234 THE SCOTCH SHEEP-DOG. 



the shepherd should be liable to a certain fine for every tooth-mark upon his flock. Very 

 great injury is done to the weakly sheep and tender lambs by the crowding and racing that 

 takes place when a cruel Dog begins to- run among the flock. However, the fault always lies 

 more with the shepherd than with his Dog, for as the man is, so will his Dog be. The reader 

 must bear in mind that the barbarous treatment to which travelling flocks are so often sub- 

 jected is caused by drovers and not shepherds, who, in almost every instance, know each 

 sheep by its name, and are as careful of its well-being as if it were a member of their own 

 family. The Dogs which so persecute the poor sheep in their bewilderments among . cross- 

 roads and the perplexity of crowded streets, are in their turn treated by their masters quite 

 as cruelly as they treat the sheep. In this, as in other instances, it is "like man and like 

 Dog." 



As a general rule, the Sheep-dog cares little for any one but his master, and so far from 

 courting the notice or caresses of a stranger will coldly withdraw from them, and keep his 

 distance. Even with other Dogs he rarely makes companionship, contenting himself with the 

 society of his master alone. 



The Scotch Sheep-dog, more familiarly called the Collet, is not unlike the English 

 Sheep-dog in character, though it rather differs from that animal in form. It is sharp of nose, 

 bright and mild of eye, and most sagacious of aspect. Its body is heavily covered with long 

 and woolly hair, which stands boldly out from its body, and forms a most effectual screen 

 against the heat of the blazing sun, or the cold, sleety blasts of the winter winds. The tail is 

 exceedingly bushy, and curves upwards towards the end, so as to carry the long hairs free 

 from the ground. The color of the fur is always dark, and is sometimes variegated with a 

 very little white. The most approved tint is black and tan ; but it sometimes happens that 

 the entire coat is of one of these colors, and in that case the Dog is not so highly valued. 



The "dew-claws" of the English and Scotch Sheep-dogs are generally double, and are not 

 attached to the bone, as is the case with the other claws. At the present day it is the custom 

 to remove these appendages, on the grounds that they are of no use to the Dog, and that they 

 are apt to be rudely torn off by the various obstacles through which the animal is obliged to 

 force its way, or by the many accidents to which it is liable in its laborious vocation. In the 

 entire aspect of this creature there is a curious resemblance to the Dingo, as may be seen on 

 reference to the account of that animal in a subsequent page. 



It is hardly possible to overrate the marvellous intelligence of a well -taught Sheep-dog ; 

 for if the shepherd were deprived of the help of Ms Dog his office would be almost impracti- 

 cable. It has been forcibly said by a competent authority that, if the work of the Dog were 

 to be performed by men, their maintenance would more than swallow up the entire profits 

 of the flock. They, indeed, could never direct the sheep so successfully as the Dog directs 

 them ; for the sheep understand the Dog better than they comprehend the shepherd. The 

 Dog serves as a medium through which the instructions of the man are communicated to the 

 flock ; and being in intelligence the superior of his charge, and the inferior of his master, he is 

 equally capable of communicating with either extreme. 



One of these Dogs performed a feat which would have been, excusably, thought impossible, 

 had it not been proved to be true. A large flock of lambs took a sudden alarm one night, as 

 sheep are wont, unaccountably and most skittishly, to do, and dashed off among the hills in 

 three different directions. The shepherd tried in vain to recall the fugitives ; but finding all 

 his endeavors useless, told his Dog that the lambs had all run away, and then set off himself in 

 search of the lost flock. The remainder of the night was passed in fruitless search, and the 

 shepherd was returning to his master to report his loss. However, as he was on the way, 

 lie saw a number of lambs standing at the bottom of a deep ravine, and his faithful Dog keeping 

 watch over them. He immediately concluded that his Dog had discovered one of the three 

 bands which had started off so inopportunely in the darkness ; but on visiting the recovered 

 truants he discovered, to his equal joy and wonder, that the entire flock was collected in the 

 ravine, without the loss of a single lamb. 



How that wonderful Dog had performed this task, not even his master could conceive. It 



