder, that the entire flock was collected in the 

 ravine, without the loss of a single lamb. 



