12 
FOREST AND ' STREAM. 
[July t, 1894. 
All those who love a dog because It Is a dogr 
and not merely a medium for the accumulation of 
dollars and cents, are invited by the editor to con- 
sider this department as one in which they can 
discuss amicably any subject that Is of Interest 
to the canine fancy, without fear of their commu- 
nications being subjected to personal comment 
or ridicule. 
FIXTURES. 
DOG SHOWS. 
Sept. 4 to 7.— Des Moines Kennel Club, at Des Moines, Iowa. M 
Bruce, Sec'y. 
Sept. 10 to 14.— Toronto Industrial Exhibition Association, at 
Toronto. C. A. Stone. Sec'y. 
Sept. 18 to 21.— Rhode Island State Fair Association, at Cranston, R, 
I. W. W. Dexter, Sec'y. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Sept. 5.— Manitoba Field Trials Club, at Morris, Man. R. J. Qallaug 
her, Winnipeg, Sec'y. 
Nov. 5— United States Field Trial Club, at Bieknell, Ind. P. T. 
Madison, Indianapolis, Ind., Sec'y. 
Nov. 6.— International Field Trials, at Chatham, Ont. W. B. Wells 
Sec'y. 
Nov. 23.— Eastern Field Trials Club, at Newton, N. C. W. A. Coster, 
Saratoga, N. Y.. Sec'y. 
Russian Wolfhound Type. 
Me, A. J. Rousseau, of St. Petersburg, Russia, who has 
been identified more or less with importations of Russian 
wolfhounds to this country, in writing to a contemporary, 
has a good deal to say in regard to the type of some of the 
winning dogs in this country. Modjeska and champion 
Argoss are particularly scored. Modjeska is scored on 
account of her being more like a setter from the head back 
than a Russian wolfhound or borzoi. But judging from 
Mr. Rousseau's standpoint, it would appear as if the tail was 
the most distinctive feature in this conclusion. Inci dentally 
he tells us that he has secured for American importers a few 
bitches capable of beating Svodka and Vinga and Modjeska. 
Argoss is spoken of in derogatory terms, chiefly on account 
of his black color. He says: "If Argoss, which you have in 
America, is a black dog, then I have many dogs able to beat 
him under a Russian borzoi judge. Personally, I would not 
own Argoss on any consideration, because he is a black dog, 
and good breeders of borzois in Russia would neither own 
nor breed from a black borzoi, as black in this breed is a 
positive proof of a cross. If I were unfortunate enough to 
have a dog or a bitch to throw puppies even with black 
patches about them, I would destroy them and all their 
progeny." 
He further says that it is easy enough to get a dog to beat 
"what you Americans call the grandest specimen living * * * 
but who is to judge the quality? " There is the rub— and in 
the present unsettled condition as to what is the correct 
type, and the lack of familiarity with the breed among our 
judges, this question is very pertinent. "Americans make a 
dog a champion without much trouble; but by this letter 
they can see that dogs like Argoss are valuless here, because 
they are the positive, result of a cross, and no Russian breeder 
of any standing would own him on any consideration." We 
do not know whether Mr. Rousseau is qualified to speak 
with authority on this breed or not, but he is in their native 
country, and has been considerably identified with the breed 
for some years; therefore the serious accusations he brings 
against the dog that has stood for more than two years at 
the head of our Russian wolfhounds certainly demands at- 
tention , and perhaps this outspoken protest will be the means 
of again drawing attention to the vexed subject of what 
really is the correct type or coloring of those beautiful dogs. 
Personallv, from the study of various writings on the sub- 
ject, we believe the whole breed is more or less mixed, and 
the following translation from the Russian journal Ohota — 
organ of the "Society for the Encouragement of Field Quali- 
ties of Hunting Dogs and of all kinds of Hunting; Sb. Peters- 
burg, Russia," written by R. R., concerning the origin and 
type of the modern psovoy borzoy, would seem to sustain 
this opinion. 
Ohota, March 1, 1892, Page 8. 
The views given below about the origin of the modern 
psovoy borzoi are the results of the opinions and discussions 
of coursers and hunters of different times: All serious 
and well-posted hunters have come to the conclusion that 
the modern borzoy is a mixed race, and the difference 
between them is but in the naming of the original progeni- 
tors, and in the question whether the race has been kept 
pure for the last hundred years or whether any other blood 
has been infused within that time. 
