82 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 



hence he is frequently called the " double-nosed pointer.' 1 

 He is very stanch, -and is held in deservedly high estimation ; 

 but I have been giv^n to understand that his temper is unyield- 

 ing, and that he requires great care and caution in training. 

 When a good dog of this breed is well and thoroughly broken 

 in, he is considered very valuable, and fetches a long price. 

 The prevailing opinion among sportsmen is, that the Rus- 

 sian Pointer requires fresh training, to a certain extent, at the 

 commencement of each season ; but so, indeed, do most of 

 his smooth-coated brethren. 



THE TERRIERS. 



THE RUSSIAN TERRIER. 



THE Terriers are a very hardy race of dogs, full of cour- 

 age and spirit. They will face any thing, no matter what 

 may be the disparity of size, and will fight with the greatest 

 vigor and fury. 



The Russian Terrier exceeds his brethren in size and 

 strength, frequently attaining to the height of twenty-six inch- 

 es at the shoulder. He stands high and straight on his legs, 

 and is not altogether unlike the mastiff in general form :. but 

 is lighter and more active. Two well-sized dogs are con- 

 sidered sufficient to grapple with an ordinary wolf, and half 

 a dozen are more than enough to puzzle a bear. Tl)e Rus- 

 sian Terrier is in considerable request in Scotland as a watch- 

 dog a post for which he is eminently qualified, uniting, as 

 he does, the force of the mastiff with the vigilance of the 

 Terrier. He is also a good and willing water-dog, and is, on 

 this account, a valuable auxiliary in otter-hunting. He would 

 make a good retriever ; but, unfortunately, is of too fierce a 

 temper, will not bear the whip, and is what sportsmen term 

 hard-mouthed being given to injure the game with his teeth. 

 The color of the Russian Terrier is usually black and tan ; 

 but the largest dogs of the breed that I have seen were of a 

 reddish-brown color. I saw two dogs of this color about ten 

 years ago, in Edinburgh, one of which measured twenty-seven, 

 and the other twenty-eight inches in height at the shoulder 

 equal also in bulk and bone to some mastiffs. These are 

 known also in Germany, where they are called ." boar- 

 searchers." 



