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DOG , the See also:English generic See also:term for' the quadruped of the domesticated variety of Canis (Fr. chien). The See also:etymology of the word is unknown; " See also:hound " represents the See also:common See also:Teutonic term (Ger. Hund), and it is suggested that the " English dog "—for this was a See also:regular phrase in See also:continental See also:European countries —represented a See also:special breed. Most canine experts believe that the dog is descended from the See also:wolf, although zoologists are less certain (see See also:CARNIVORA); the See also:osteology of one does not differ materially from that of the other: the dog and the wolf breed with each other, and the progeny thus obtained will again breed with the dog. There is one circumstance, however, which seems to See also:mark a difference between the two animals: the See also:eye of the ' dog of every See also:country and See also:species has a circular See also:pupil, but the position or See also:form of the pupil is oblique in the wolf. W. Youatt says there is also a marked difference in the See also:temper and habits of the two. The dog is generally easily managed, and although H. C. See also:Brooke of Welling, See also:Kent, succeeded in making a wolffairly tractable, the experience of others has been the See also:reverse of encouraging. G. See also:Cuvier gives an interesting See also:account of a See also:young wolf which, having been trained to follow his See also:master, showed See also:affection and submission scarcely inferior to the domesticated dog. During the See also:absence from See also:home of his owner the wolf was sent to a See also:menagerie, but pined for his master and would scarcely take any See also:food for a considerable See also:time. At length, however, he became attached to his keepers and appeared to have forgotten his former See also:associate. At the end of eighteen months his master returned, and, the moment his See also:voice was heard, the wolf recognized him and lavished on him the most affectionate caresses. A still longer separation followed, but the wolf again remembered his old associate and showed See also:great affection upon his return. Such an association proves that there is very little difference between the dog and the wolf in recognition of See also:man as an See also:object of affection and veneration. H. C. Brooke succeeded in training his wolf so well that it was no uncommon sight to see the latter following his master like a dog. The wolf did not like strangers, however, and was very shy in their presence. In the Old and New Testaments the dog is spoken of almost with abhorrence; it ranked amongst the unclean beasts: See also:traffic in it was considered as an See also:abomination, and it was forbidden to he offered in the See also:sanctuary in the See also:discharge of any See also:vow. See also:Part of the Jewish See also:ritual was the preservation of the Israelites from the See also:idolatry which at that time prevailed among every other See also:people. See also:Dogs were held in considerable veneration by the Egyptians, from whose tyranny the Israelites had just escaped; figures of them appeared on the friezes of most of the temples, and they were regarded as emblems of the divine being. See also:Herodotus, speaking of the sanctity in which some animals were held by the Egyptians, says that the people of every See also:family in which a dog died shaved themselves—their expression of mourning—adding that this was a See also:custom of his own time.
The cause of this See also:attachment to and veneration for the dog is, however, explained in a far more probable and pleasing way than by many of the fables of See also:ancient See also:mythology. The prosperity of See also:Lower See also:Egypt, and almost the very subsistence of its inhabitants, depended upon the See also:annual overflowing of the See also:Nile; and they looked for it with the utmost anxiety. Its approach was announced by the See also:appearance of a certain See also:star, Sirius, and as soon as that star was seen above the See also:horizon the people hastened to remove their flocks to the higher ground and abandoned the lower pastures to the fertilizing See also:influence of the stream. They hailed it as their guard and See also:protector; and, associating with its apparent watchfulness the well-known fidelity of the dog, they called it the " dog-star " and worshipped it. It was in far later periods and in other countries that the appearance of the dog-star was regarded as the See also:signal of insufferable See also:heat or prevalent disease. In See also:Ethiopia, not only was great veneration paid to the dog, but the inhabitants used to elect a dog as their See also: The See also:Hindus also regard the dog as unclean, and submit to various purifications if they accidentally come in contact with it, believing that every dog is animated by a wicked and See also:malignant spirit condemned to do See also:penance in that form for crimes committed in a previous state of existence. In every See also:Mahommedan and See also:Hindu country the most scurrilous epithet bestowed on a European or a See also:Christian is " a dog," and that accounts for the fact that in the whole of the Jewish See also:history there .is not a single allusion to See also:hunting with dogs. Mention is made of nets and snares, but the dog does not seem to have been used in the pursuit of See also:game.
