November, 1911 
The St. Bernard will always remain a great favorite 
sq)| HE country home can hardly be said to be 
‘4|| complete without a dog around the place, but 
one must not make the mistake of thinking 
that any sort of a dog will do, for an animal 
should fit his surroundings just as every- 
thing else should, and it is not an absurdity 
to say that many a country place has had an ill-chosen dog 
that no more belonged to it than an Empire dressing table 
belongs to a Louis Quinze drawing-room. In the choice 
of a dog for filling the various needs and requirements of 
the country home, one has before him what might at first 
appear to be a somewhat difficult problem, as there are fully 
fifty established and recognized breeds to-day, varying in 
size from the noble St. Bernard to the diminutive and friv- 
olous Chihuahua. One’s choice should be governed more 
or less by the size of the premises of the country home. 
Any of the smaller varieties of dogs can be kept in the 
house, but the large dogs must have romping space and 
ample freedom or they cannot be kept in condition. On a 
country place where the owner possesses horses, no matter 
how well equipped stable, stalls, loose boxes, coach houses, 
and stable yard may be, there is lacking the “‘finishing touch”’ 
if one does not find there the old-time Coach dog, the black 
and white Dalmatian. His natural place is in the stable 
yard, his favorite home is among the horses, and his greatest 
pleasure is in following between the rear wheels of the 
carriage. He is equipped for this by generations of train- 
ing, being deep of chest, sound of lungs, sturdy-legged, and 
The parti-color Cocker Spaniel is one of the smallest field dogs 
AMERICAN HOMES 
AND GARDENS 409 
Choosing a Dog 
for the 
Country Home 
By T. C. Turner 
Photographs by the Author 
like his tribesman, the Pointer, is burdened with so little 
fur that the mud or dust give him no trouble. 
What could be more fitting to the setting of a half- 
timbered house, or a house of the Elizabethan type than 
one of the picturesque breeds of the Bloodhound? He fits 
into his surroundings aesthetically as surely as heavy panel- 
ing fits into a dining- 
room of the period. 
Again, one always 
associates with the 
thought of terraces 
around acountry 
house the lithe form 
of the Greyhound of 
the Borzio, or of the 
Deerhound. They 
lend just that note of 
color which adds to i es 
the harmony of the The Dalmatian Breed, Coach Dog 
prospect. It is well to impress one thing upon the prospective 
owner, that 1s, whatever variety of dog he sets his mind upon, let 
it be a well-bred specimen, not necessarily a dog fit for the 
show bench, but one whose ancestors can be traced as 
having been well bred. A good dog costs no more to keep, 
or pay license for, than a half-bred nondescript. 
For the outdoor dog of a large or moderately large 
country place, the St. Bernard, the Mastiff, or the Great 
Dane would be a happy choice, as these dogs are all power- 
ful, alert, and excellent as watchers. When they scent in- 
vaders the whole neighborhood is warned that something 
unusual is happening. ‘They seem, almost, to sleep with 
one eye open and with ear to the ground. A general char- 
acteristic of the well-bred St. Bernard is that of gentleness 
The Beagle is one of the most useful all-around dogs for its size 
