THE DOG FAMILY—DOG. 



211 



crossing and looks back for an indication as to 

 ■whetlier he shall go to the right or to the left; how 

 happy he is when he has done a clever thing, how 

 .ashamed when he makes a blunder ! How, when 

 he has been up to some mischief and is not certain 

 whether his master has perceived it, he lies down, 

 yawns, makes believe he is half asleep and indiffer- 

 ent in order to put suspicion on. a wrong track, and 

 still casts an anxious, tell-tale glance at his master 

 from time to time ! He soon knows every friend of 

 the house, easily discriminates between the welcome 

 and unwelcome visitors and harbors a dislike for 

 beggars. It is a pretty sight to see him looking for 

 truffles for his master, though naturally the Dog is 

 not fond of them; or how he helps his master drag 

 a wagon and makes greater efforts when he sees his 

 master do so." 

 Most Promi- All this goes to shew that the several 

 nent Traits species of Dogs differ from each other 

 in Dogs. mentally as much as they do physically. 

 Unwavering faithfulness 

 and affection for his mas- 

 ter, unconditional obedi- 

 ence and devotion, alert 

 vigilance, gentleness, an 

 obliging and kind dispo- 

 rsition, the'se are the prom- 

 inent traits of their 

 •character. No one Dog 

 combines them all in an 

 equally high degree; some 

 -of these characteristics 

 will be more and the oth- 

 ers less prominent in one 

 Dog than in another. Ed- 

 ucation has more to do 

 with forming a Dog's 

 character than is gener- 

 ally supposed. Only well 

 disposed human beings 

 can bring up Dogs prop- 

 erly. The Dog is a faith- 

 ful mirror of his master. 

 The kinder, the more at- 

 tentive one is to him, the 

 better and cleaner one 

 Tceeps him, the more rea- 

 sonably one demeans 

 himself with him, the 

 more sensible and good 

 -Tie becomes; and exactly 

 the reverse happens if 

 the Dog has received bad 

 treatment. He adapts 



himself to all circumstances and is always devoted 

 to Man, -body and soul. This high virtue is usually 

 not appreciated and therefore the word "Dog" is 

 still used as an insulting term, while it should, prop- 

 erly, mean the reverse. The great variety of the 

 Dog's capabilities lifts him to the highest plane in 

 animal nature, and his faithfulness makes him Man's 

 most indispensable companion. 

 Ue Marked Several peculiarities are possessed by 

 Peculiarities nearly all species. Many Dogs howl 

 of Dogs. and bark at the moon, without any ob- 

 vious reason. Their nature incites them to quickly 

 follow any moving beings or objects, whether Men 

 or animals, wagons, balls or stones, which they try 

 to seize and impede even when they are well aware 

 that the object of attack is entirely useless to them. 

 They are great enemies of certain animals, without 



any real cause. For example. Dogs hate Cats and 

 Hedgehogs, and eveh take pleasure in torturing 

 themselves by biting into the bristles of the latter 

 animals, although they know very well that such an 

 onslaught is sure to prove unsuccessful and result 

 in nothing better than bloody noses and snouts. 



The strong presentiment which a Dog possesses 

 of impending change of weather seems worthy of 

 notice. The approach of rain is indicated by an 

 unpleasant odor exhaled by his body at such times. 



Dogs rarely live on very good terms with one 

 another. When two strange Dogs meet, they first 

 sniff each other, then they show their teeth and a 

 fight is on, unless tender feelings come into play. 

 The more surprising, therefore, are the very sincere 

 friendships which Dogs sometimes strike up. Such 

 comrades never quarrel, but seek each other's society 

 and "assist each other in case of necessity. Similar 

 alliances are sometimes entered into with other ani- 

 mals, and even the popular saying about Cat and 



THE GREYHOUND, Coming originally from the region of Arabia and Egypt, tlie beautiful Greyhound is 



admired wherever beauty, grace and fidelity are appreciated. The slender body, long legs and intelligent head with 

 drooping ears, the long thin tail, the short smooth fur, and the graceful bearing of this noble friend of Man are fully, 

 brought out in this illustration. ( Canis familiaris grajus.) 



Dog may be refuted by exceptional examples. 

 The H/lother The birth of Pups usually takes place 

 Dog and Her in some dark corner, the litter number- 

 Puppies. jfig from three to ten, usually from four 

 to six, and in rare instances twenty or more Pups, 

 which are born with incisor teeth already developed, 

 but remain blind for ten or twelve days. The mother 

 is tenderly devoted to her young, suckles and cares 

 for them, licks, warms and defends them, and, not 

 infrequently, changes their place of abode, carrying 

 therti gently by the loose skin of the neck. Her 

 love for her offspring is really touching, and there 

 are well-attested stories that must incite not only 

 our esteem, but our admiration. Bechstein relates a 

 fact, which seems almost incredible: "A shepherd 

 in Waltershaiisen was in the habit of buying Sheep 

 every spring in Eichsfeld and. of course, his Sheep 