In the See also:early periods of the history of other countries this seems to have been the See also:case even where the dog was esteemed and valued, and had become the See also:companion, the friend and the defender of man and his home; and in the 2nd See also:century of the Christian era See also:Arrian wrote that there is as much difference between a See also:fair trial of See also:speed in a See also:good run, and ensnaring a poor animal without an effort, as between the See also:secret piratical assaults of robbers at See also:sea and the victorious See also:naval engagements of the Athenians at Artemisium and at See also:Salamis." The first hint of the employment of the dog in the pursuit of other animals is given by See also:Oppian in his Cynegetica, who attributes it to See also:Pollux about 200 years after the promulgation of the Levitical See also:law. The precise species of dog that was cultivated in Greece at that early period cannot be affirmed, although a beautiful piece of See also:sculpture in the See also:possession of See also:Lord Feversham at Duncombe See also: Instances of dogs having saved the lives of their owners by that See also:strange See also:intuition of approaching danger which they appear to possess, or by their See also:protection, are innumerable: their attachment to man has inspired the poet and formed the subject of many notable books, while in See also:Daniel's Rural See also:Sports is related a See also:story of a dog dying in the fulness of joy caused by the return of his master after a two years' absence from home. It is not improbable that all dogs sprang from one common source, but See also:climate, food and See also:cross-breeding caused See also:variations of form which suggested particular uses, and these being either designedly or accidentally perpetuated, the various breeds of dogs arose, and became numerous in proportion to the progress of See also:civilization. Among the ruder or See also:savage tribes they possess but one form; but the ingenuity of man has devised many inventions to increase his comforts; he has varied and multiplied the characters and kinds of domestic animals for the same purpose, and hence the various breeds of horses, cattle and dogs. The See also:parent stock it is now impossible to trace; but the See also:wild dog, wherever found on the See also:continent of See also:Asia, or See also:northern See also:Europe, has nearly the same See also:character, and bears no inconsiderable resemblance to the British dog of the See also:ordinary type; while many of those from the southern hemisphere can scarcely be distinguished from the cross-bred poaching dog, the lurcher. Dogs were first classified into three See also:groups:—(r) Those having the See also:head more or less elongated, and the parietal bones of the See also:skull widest at the See also:base and gradually approaching towards each other as they ascend, the condyles of the lower See also:jaw being on the same See also:line with the upper molar See also:teeth. The greyhound and all its varieties belong to this class. (2) The head moderately elongated and the parietals diverging from each other for a certain space as they rise upon the See also:side of the head, enlarging the cerebral cavity and the frontal sinus. To this class belong most of the useful dogs, such as the spaniel, the setter, the pointer and the sheepdog. (3) The muzzle more or less shortened, the frontal sinus enlarged, and the cranium elevated and diminished in capacity. To this class belong some of the terriers and most of the See also:toy dogs. Later, however, "See also:Stonehenge" (J. H. See also:Walsh), in British Rural Sports, classified dogs as follows: (a) Dogs that find game for man, leaving him to kill it himself—the pointer, setters, spaniels and See also:water spaniels. (b) Dogs which kill game when found for them—the English greyhound. (c) Dogs which find and also kill their game—the bloodhound, the foxhound, the See also:harrier, the beagle, the 'otterhound, the See also:fox terrier and the See also:truffle dog. (d) Dogs which retrieve game that has been wounded by man—the retriever, the deerhound. (e) Useful companions of man-the mastiff, the Newfoundland, the St See also:Bernard dog, the bulldog, the See also:bull terrier, terriers, sheepdogs, Pomeranian or Spitz, and Dalmatian dogs. (j) Ladies' toy dogs—King See also: On the 4th of May 1898 a sub-See also:committee of the Kennel Club decided that the following breeds should be classified as " toy dogs ":—Black and tan terriers (under 7 b), bull terriers (under 8 lb), griffons, Italian greyhounds, Japanese, Maltese, Pekingese, poodles (under 15 in.), pugs, toy spaniels, Yorkshire terriers and Pomeranians. All these varieties were represented at the annual