260 



FOREST AND STREAM 



THE SHEPHERD'S DOG. 



Fthe wonderful intelligence of the colley, or collie, as 

 different authorities spell it, was more understood in this 

 country the dog would be better appreciated and we should 

 see more of them. The Newfoundland has generally been 

 placed at the head of the canine kingdom for superior instinct, 

 or intelligence, and the collie as nest, but his friends of the 

 present generation are inclined to put the latter first. Cer- 

 tainly the tales told of his wonderful quickness, some of which 

 ■we shall presently relate, would indicate that in this respect 

 he attains something very nearly approaching reasoning power, 

 if not an actual understanding of language itself. Dr. Gordon 

 Stables, who, being a Scotchman and an ardent lover of collies, 

 writes feelingly and fluently on the subject, contends that the 

 word collie (which latter is also his mode of spelling) should 

 be pronounced with the o long, as though it had but a single 

 I. Tbo institution of dog shows had its effects upon collies, 

 as it had upon nearly all other breeds of dogs, and the effect 

 of bringing him into this prominent and public notice (in Eng- 

 land) was to make known his good qualities, not only for his 

 peculiar work, but as a companion and house dog. The re- 

 sult of the latter demand was an effort on the part of breeders, 

 at least those who breed to supply a popular want, to improve 

 his beauty, and to this end he was crossed with the black-and- 

 tan setter, the result being a dog with a finer coat, in many 

 instances a better tail, and ears that were not at all like those 

 of the original collie. We have seen such in this country, and 

 if we were judging we should scrutinize very closely the coats 

 of such dogs as came under our inspection, for it is probably 

 in the coat that the chief characteristic of the collie is to be 

 found ; the coat that should be impervious to the severest form 

 of "Scotch mist," no matter how long the exposure. After 

 all, if merely a beautiful companion and pet were wanted the 

 black and-tan setter in his purity is all that can be desired, 

 and while the collie in his native condition is one of the must 

 valuable animals who ranks as assistant to man, it seems like 

 desecration to attempt to improve or change him for the sake 

 of mere beauty, when the change may result in a lessening of 

 the wonderful intelligence given him by nature. 



We have said that the collie is not appreciated in this 

 country. We should have said that he is known to compara- 

 tively few, but he is unquestionably a "coming" dog, as is in- 

 dicated by the increased numbers of entries at our dog shows. 

 Considerable numbers are also being imported, and fortunately 

 by a class to whom active competition only increases the de- 

 sire to have the best. The result we hope will be that all of 

 our sheep raisers, or wool growers, including those of Colo- 

 rado, Texas, New Mexico and California, will be able soon to 

 provide themselves with pure bred specimens of this breed 

 without having to send to Great Britain for them. There are 

 persons now in this country who possess good collies without 

 knowing it. Shortly after the last dog show in this city we 

 were walking with Mr. Lort in a town in the western part of 

 the State, w T hen we met a little girl who had for a companion 

 a splendid specimen of a collie. The eye of the great English 

 judge was immediately fixed upon the dog, and he remarked 

 that he was not only the finest one he had seen in the United 

 States, but that he would be hard to beat in England. We 

 afterward discovered that the dog had been brought from 

 Canada when a puppy, and his owner considered that he had 

 warned off all intending purchasers when he fixed his value at 

 fifteen dollars. 



The head of a well bred collie when in full feather will look 

 disproportionately small in comparison with the body. A dog 

 23i inches high at the shoulder should have a head 9J inches 

 long, measuring from the occiput to end of the nose. The 

 general appearance is " foxy," but the head should not be too 

 flat. The eyes are bright and extremely quick and intelligent, 

 and of a dark hazel color. The ear should.be small and what 

 the Scotch call " worn at half cock ;" that is, when the animal 

 is listening it should be pricked, with the top falling forward. 

 As in all animals where speed is an object, the shoulders should 

 elope well backward and should be well supplied with muscle. 