One party claims that the modern psovoy borzoy is the 
result of crossing of the Gustopsovoy borzoy with the Tchis- 
topsovoy borzoy (this latter supposed to be a cross of the 
Gustopsovoy borzoy with the Crimean, Anatolian, or Polish 
borzoys). 
Another party allows the psovoy borzoys to be a mixture 
of the above two breeds, but claims them to have been 
strictly Russian natives since very ancient times, their differ- 
ences being a result of the climate in which each was living 
— the Gustopsovoy borzoy in the north of Russia, the Tchis- 
topsovoy borzoy in the south. 
A third opinion is that the modern psovoy borzoy was pro- 
duced from Tchistopsovoy borzoy males and Courland bor- 
zoy bitches, and in this opinion the Tchistopsovoy borzoy 
are held to be the original pure Russian race; and any Gus- 
topsovoy borzoys existing were not a special oiiginal breed 
at all, but mongrels from the mating of psovoys and Tchis- 
topsovoy borzoys with sheepdogs (ovtcharkas). 
A fourth opinion partly states: The ancient psovoy borzoy 
or Gustopsovoy borzoy, as we now are in the habit of calling 
it, was purposely produced or improved by the northern Rus 
sian hunters very long ago. The points of these dogs were 
very much like those of the modern psovoy borzoys, but they 
had a heavier coat, hence their name Gustopsovoy. Nearest 
to this type of dogs were the borzoys of 1. 1. Kareyev, also 
those of V. T. Lepatcbev, but while they were nearly ideally 
good in front their rear was rather poor. 
By their qualities the ancient psovoy (Gustopsovoy) bor- 
zoys were especially adapted to the dense woods of northern 
Russia, which are full of wolves; they were extremely fast 
on short distances and very fierce. 
These ancient dogs were introduced into central Russia, 
south of Moscow, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 
at first but a few in number, and then they became mixed 
with local dogs or southern borzoys. 
In this crossing of breeds some hunters were influenced by 
a desire to improve their staying qualities, while retaining 
their general type as far as possible; others were forced to 
cross them by necessity, since they did not want to inbreed 
them altogether, and other dogs of this breed were scarce, 
others again who owned several dogs kept breeding in rather 
than mix or cross the varieties. 
In fact, at the beginning of the fifties most large kennels 
contained ten to twelve of the ancient psovoy (Gustopsovoy) 
borzoys, a breed especially kept up by in-breeding, which 
served to retain the blood and correct the defects in the 
other borzoy breeds. 
About 1861, when the economical reconstruction of Russia 
took place, many landowners of the nobility lost heavily, or 
feared to lose, and then the hunts were abandoned as too ex- 
pensive and needless. Fully two-thirds of the hunts disap- 
peared altogether, only some in the rich southern country 
survived, although in considerably diminished force. Grad- 
ually, with the return of stability and confidence, the hunts 
were revived, and then it was found necessary in order to 
organize them at all, to import foreign dogs. Now, the in- 
terest in psovoy borzoys is again strong and the demand for 
these dogs at home and abroad sufficient to encourage their 
breeding, so that iustead of quarreling about the origin and 
proper name of the breed, we had better try to form some 
ideal of what the breed ought to be, and breed to it. And as 
far as the name, we cannot do better than call the ancient 
breed Gustopsovoy borzoy and the modern one Psovoy 
borzoy. R. R. 
The Dog's Devotion. 
The dog show was at the height of its success. The win- 
ning exhibitors were contented with the judges' awards and 
devoted their time more or less to an analysis of the happi- 
ness which owning a dog confers, for the edification of the 
listeners who had some symptoms of being purchasers. 
As to the kind of dog which confers the most happiness 
and prosperity on a household it is remarkable to what an 
extent exhibitors differ. They agree that the dog is man's 
best friend, considered as a general proposition concerning 
all registered dogs or dogs with a pedigree. But there are 
dogs and dogs, and differences and differences. Each fancier 
of a breed seemed to think that that breed was possessed of 
some useful and ornamental qualities transcending those of 
all other breeds; and owners of dogs of the same breed 
thought that each one's own dogs respectively were the best. 