show of the Kennel Club in the autumn of 1905, and at the representative See also:exhibition of See also:America held under the management of the See also:Westminster Kennel Club in the following See also:spring the classification was substantially the same, additional breeds, however, being See also:Boston terriers—practically unknown in See also:England,—Chesapeake See also:Bay dogs, Chihuahuas, Papillons and Roseneath terriers. The latter were only recently introduced into the See also:United States, though well known in Great See also:Britain as the See also:West Highland or Poltalloch terrier; an application which was made (1900) by some of their admirers for See also:separate classification was refused by the Kennel Club, but afterwards it was granted, the breed being classified as the West Highland white terrier. The establishment of shows at See also:Newcastle-on-See also:Tyne in See also:June 1859 secured for dogs See also:attention which had been denied them up to that time, although sportsmen had appreciated their value for centuries and there had been public See also:coursing meetings since the reign of Charles I. Lord See also:Orford, however, established the first club at Marham Smeeth near See also:Swaffham, where coursing is still carried on, in 1776. The members were in number confined to that of the letters in the See also:alphabet; and when any vacancy happened it was filled up by See also:ballot. On the decease of the founder of the club, the members agreed to See also:purchase a See also:silver See also:cup to be run for annually, and it was intended to pass from one to the other, like the See also:whip at See also:Newmarket, but before starting for it, in the See also:year 1792, it was decided that the winner of the cup should keep it and that one should be annually See also:purchased to be run for in See also:November. At the formation of the club each member assumed a See also:colour, and also a See also:letter, which he used as the initial of his dog's name. The Newcastle dog show of 1859 was promoted by Mr Pape—a See also:local sporting gunmaker—and Mr Shorthose, and although only pointers and setters were entered for in two classes immense interest was taken in the show. But neither the promoters nor the sportsmen who supported it could have had the faintest See also:idea as to how popular dog shows would become. The See also:judges at that historic gathering were: Messrs J. Jobling (See also:Morpeth), T. See also:Robson (Newcastle-on-Tyne) and J. H. Walsh (See also:London) for pointers, and E. Foulger (See also:Alnwick), R. Brailsford (Knowsley) and J. H. Walsh for the setters. Sixty dogs were shown, and it was said that such a collection had not been seen together before; while so even was the quality that the judges had great difficulty in making their awards. The prizes were sporting guns made by Mr Pape and presented by him to the promoters of the show. So great a success was scored that other shows were held in the same year at See also:Birmingham and Edinburgh; while the See also:Cleveland Agricultural Society also established a show of foxhounds at See also:Redcar, the latter being the forerunner of that very See also:fine show of hounds which is now held at See also:Peterborough every summer and is looked upon as the out-of-See also:season society gathering of hunting men and See also:women. Mr Brailsford was the secretary of the show at Birmingham, and he had classes for pointers, English and Irish setters, retrievers and Clumber spaniels. Another big success was scored, and the See also:National Dog Show Society was established for the purpose of holding a show of sporting dogs in Birmingham every See also:winter. Three years later proposals were made in The Field to promote public trials of pointers and setters over game, but it was not until the 18th of See also:April 1865 that a further step was taken in the recognition of the value of the dog by the promotion of working trials. They were held at Southill, near See also:Bedford, on the See also:estate of S. See also:Whitbread, M.P., and they attracted great interest. The order of See also:procedure at the early field trials was similar to what it is to-day, only the awards were given in accordance with a See also:scale of points as follows: See also:nose, 4o; See also:pace and range, 30; temperament, 1o; staunchness before, 1o; behind, 1o. See also:Style of working was also taken into See also:consideration. In 1865 a show was held in See also:Paris, and after the National Dog Club—not the Birmingham society —had failed, as the result of a disastrous show at the Crystal Palace, a further exhibition was arranged to be held in June 187o under the management of G. Nutt and a very strong committee, among whom were many of the most noted owners of sporting dogs of that time. The details of the show were arranged by S. E. See also:Shirley and J. H. See also:Murchison, but the exhibition, although amost interesting one, was a failure, and the guarantors had to See also:face a heavy loss. A second venture proved to be a little more encouraging, although again there was a loss; but in April 1873, the Kennel Club, which is now the governing body of the canine See also:world, was founded by S. E. Shirley, who, after acting as its chairman for many years, was elected the See also:president, and occupied that position until his death in See also: Excepting for greyhounds, however, high prices are rarely offered for sporting dogs, 300 guineas for the pointer " See also:Coronation " and 200 guineas for the retriever " High Legh See also:Blarney " being the best reported prices for See also:gun dogs during the last few years.