 The chest should be deep rather than wide, the foreiegs per- 

 fectly straight and the elbow well let down. The foot should 

 be the round, cat-foot, such as a pointer's, and not the long 

 hare-foot ; and iu a dog intended for active work with sheep 

 the pad should be firm and tough. The ribs should be well 

 rounded and the back ones pretty deep, and the loins strong 

 and muscular. The coat, as we have intimated, we regard as 

 the most important feature in the conformation of this dog. 

 On the face and ears it should be smooth, but on the neck and 

 shoulders it should be massed with a deep frill on the chest. 

 On the back and loins down to the root of the tail the coat is 

 abundant and should part in the centre, and the tail liseK 

 should be heavily feathered and even bushy, being carried 

 gaily and with a curl, but not over the back. The hind legs 

 should be smooth below the hocks, and the forelegs while be- 

 ing smooth in front should bo moderately feathered behind. 

 The texture and quality of the coat are most important. Dr. 

 Stabless iys, that as that glorious garment, the Highland plaid, 

 is to the Highland shepherd, so is his coat to the collie— it pro- 

 tects him by day and shields bim at night. On the breast &si 

 on the breech it is somewhat fiuer m texture than on the back, 

 for these portions of the dog's anatomy require protection 

 from cold more than anything else ; but over the neck, 

 shoulders, back and loins the long outer hair is as hard as so 

 many needles, while underneath is a woolly growth both 



warm and waterproof- The fashionable colore for collies are 

 black-and-tan, or black, tan and white, the tan being not that 

 ' i on setter, but much lighter. The white is gener- 

 ally on the forelegs or feet and hind feet, on the chest and 

 around the neck, with, perhaps, a blaze on the face ; but 

 there are many colors that are perfectly legitimate, and in 

 some parts of England there is a blue, mottled with black, or 

 brown and white, that is much prized. 



The institution of field trials for collies has done much of 

 late to bring them into notice, and we believe that Mr. ft. 3. 

 Lloyd Price, of Bala, Wales, is entitled to the credit of hav- 

 ing originated them. We believe that at these trials, which 

 usually take place on the hills, the dog is given three sheep to 

 pen without assistance, which is much more difficult than 

 penning a number would be, and is also sent off a long dis- 

 tance alone to bring a few sheep home from the hills. As the 

 shepherds share in the prizes given at these trials it is likely 

 that the emulation thus excited will aid in developing to the 

 fullest extent the natural sagacity of the animal. The work- 

 ing of tending and driving sheep by a well bred collie can be 

 witnessed almost every day at the Central Park in this city. 

 The dog, Scot, a blue mottled, is the property of Mr. W. P. 

