THE DOG FAMILY— TERRIER. 



229 



THE TERRIERS. 



Let us now turn to another remarkable group, the 

 Terriers {Canis familiaris gryphus). Some natural- 

 ists rank them among the preceding group, and in 

 fact, a few Terriers much resemble the Poodle in 

 their fur, the structure of their muzzle, ears and tail; 

 in their good nature, faithfulness, and merry, playful 

 disposition; but the structure of skull and skeleton 

 is entirely different and entitles them to be ranked 

 as a distinct species. There are two main sub-orders 

 in this group, the smooth-coated and the rough- 

 coated Terriers. The for- 

 mer resemble the Badger- 

 Dogs in their structure, but 

 differ from them in having 

 longer and straight legs, 

 and ears that are either 

 entirely erect or have only 

 their tips hanging down. 

 Most Terriers are of a 

 dark color, those that are 

 spotted being less com- 

 mon. The body is some- 

 what slender, the head is 

 stout, the muzzle long and 

 blunt. The tail is smooth, 

 and is either extended 

 straight out behind or 

 curved slightly forward. 

 The legs are straight and 

 of moderate length. The 

 ears and tail are usually 

 docked in puppyhood and 

 the animals are thereby 

 made ugly in an unjusti- 

 fiable way. 



General All Terriers 

 Traits of the are exceed- 



Terriers. ingly clever, 

 playful creatures, their 

 eagerness for a hunt sur- 

 passing all bounds. They 

 are very fond of catching 

 Rats and Mice and digging 

 out Moles, and are really 



indefatigable in their pursuit of these small animals. 

 They cannot always be recommended as domes- 

 tic pets, as their restless temperament sometimes 

 makes them very annoying; but on the other hand 

 they are admirable companions for people who do 

 much riding or driving, for a Terrier is best pleased 

 when he is obliged to run fast. But even when 

 accompanying his master on the swiftest gallop, he 

 finds time to investigate every Mouse-hole and dis- 

 turb every Mole which is engaged in throwing up 

 its heaps of earth. With his nose high in the air, he 

 looks all around him and whenever he hears a rus- 

 tling noise he approaches cautiously and softly, stops 

 for a moment, then makes a sudden jump, beats the 

 earth with his fore-paws and in another moment has 

 the subterraneously living creature in his mouth. 

 He hunts Mice in exactly the same manner, dis- 

 playing such great zeal in hunting them, that, accord- 

 ing to Lenz, he will catch from four to five and 

 sometimes fourteen or more Mice during a toler- 

 ably long walk. He does not eat the Moles, but 

 buries them. He eats of Mice until he is satisfied 

 and throws the rest away. 



His success in catching Rats has particularly 

 attracted the notice of Englishmen, and great Rat 



fights in which these Dogs were brought to display 

 their activity were long a popular form of sport in 

 England [but are now rare because these contests 

 are inhibited by law]. To add to the interest of 

 these Rat fights exceedingly high bets were made 

 upon the Dogs which participated, and the contests 

 thereby assumed the character of gambling. 



The mental gifts of all Terriers are worthy of 

 notice. These exhibit a great sagacity and a con- 

 siderable degree of reasoning power. There are 

 cases on record where they have known the value 

 of money and have procured coins to buy food. 



'THE SHEEF DOO. — :Upon the score of usefulness no Dog stands higher in the record tlian the Sheep 

 Dog, the-companioii and faithful servitor of .those who halve charge of flocks and herds, guarding ndt Only Sheep, 

 but Cattle, Goats andjather, doinestic quadrupeds. A variety of' this Dog, known as the' Drover's Dog, is usedfor 

 driving Cattle to market. The pointed muzzle and ears, shaggy coat and tail, rather- long and sinewy legs, and 

 stout but not bulkybody of »this Dog have been faithfully reproduced by the artist. -.(Canis familiaris domesticus 

 pecuarius.) 



The Shye Ter- One of the queerest of Dogs, the 

 rier, Prized for Skye Terrier ( Canis familiaris gry- 



His Ugliness, pj^^ hirsutus) differs greatly from the 

 ordinary Terrier in his outward appearance. His 

 ugliness forms his beauty and he is therefore much 

 sought after and highly valued by fanciers. He is 

 a playful, amusing creature, very affectionate, of 

 amiable, winning manners towards his friends, and 

 very brave in fights with other Dogs. He is excel- 

 lent in hunting Rats, Rabbits and Quail. 



DOMESTIC DOGS PROPER. 



The group of Dogs we will consider last comprises 

 those species which serve mankind most faithfully 

 and are held in the utmost subjection, namely, the 

 domestic Dogs proper {Caiiis familiaris domesticus). 



To this group belongs the Dog of the Pyrenees, 

 the Pomeranian Dog, the Hungarian Wolf Dog, the 

 Dog of the Laplanders, of Kamchatka and of the 

 Eskimos, as well as of other northern tribes, the Dog 

 of the Gypsies, of the Chinese, of Iceland and others. 



The Sheep Dog, The Sheep Dog ( Ca?iis familiaris do- 

 Faithful Guardian mesticus pecuarius) deserves special 

 of Floclis. mention among these Dogs. He dif- 

 fers from the other domestic Dogs in that his ears 



