CHAPTER X 
THE DOGS 
By W. T. GRENFELL 
Human life in Labrador has been so largely dependent 
on dogs that a brief chapter devoted to them is almost 
essential. 
The real Labrador dog is a very slightly modified wolf. 
A good specimen stands two feet six inches, or even two 
feet eight inches high at the shoulder, measures over six 
feet six inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, 
and will scale a hundred pounds. The hair is thick and 
straight; on the neck it may be six inches in length. The 
ears are pointed and stand directly up. The appearance 
generally is that of a magnified Pomeranian. The legs 
look short, compared with the massive body. The eyes are 
Japanese, and give the animal a foxy look about the face. 
The large, bushy tail curves completely over on to the back, 
and is always carried erect. The colour is generally tawny, 
like that of a gray wolf, with no distinctive markings, but 
a beautiful black and white breed has grown up, and fur- 
nishes the handsomest dogs. The general resemblance to 
wolves is so great that at Davis Inlet, where wolves come 
out frequently in winter, the factor has seen his team mixed 
with a pack of wolves on the beach in front of the door, and 
yet could not shoot, being unable to distinguish one from 
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