The foreign and colonial clubs which are affiliated to the Kennel Club are: the See also:Guernsey Dog Club, the Italian Kennel Club, the See also:Jersey Dog Club, La Societe Centrale (Paris), See also:Moscow Gun Club of the See also:Emperor See also: Lee (d. 19o8), whose volumes on Modern Dogs (sporting, non-sporting and terriers) are the standard See also:works on dpgs. Our Dogs, The Kennel See also:Magazine, and The Illustrated Kennel See also:News are the remaining canine See also:journals in England. Several weekly papers published on the continent of Europe devote a considerable portion of their space to dogs, and canine journals have been started in America, South See also:Africa and even See also:India: while apart from Lee's volumes and other carefully compiled works treating on the dog in See also:general, the various breeds have been written about, and the books or monographs have large sales. At the end of 1905 E. W. Jaquet wrote The Kennel Club: a History and See also:Record of its Work, and an edition de luxe of Dogs is edited by Mr See also:Harding See also:Cox; Mr See also:Sidney See also:Turner, the chairman of the Kennel Club committee, edited The See also:Fennel See also:Encyclopaedia, the first number of which was issued in 1907. Dog lovers are now numbered by their tens of thousands, and in addition to shows of their favourites, owners are also liberally catered for in the shape of working trials, for during the season competitions for bloodhounds, pointers, setters, retrievers, spaniels and sheepdogs are held. Breeds of Dog. Nothing is known with certainty as to the origin of the vast See also:majority of breeds of dogs, and it is an unfortunate fact that the progressive changes which have been made within comparatively See also:recent times by fanciers have not been accurately recorded by the preservation, in museums or collections, of the actual specimens considered typical at different See also:dates. No scientific classification of the breeds of dogs is at present possible, but whilst the See also:division already given into " sporting " and " non-sporting " is of some See also:practical value, for descriptive purposes it is convenient to make a division into the six groups:—wolfdogs, greyhounds, spaniels, hounds, mastiffs and terriers. It is to be remembered, however, that all these types interbreed freely, and that many intermediate, and forms of wholly doubtful position, occur. Wolfhounds. — Throughout the northern . regions of both hemispheres there are several breeds of semi-domesticated dogs which are wolf-like, with erect ears and See also:long woolly See also:hair. The See also:Eskimo dog has been regarded as nothing more than a reclaimed wolf, and the Eskimo are stated to maintain the See also:size and strength of their dogs by See also:crossing them with wolves. The domestic dogs of some See also:North American Indian tribes closely resemble the See also:coyote; the black wolfdog of See also:Florida resembles the black wolf of the same region; the sheepdogs of Europe and Asia resemble the wolves of those countries, whilst the See also:pariah dog of India is closely similar to the Indian wolf. The Eskimo dog has small, upright ears, a straight bushy tail, moderately See also:sharp muzzle and rough coat. Like a wolf, it howls but does not bark. It occurs through-out the greater part of the See also:Arctic regions, the varieties in the old and new world differing slightly in colour. They are fed on See also:fish, game and See also:meat. They are good hunters and wonderfully cunning and enduring. Their services to their owners and to Arctic explorers are well known, but Eskimo dogs are so rapacious that it is impossible to train them to refrain from attacking sheep, goats or any small domesticated animals. The See also:Hare Indian dog of the Great See also:Bear See also:Lake and the See also:Mackenzie See also:river is more slender, See also:gentle and affectionate than the Eskimo dog, but is impatient of See also:restraint, and preserves many of the characters of its wild ally, the coyote, and is practically unable to bark. The Pomeranian dog is a See also:close ally of the Eskimo breed and was formerly used as a wolfdog, but -has been much modified. The larger variety of the See also:race has a sharp muzzle, uprightpointed ears, and a bushy tail generally carried over the back. It varies in colour from black through See also:grey to reddish See also: Greyhounds.