Perhaps they were. Let us hope so. It is the best that can 
be done at present. 
The implicit confidence manifested now and then by some 
owners in regard to the absolute perfection of some yellow- 
eyed, lumpy-jointed dogs with a malevolent expression and 
stiff action which they own is too tender a phenomenon of 
human nature to be trifled with carelessly. And it is one of 
the most charming traits of human nature is this disinter- 
ested affection for the dog, even if the disinterested affection 
is enveloped by a large figure patterned thus $. 
But dogs have to eat, and it is not always possible for an 
owner to have a tranquil affection for a dog with a big ap- 
petite, This will explain anything which may seem mercen- 
ary in man's affection. If the dog causes expense he should 
be willing to pay the debts incurred. 
But the dog show was a success. The owners were stand- 
ing or were'.in neglig6 repose close by their dogs, which were 
lazily and furtively gazing at the spectators. From the dog's 
standpoint, there were quite as much novelty and variety in 
the specimens which passed by, as there were in the stalls to 
the passers by. Once in a while a dog would see a face 
which he considered just cause for instant offense and resent 
ment, whereupon he would spring furiously at it, only to be 
brought to a sudden check by his kennel chain. Dogs have 
feelings. 
The owner of a bull-terrier was standing close by the stall 
wherein was chained his pride. A stranger, tall, slender and 
arrayed in a creation of the tailor's art, a harmonious blend- 
ing of lines and color, approached near to him, and, in a diffi- 
dent manner, accosted him in a mournful voice which ac- 
corded with the mournful look of his face. 
"Are you the owner of this dog?" he said. 
"Yes sir! Great dog, sir. Won nine thousand prizes, beat- 
ing Teddy O'Rourke, Michael McGinty, Bucephalus III., 
Tommy Tiddler, Sixteen String Jack, and sixty other famous 
winners, each one considered invincible before they met my 
dog, Pie Face IV. He never was beaten but ten times, and 
each one of those beatings was under a judge who either 
didn't know bull-terriers, or had a grudge against me. The 
first time happened at " 
"Pardon me, sir," said the mournful man, "is your dog a 
strong dog, and has he a perfect constitution?" 
"I hasten to remark that he has. You don't know Pie 
Face. Ask anyone hereabout him. He's the powerfullest 
dog I ever saw. Why, I chained him to the outside of the 
barn the day before I left home for this show. A strange cat 
was passing by within sight of him. He gave a stern look, 
charged and tore a 15 foot board off the barn, chased the cat 
a half mile till the cat came to a tree which afforded means 
of escape. Two or three fences in the way had stopped Pie 
Face just as he was about to reduce the cat to his personal 
possessions. His consitution? He never has been sick a 
moment in his life. He keeps fat on bones, potato rinds and 
expectations. He is — " 
"Is he persistent in an idea, if the idea is so presented that 
he will adopt it as his own?" 
"The persistentest dog I ever saw, sir. He once watched a 
rate hole six weeks, his mouth corners crowding back further 
and further every day. The rat hole communicated from the 
outside of the barn with the barn floor, but the dog didn't 
know it. If he had.it would not have lessened his persist 
ence. Another time he gnawed a tough bone three days 
before he got the best of it. He will sleep persistent and — " 
"Yes, yes! But I suppose I might as well tell you just what 
I consider necessary in a dog. I have heard that a dog has a 
pure and unshaken devotion to his master; that he loves him 
through prosperity and adversity; that personal appearance 
is naught in a dog's affections; that a dog will guard his 
master, and if need he will fight to the death in his defense. 
Expensive suppers, diamonds or new hats never enter into 
the dog's estimates. Now, my own plain features, with a 
long thin nose projecting therefrom, render me unpreposses- 
sing, and it requires such a high degree of long effort on my 
part to win even a word of appreciation, that I have con- 
cluded to buy a dog, which will sit on the floor close by 
while I eat my meals, looking at me in earnest adoration 
without a moment's intermission. When I read, he must sit 
or lie close by, and gaze at me with one eye or both. He 
must make devotion his life work. To do the work required, 
the dog must have a good constitution and great physical 
strength. Every dog cannot hold the job down. To be 
pleasing to my eye, a dog must have a stump tail, bulgy 
shoulders and an open cast of countenance, with a good thick 
neck. He has then a picturesque ruggedness when sitting 
around. If you can guarantee Pie Face for a year and keep 
him in repair if he gets out of order, I'll take him at a 
reasonable figure. What do you ask for him? " 
"He's cheap at $30,000, but I might be induced to sell him 
at $5,000 cash." 
