FOREIGN NON-SPORTING AND UTILITY BREEDS. 517 



assure himself that the lambs were safe, 

 and that no enemy was lurking near. 



These were his duties. But when wolves 

 and bears grew scarce the shepherds ceased 

 to value guardians who were no longer 

 necessary, and who were less practically 

 useful in the work of driving or rounding up 

 the flock than the ordinary sheepdog proved 

 to be. As a consequence the great dogs of 

 the Pyrenees ceased to be bred, or were only 

 bred to be sold to occasional admirers. A 

 Belgian officer some years ago imported 

 several, and the descendants of these per- 

 haps still survive in a deteriorated type. 

 Inferior cross-bred specimens may even 

 yet be discovered in their original home, 

 but the true dog of the Pyrenees is ex- 

 ceedingly rare. M. Dretzen not very 

 long ago searched through the whole range, 

 and out of three hundred and fifty dogs that 

 he examined he found only six presenting 

 the characteristics of the pure race. These 

 six he purchased, and took home to his 

 kennels at Bois-Colombes, and they and 

 their offspring are probably the only ex- 

 amples now existing of the genuine breed. 

 M. Dretzen 's most famous dog was Ch. 

 Porthos, who was exhibited throughout 

 Europe, and who died only a few months 

 ago, and it was perhaps with justification 

 that last year this splendid specimen of his 

 kind was introduced to the President of the 

 Republic as " the most beautiful dog in 

 France," for he was truly a magnificent 

 animal. 



Of M. Dretzen's other dogs the most 

 notable are Ch. Birouk, Patou, Fracuesarou 

 Zailea, Fachon Zailea, Dom Bias Zai'lea, 

 and Ch. Birouk Zailea ; and his bitches 

 Pastoure and A'ida are hardly less typically 

 representative. Most of these, like Porthos, 

 are pure milky white, but some have been 

 touched with brindle grey or orange mark- 

 ings about the ears and the tip of the 

 tail. 



In general appearance the Pyrenean dog 

 might be mistaken for a white St. Bernard, 

 but the head is small in comparison with the 

 body, the skull slightly rounded, and the 

 muzzle long and rather snipy. The nose 

 and lips are always black, and the eyes dark 



and not large. The somewhat small and 

 triangular ears hang close to the head. 

 There is not much wrinkle about the face 

 or forehead^ and the flews are not heavy 

 enough to weigh down the cheeks and 

 disclose the haw. With strong, sloping 

 shoulders, deep and well-rounded chest, a 

 broad, slightly arched back, and powerful 

 loins, the dog stands upon straight and 

 well-boned legs and ample, rounded feet. 

 His brush is usually one of his most attractive 

 points ; it is long, carried low, and heavily 

 feathered. The coat is long, straight and 

 dense, lying close to the body. The dogs 

 may be as high as 30 inches at the shoulder, 

 with a weight of 155 lb., but Porthos con- 

 siderably exceeded this size. 



About 1900 Mr. A. Muller used to show 

 Bob, a magnificent dog of the breed, of vast 

 size, white with a yellow patch on one ear. 

 His height was about 30 inches, undoubt- 

 edly the best seen in England. Mr. W. K. 

 Taunton's Malcolm is a typical specimen. 



The Komondor. A dog which is some- 

 times in error described as a Pyrenean dog 

 is the smaller Komondor, or Hungarian 

 sheepdog. Possibly they are related, for 

 their points agree, but the Hungarian dog 

 is seldom higher than 25 inches. His eyes 

 are more oblique and set closer together 

 than those of the Pyrenean, and his ears 

 are rounder and more elevated, he is also 

 longer in the couplings. One of the 

 breed, by name Csinos, now the property 

 of Miss Lefroy, of Norwich, was imported 

 by the Baroness von Boeselager seven years 

 ago. He is possibly the only specimen at 

 present in England. Csinos is 23 inches at 

 the shoulder, and he measures 43 inches 

 from the tip of his nose to the set-on of his 

 tail. He is light-eyed, and his nose is not 

 black, but otherwise he is a good average 

 example of his breed. He carries a beautiful, 

 dense, cream-coloured coat. In Hungary 

 these dogs are used for guarding the flocks 

 from wolves, and they are not, properly 

 speaking, sheepdogs. The pastoral dogs of 

 the country are of various kinds. Those of 

 the plains are reddish brown, with a sharp 

 nose, short erect ears, shaggy coat and 

 bushy tail, and they so much resemble the 



