CHAPTER XI 

 THE POODLE 



THE Poodle is commonly acknowledged to be the most wisely 

 intelligent of all members of the canine race. He is a scholar 

 and a gentleman ; but, in spite of his claims of long descent 

 and his extraordinary natural cleverness, he has never been 

 widely popular in this country as the Collie and the Fox- 

 Terrier are popular. There is a general belief that he is a fop, 

 whose time is largely occupied in personal embellishment, 

 and that he requires a great deal of individual attention in 

 the matter of his toilet. It may be true that to keep him 

 in exhibition order and perfect cleanliness his owner has need 

 to devote more consideration to him than is necessary in the 

 case of many breeds ; but in other respects he gives very 

 little trouble, and all who are attached to him are consistent 

 in their opinion that there is no dog so intensely interesting 

 and responsive as a companion. His qualities of mind and 

 his acute powers of reasoning are indeed so great that there 

 is something almost human in his attractiveness and his 

 devotion. His aptitude in learning is never denied, and many 

 are the stories told of his marvellous talent and versatility. 



Not merely as a showman's dog has he distinguished himself. 

 He is something more than a mountebank of the booths, 

 trained to walk the tight rope and stand on his head. He is 

 an adept at performing tricks, but it is his alertness of brain 

 that places him apart from other animals. There is the 

 example of the famous Munito, who in 1818 perplexed the 

 Parisians by his cleverness with playing cards and his intricate 

 arithmetical calculations. Paris was formerly the home of 



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