'Til give you $200." 
"He's yours." B- WATERS. 
Another Champion. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
When at Mr. Higginson's of Rochester, N. 1., and bull- 
terrier fame, I picked from a lot of good pups what I thought 
would make a winner, and friend Higginson made me a 
present of the pup. He is by Billy Bulger ex Nellie Harper, 
and I claim the name Harper Whiskey for the pup. Harper 
makes the best whiskey and I have the making of the best 
bull-terrier. He is full brother to the great Duke of Roches- 
ter—every one admits he is the best-headed bull-terrier ever 
seen in America. My dog is nearly as good in head, and per- 
fect in legs, feet, body and stern. They say I don't know a 
good one until some one else says it is good, but if my dog 
does not win in open, puppy and novice classes at Toronto, 
then I will eat him. J- Otis Fellows. 
[Not having seen the other man's dog this is rather a rash 
tow to take.] 
Answers to Correspondents. 
Bt some mystic process it has come to be believed in a 
quiet, limited way that I know a thing or two about dogs, 
although I have endeavored to conceal it in so far as a dis- 
like to fame had the power. As a consequence of that 
belief I receive letters on all sorts of subjects, whereof many 
contain questions which show original thought and a desire 
for knowledge. I believe that by answering the most 
important of these questions publicly they will forever be 
set at rest. With this laudable purpose I humbly submit 
them: 
Ole Oleson, Milwaiikee. — I can not say positively whether 
the Prince of Wales prizes Vagueness, his Boston terrier, 
more than all his other dogs, nor indeed can I say whether 
he owns a large kennel of Boston terriers or not, though 
being a man of refined taste he probably does. You are cor- 
rect in conjecturing that this breed is fed on baked beans. I 
regret that I cannot give you the pedigree of Vagueness. 
Scientist, Boston. — Your theory that docking a dog's tail 
adds to his physical strength and nerve force is true. Un- 
doubtedly the body generates just as much power without 
the tail as with it. It therefore gains just so much power, 
by docking the tail, as was wasted in the tail before it was 
docked. This will partially explain the reason why such 
breeds, as have their ears and tails docked, have such great 
bodily vigor and strength, as Great Danes, fox-terriers, etc. 
Constant Reader, Montreal. — Your description of your 
dog's disease leads me to believe that he has either mumps or 
cholera infantum. I would advise you to consult a skilled 
veterinarian. 
Novice, San Francisco. — You do me, as you assert, a great 
honor in asking me to write you the extended pedigree, in 
full, of Fido, Jack, Lady, Brag, Holdfast, and 52 other dogs. 
If not venturing too far, may I suggest that there is more 
than one Fido, Jack, etc. It will require a week of hard 
work to answer all these questions, which you can not have 
much nse for even when answered, yet this consideration will 
not prevent me from answering them if I can only learn 
what you want. Write again. 
New Beginner, Cincinnati. — You ask me the following 
question: "My friend, Jack Smith, who lives in my house, 
has a black, white and tan setter dog two years old, sired by 
the famous field trial performer, Biff, out of the no less cele- 
brated Hanky Nancy. He weighs 5Slbs. loss., and has a dew 
claw. His head is shaped lovely. What do you think of this 
dog as a field performer?" Ans. I think so. Do not for an 
instant think of such a rude step as to take your dog into the 
field and find out positively for yourself what he can do. If 
you will kindly clip off a lock of his hair and inclose it with 
his photograph to a clairvoyant, you will get a detailed his- 
tory of his talents and future life. 
Gentleman Jim, Buffalo.— Your suspicion that your friend 
puts his pug's tail in curl papers overnight is possibly unjust 
and unfounded. Some pugs have twisty tails naturally. 