 Morgan, and was, if we mistake not, bred by Mr. John Hobart 

 w i. icn, of Troy, N. Y., who imported a number of fine col- 

 lies from the Queen's kennels at Balmoral. When Scot had 

 atiained his growth he was, at our suggestion and through the 

 kindness of Mr. Conklin, placed with the sheep in the Park, 

 wuere he soon developed all the characteristic sagacity of the 

 race. Only a few days since while we were riding past, the 

 keeper, at our request, called to Scot, " Go around them, 

 scot," and in two minutes the whole flock was in a compact 

 mass, with Scott galloping around them and waiting for fur- 

 ther orders. Dr. Stables, in one of his articles on the collie, 

 tells the following amusing story: "I wonder," says he, 

 " whether my old friend, Peter Mclvor of that ilk, a Godly 

 man and an elder of the kirk, ever heard of Darwin ? He, 

 Peter, settled the origin of the collie, at least to his own satis- 

 faction if not to mine. 'Sure enough,' said Peter, 'he was 

 made before Adam himself. What could Abel have done with- 

 out a collie, and what could Noah have done in the ark with all 

 his beasties without a real Hielan' collie V " The same writer 

 mentions that he was once in a farmer's house in Scotland 

 while Kooran, the collie, was lying by the fireside apparently 

 asleep. " Gang o'er the moor, collie, laddie, and fetch tfap 

 sheep Iiame." The farmer gave the order as quietly as if 

 speaking to a man servant. Kooran jumped up with alacrity, 

 looked very pleased indeed, and trotted out, wagging his tail, 

 but showing no excitement, for he was going on a mission of 

 trust that required both caution and thought. "O'er the 

 moor" in this case meant a journey of fully two miles, but in 

 one hour Kooran was back with the sheep, barking to have 

 the yard gate opened. Half an hour later the farmer looked 

 out at the window. " Oh bother take that cat," said he, " I 

 wont have an onion this year." Now, tbis time Kooran didn't 

 ti-io time to go out by the door, but darted like lightning 

 through the open window, in a state of agitation and merri- 

 ment that contrasted strongly with his staid demeanor when 

 going for the sheep. 



St. John in his " Sketches of Highland Sports" tells of a 

 shepherd who to prove the quickness of his dog, who was ly- 

 ing before the fire, said, in the middle of a sentence concern- 

 ing something else, " I'm thinking the cow is in the potatoes," 

 laying no stress upon the words. The dog, who appeared to 

 be asleep, immediately jumped up and, leaping through the 

 open window, scrambled up the turf roof of the house, from 

 which he could see the potato field ; he then, not seeing the 

 cow, ran into the byre where she was, and finding that all 

 was right 1 came back to the house. After a short time the 

 shepherd repeated the words and the. dog repeated his look- 

 out ; but on the false alarm being given the third time the dog 

 got up and, wagging his tail, looked his master in the face 

 with so comical an expression of interrogation that those 

 present could not help laughing aloud at him, on which, with 

 a slight growl, he laid himself down in his warm corner with 

 an offended air, as if determined not to be made a fool of 

 again. 



" Stonehenge," in his latest edition of " Dogs of the British 

 islands, " gives a remarkable instance of this ability on the part 

 of the collie to understand what is being said about him : 

 "Entering the drawing room of a lady who has a celebrated 

 dog of this variety as a pet, I was met with the question, 

 1 What do you think of my pet — is he not a perfect beauty ?' 

 After looking bim over as he lay on the rug, and with a desire 

 to tease my hostess, to whom I owed a Roland or two for her 

 many previous Olivers administered in badinage, I replied 

 very quietly, ' Yes, certainly, if he had but a collie coat and 

 a little more ruff.' Tie words were hardly out of ray mouth 

 when the dog rose from his recumbent position, seized one of 

 ssy feet in his mouth, gave it a gentle but vicious little shake. 

 Dot sufficient to scratch the leather of my boot, and then lay 

 down again. There was no emphasis on my part, and not a 

 word uttered by the lady until after the act was completed, 

 when I will not say that eyes and tongue told me I wasrightly 

 served. From a long knowledge of the dog, I really am in- 

 clined to believe that he knew I was ' picking holes in bis 

 and resented the injustice accordingly." 



If space permitted it, we could fill pages with anecdotes of 

 these dogs, indicative of their intelligence. The principal 

 breeder? of collies in this country known to us are : Mr. John 

 Hobart Warren, of Troy, N. Y.; Dr. J. W. Downey, of New 

 Mariiet, Frederick Co., Md. ; Mr. Frederick Bronson, of this 

 city; Mr. George B. Grinnell, Milford, Conn, j Mr. T. W. 



Lawson, Boston, and General Palfrey, U. S. A,— but of course 

 there are many others. 



SNAPSHOT. 



We print above a portrait of the head of the well known 

 pointer dog, Snapshot, the property of Messrs. Lincoln & 

 Hellyar, of Warren, Mass. Snapshot is a lemon and white, 

 or, rather, almost a red and white dog, of immense power 

 and substance. He is now well along in years, but in excel- 

 lent condition, and for breeding is unsurpassed by any dog in 

 the country. He is by Mr. Whitettorise's celebrated Rap 

 (Hamlet-Pial) out of Judy (Dash- Venus), and was bred by B. 

