234 
THE SCOTCH SHEEP-DOG. 
the shepherd should be liable to a certain fine for every tooth -mark upon his flock. Very 
great injury is done to the weakly sheep and tender lambs by the crowding and racing that 
takes place when a cruel Dog begins to run among the flock. However, the fault always lies 
more with the shepherd than with his Dog, for as the man is, so will his Dog be. The reader 
must bear in mind that the barbarous treatment to which travelling flocks are so often sub- 
jected is caused by drovers and not shepherds, who, in almost every instance, know each 
sheep by its name, and are as careful of its well-being as if it were a member of their own 
family. The Dogs which so persecute the poor sheep in their bewilderments among cross- 
roads and the perplexity of crowded streets, are in their turn treated by their masters quite 
as cruelly as they treat the sheep. In this, as in other instances, it is “like man and like 
Dog.” 
As a general rule, the Sheep-dog cares little for any one but his master, and so far from 
courting the notice or caresses of a stranger will coldly withdraw from them, and keep his 
distance. Even with other Dogs he rarely makes companionship, contenting himself with the 
society of his master alone. 
The Scotch Sheep-dog, more familiarly called the Colley, is not unlike the English 
Sheep-dog in character, though it rather differs from that animal in form. It is sharp of nose, 
bright and mild of eye, and most sagacious of aspect. Its body is heavily covered with long 
and woolly hair, which stands boldly out from its body, and forms a most effectual screen 
against the heat of the blazing sun, or the cold, sleety blasts of the winter winds. The tail is 
exceedingly bushy, and curves upwards towards the end, so as to carry the long hairs free 
from the ground. The color of the fur is always dark, and is sometimes variegated with a 
very little white. The most approved tint is black and tan ; but it sometimes happens that 
the entire coat is of one of these colors, and in that case the Dog is not so highly valued. 
The “dew-claws” of the English and Scotch Sheep-dogs are generally double, and are not 
attached to the bone, as is the case with the other claws. At the present day it is the custom 
to remove these appendages, on the grounds that they are of no use to the Dog, and that they 
are apt to be rudely torn off by the various obstacles through which the animal is obliged to 
force its way, or by the many accidents to which it is liable in its laborious vocation. In the 
entire aspect of this creature there is a curious resemblance to the Dingo, as may be seen on 
reference to the account of that animal in a subsequent page. 
It is hardly possible to overrate the marvellous intelligence of a well-taught Sheep-dog ; 
for if the shepherd were deprived of the help of his Dog his office would be almost impracti- 
cable. It has been forcibly said by a competent authority that, if the work of the Dog were 
to be performed by men, their maintenance would more than swallow up the entire profits 
of the flock. They, indeed, could never direct the sheep so successfully as the Dog directs 
them ; for the sheep understand the Dog better than they comprehend the shepherd. The 
Dog serves as a medium through which the instructions of the man are communicated to the 
flock ; and being in intelligence the superior of his charge, and the inferior of his master, he is 
equally capable of communicating with either extreme. 
One of these Dogs performed a feat which would have been, excusably, thought impossible, 
had it not been proved to be true. A large flock of lambs took a sudden alarm one night, as 
sheep are wont, unaccountably and most skittishly, to do, and dashed off among the hills in 
three different directions. The shepherd tried in vain to recall the fugitives ; but finding all 
his endeavors useless, told his Dog that the lambs had all run away, and then set off himself in 
search of the lost flock. The remainder of the night was passed in fruitless search, and the 
shepherd was returning to his master to report his loss. However, as he was on the way, 
he saw a number of lambs standing at the bottom of a deep ravine, and his faithful Dog keeping 
watch over them. He immediately concluded that his Dog had discovered one of the three 
bands which had started off so inopportunely in the darkness ; but on visiting the recovered 
truants he discovered, to his equal joy and wonder, that the entire flock was collected in the 
ravine, without the loss of a single lamb. 
How that wonderful Dog had performed this task, not even his master could conceive. It 