Cholie-Bore, Newport. — You may assure your friend that 
he was misinformed concerning the terrible ferocity of dog- 
men. Their public writings are the outgrowth of serious 
thought and enthusiasm in the elevation of man's best 
friend, and not in a spirit of peevishness or belligerentness or 
advertisingness, as he seems to think. The dogman always 
roars loudest when furthest away. 
MotJieaten Willie, England. — Your idea that the A. K. C. 
should have 50 per cent, of the sales of all dogs sold in Amer- 
ica by any resident or non-resident is the discovery of the 
season. In return you say the A. K. C. would give a certifi- 
cate of sale. The times are ripe for progress. Come over 
and see us. The Cynic. 
Controlling Shy Dogs. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
"Subscriber," in a recent issue of Forest and Stream, 
asks you for advice in handling his timid puppy. In hopes 
that it may benefit him and others similarly situated, I will 
give my treatment of a dog I trained the past season. 
I got him in November, 1892. when he was four months 
old. He is an English setter. Although sire and grandsire 
were field trial winners, he was absolutely the most timid 
pup I ever saw. He would not willingly allow any one to 
touch him except my little girl, four years old, and would 
not eat anything, no matter how hungry he might be, if 
any one was in sight. I had him four months before I could 
put my hand on him when he was at liberty, though he 
seemed delighted to go with me for a run in the fields or 
woods. 
I commenced training him by taking him out for a ramble 
at every opportunity, letting him have his own way, not at- 
tempting to control in any way first, but after a while 
teaching him to turn at the sound of the whistle. This he 
soon learned, but still would not allow me to put my band 
on him. When he had come to enjoy these trips I put a cord 
about 20ft. long on him, and after he had got used to trailing 
it I would occasionally step on it, at the same time saying 
"Whoa," and raising my hand. At first he would crouch on 
the ground frightened, but I would walk up to him, pat him 
on the head and start him on. In this way I got him used to 
being handled without frightening him by making a grab at 
him and perhaps missing him, which would only make him 
more shy. It did not take long to get him so I could stop 
him with "Whoa" and walk up to him without using the 
cord, but it was two or three months before he would come 
up to me and frisk around as a pup usually does. 
When I first got him I was breaking a gun-shy Irish setter 
and was using the gun at every feeding time, and he showed 
no signs of gun-shyness; but when he was about a year old 
I thoughtlessly fired a heavy charge close to him and imme- 
diately saw he was frightened (he had not heard a shot near 
him for a couple of months). At the next shot he came in to 
heel and refused to leave me. 
I then began to use the pistol (commencing with a .22 and 
afterward a .32) at feeding time and when calling him to go 
for a walk. I prefer to use a pistol instead of the gun, as by 
so doing I avoid getting him afraid of the sight of the gun, 
and it is more convenient to taking along for a walk. This 
was in May, and by July 4, when our woodcock season comes 
in, I thought I had him pretty well cured. Before that I 
had often seen him point woodcock when I had him out for 
exercise and was very anxious to try him on them. I took 
him out on the 4th and he found and pointed the first bird 
in fine style, but when I shot it he came in to heel and 
refused to hunt for some time. After following at heel for 
a while he went to hunting again, but the next shot finished 
him. After that he would not hunt at all in the willows or 
alders where I found the woodcock, and if a woodcock rose 
anywhere near him he would drop on his belly as if shot. 
I then quit hunting him, but used the pistol as before, 
and taking him out in the woods at every opportunity, al- 
ways taking the pistol along, but going where I was not 
likely to find woodcock, and not firing the gun at all in the 
woods for a couple of months, and then only at first when he 
was at some distance from me. I would sometimes flush a 
ruffed grouse and would allow him his own way entirely. 
He would chase them and race around through the brush 
after they were gone, and it seemed to give him courage and 
to teach him to hunt for game. I worked with him in that 
way until October. I then took him out to hunt ruffed 
"•rouse. I had an idea if I could drop a ruffed grouse in front 
of him that it would clinch the cure. My first bird was an 
old drummer. When I had got pretty close to it and had it 
located, I worked the dog to one side to get him out of the 
way and crept up and shot it off the log. As soon as I fired 
I whistled the dog over, and as he crossed in front of me he 
ran right on to the fluttering bird. I let him mouth it all 
he wanted to, and when I took it from him praised and pett«d 