 J. Lloyd Price, Esq., of Khwilas, Wales. The following arc. 

 Snapshot's prize winnings : 1st at Birmingham. 180'.); 1st at 

 North Wales four years in succession ; 1st at Owestry. 18T8 ; 

 1st at Wolverhampton, 1874; 1st at Wolverhampton, 1876; 

 V. H. C. Crystal Palace and silver cup, 1870 ; 2d at Crystal 

 Palace, 1872; 1st at New York, 1877; 1st at Syracuse, 1«77 ; 

 1st at Philadelphia, 1877 ; also numerous specials. 



What's in a Name?— A friend of ours had a fine bulldog 

 puppy which he named Neptune. Sad to relate, he fell into 

 a pond the other day and was drowned. Even hig name 

 could not save him. 



— The Westminster Kennel Club advertise in another 

 column a number of puppies, all sired by Sensation, and out of 

 good bitches, at remarkably low prices. 



THE MINNESOTA FIELD TRIALS. 



Letter Fkom John Davidson. 



Monrok, Mich., Oct. 25, 1878. 

 Ejoitok Forest and Stream : 



As the editor of your contemporary— the Chicago I'ithl— 

 after an incubation of nearly six weeks, has hatched out an ac- 

 cusation of fraud against one or more of the judges at the 

 Minnesota Field Trials in their decisions given there, and 

 thinking from his remarks relative to bench shows 

 trials, that I am the party against whom his insinuations ate 

 principally directed, in self defense please allow me a small 

 space in your columns. I. hold myself responsible to the com- 

 mittee of management of the Minnesota Kennel Club alone 

 for my actions while on official duty there, and earnestly de- 

 sire a complete and thorough investigation of everything in 

 any way connected with the bench show and field trial by 

 Ittee ; and after hearing evidence on both sides— 

 not on one side only— should anything fraudulent appear, let 

 them expose it and show where it belongs; but I do not in 

 the least hold myself in any way whatever responsible to any- 

 prejudiced person or self-constituted authority, whose practi- 

 cal experience in the field cannot compare With many that of 

 school boys, and who at the Minnesota Field trials 

 that he would either run field trials in America or ruin them, 

 and that if the Leicester -Darts could not be run to thi 

 would burst the whole thing : and who, after the decision 

 had been anuounced giving Tempest second prize, came to 

 me and asked how it was possible that I could condescend, as 

 one of the judges, to allow a prize to go to a pup by a dog 

 that, of all others he had ever seen, hi' considered the meanest 

 and most contemptible; and that were he a judge, he would 

 never consent to giving any prize to a pup in any instance by 

 such a miserable brute; and whose in 1 thejUdgeS 



was so intolerant as to cause the rule to be read to him, noti- 

 fying him that his position was not with the judges, as he 

 was merely a reporter and spectator, and not a reporter and 

 judge; and by whom, as I had been previously informed, 

 every effort would be made to run his favorites to the front 

 Such information to me was quite unnecessary, as my recol- 

 lection was very distinct, whereas by his report they were 

 beaten by an imperfection iu the rules at a tield trial, by a 

 great error of judgment at a bench show, and now by fraud. 

 (Poor unfortunates.) Tliis is the person who is the 

 of justice, and who advises the guarding against favoritism 

 and d<>g jockeying at our bench shows and held trials, and 

 brings lorth accusations of fraud against others. I 

 all means have an investigation, with the proper party to 

 conduct it, where both sides can be heard. 



John Davidson. 



The integrity of Mr. John Davidson is based upon too solid 

 i '.y^dation to be shaken even in the slightest degree by any 

 accusation from the source he names, should he be the one 

 accused. We can ourselves verify Mr. Davidson's statement 

 as to the meddlesome interference of the person named and to 

 the fact of its having been necessary to read to him the rule 

 in question. This last effort of the "dog ring" I 

 everything connected with field trials and bench ahowB In this 

 country will be duly appreciated by owners and fare idi 

 attack upon the man who, of all others, has their entire confi- 

 dence, simply because he cannot be made to do the bidding 

 of the "ring," u?ust bo gratifying to them,— Ed. 



