494 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



are indoor dogs, and they seem born to lie, 

 as did their ancestors, in graceful attitudes 

 on drawing-room sofas. 



The Phu Quoc Dog. A very curious 

 member of the canine race is the dog of 

 Fu Oc, or Phu-Quoc. It is indigenous to 

 the island of that name in the Indo-China 

 sea. No specimen has ever been seen in 

 England, and the Marquis de Barthelemy, 

 who holds a concession in the island from 

 the French government, states that owing 

 to the want of care in keeping the breed 

 pure it is rapidly becoming extinct. The 



L 



THE PHU-QUOC BITCH CAN-LE'. 



IMPORTED BY THE MARQUIS DE BARTHELEMY. 



Marquis had, with difficulty, brought three 

 specimens to Europe, and there was also 

 a couple in the Jar din d' Acclimitation. 

 Unhappily one bitch belonging to the 

 Marquis died of exhaustion in trying to rear 

 a litter of thirteen pups. The Comte Henri 

 de Bylandt on one occasion judged the breed 

 at Antwerp, and Mr. Brooke, who has seen 

 several, describes the dog as " rather dark 

 brown in colour, well-built and active look- 

 ing, with powerful jaws. The type," he 

 adds, "is that of all wild or semi- wild dogs 

 of the Far East, somewhat resembling a 

 leggy, smooth Chow." What distinguishes 

 the pure Phu-Quoc is the curious growth of 

 coat along the back, near the shoulders, 



the hairs pointing forward towards the head. 

 Comte H. de Bylandt describes the dog as 

 follows, but I doubt if he is r'ght in calling 

 it a Greyhound. It is not technically a 

 hound. 



1. General Appearance. A heavy kind of Grey- 

 hound. 



2. Head. Long ; skull slightly domed and 

 the skin wrinkled, muzzle rather broad, in length 

 the half of the entire head ; jaws long and power- 

 ful ; lips and tongue black ; teeth well developed 

 and meeting evenly. 



3. Eyes. Reddish, with a savage expression. 



4. Nose. Black ; nostrils rather developed. 



5. Ears. Erect, shell 

 shaped, not too pointed, 

 inside almost hairless. 



6. Body. Somewhat 

 coarse ; neck very long and 

 flexible ; shoulders sloping ; 

 belly drawn up ; loins broad 

 and strong. 



7. Legs. Straight and 

 lean ; stifles rather straight ; 

 thighs muscular. 



8. Feet. Longish ; toes 

 slightly arched ; pads hard. 



9. Tail. Short, very 

 supple, carried curled over 

 the back. 



10. Coat. On the whole 

 body and legs very short 

 and dense ; on the back the 

 hair is growing the wrong 

 way, towards the head, 

 and is much longer and 

 harder. 



n. Colour. Reddish-fawn, with black muzzle ; 

 the coat on the back is darker. 



12. Height at Shoulder. 2i inches. Weight 

 about 40 Ib. 



A Parisian Dogue de Bordeaux fancier 

 who had lived some years in the island 

 records that though these dogs are intract- 

 able, they can be trained for hunting. He 

 regarded them as intelligent, and instanced 

 the case of one that, being pestered by 

 a European dog, dragged it to a pond of 

 water, and held it under until it was 

 drowned. 



For the use of the portrait of the Marquis 

 de Barthelemy's bitch Can Le' I am in- 

 debted to Mr. H. C. Brooke. 