—These are characterized by slight build, small ears falling at the tips, elongated limbs and tails and long narrow muzzles. They hunt entirely by sight, the sense of See also:smell being defective. The English greyhound is the most conspicuous and best-known member of the See also:group, and has been supposed to be the parent of most of the others. The animal is thoroughly adapted for extreme speed, the long, See also:rat-like tail being used in balancing the body in See also:quick turns. The favourite colour is a See also:uniform sandy, or See also:pale grey See also:tone, but characters directly related to capacity for speed have received most attention. The Italian greyhound is a miniature greyhound, still capable of considerable speed but so delicate that it is almost unable to pull down even a See also:rabbit, and is kept simply as a pet. The eyes are large and soft, and a See also:golden fawn is the colour most prized. The Scotch See also:deer-hound is a larger and heavier variety of the English greyhound, with rough and shaggy hair. It has been used both for deer stalking and for coursing, and several varieties exist. The Irish wolfhound is now extinct, but appears to have been a powerful race heavier than the deerhound but similar to it in general characters. Greyhounds have been bred from time immemorial in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, while unmistakable representatives are figured on the monuments of ancient Egypt. The existing See also:Oriental varieties are in most cases characterized by silky hair. The hairless dogs of Central Africa are greyhounds employed chiefly in hunting antelopes, and there are somewhat similar varieties in See also:China, Central and South America. The whippet is a local English dog, used chiefly in rabbit coursing and racing, and is almost certainly a cross between greyhounds and terriers. The lurcher is a dog with the general shape of a greyhound; but with a heavier body, larger ears and rougher coat. Lurchers are cross-bred dogs, greyhounds and sheepdogs, or deerhounds and collies, being the parents. Spaniels are heavily built dogs with See also:short and very_ wide skulls rising suddenly at the eyes. The See also:brain is relatively large and the intelligence high. The muzzle is short, the ears large and pendent, the limbs relatively short and heavy, and the coat thick and frequently long. It is supposed, from their name, that they are of See also:Spanish origin. They may be divided into field spaniels, water spaniels and the smaller breeds kept as pets. Field spaniels are excellent See also:shooting dogs, and are readily trained to give See also:notice of the proximity of game. The Clumber, Sussex, See also:Norfolk and Cocker breeds are the best established. The Clumber is long, See also:low and heavy. It is silent when hunting, and has long ears shaped like See also:vine leaves. The ground colour of the coat is white with yellow spots. The Sussex is a lighter, more noisy animal, with a wavy, golden coat. The Cockers are smaller spaniels, brown, or brown-and-white in the Welsh variety, black in the more common modern English form. The head is short, and the coat silky and wavy. Of the water spaniels the Irish breeds are best known. They are relatively large dogs, with broad splay feet, and silky oily coats. The poodle is probably derived from spaniels, but is of slighter, more graceful build, and is pre-eminent even among spaniels for intelligence. The best known pet spaniels are the King Charles and the Blenheim, small dogs with fine coats, probably descended from Cockers. Setters' owe their name to their having been trained originally to crouch when marking game, so as to admit of the See also:net with which the See also:quarry was taken being See also:drawn over their heads. Since the general See also:adoption of shooting in place of netting or See also:bagging game, setters have been trained to act as pointers. They are pre-eminently dogs for sporting purposes, and special strains or breeds adapted to the peculiarities of different kinds' of sporting have been produced. Great Britain is probably the country where setters were first produced, and as early as the 17th century spaniels were used in England as setting dogs. It is probable that pointer See also:blood was introduced in the course of shaping the various breeds of setter. The English setter should have a silky coat with the hair waved but not curly; the legs and toes should be hairy, and the tail should have a bushy fringe of hairs See also:hanging down from the dorsal border. The colour varies much, ranging according to the strains, from black-and-white through See also:orange-and-white and See also:liver-and-white to pure white, whilst black, white, liver, and red or yellow self-coloured setters are common. The Irish setter is red without trace of black, but occasionally flecked with white. The Gordon setter, the chief Scottish variety, is a heavier animal with coarser hair, black-and-tan in colour. The Russian setter has a woolly and matted coat. The retriever is a large dog used for retrieving game on See also:land, as a water spaniel is used for the same purpose in water. The breed is almost certainly derived from water-spaniels, with a strong admixture of Newfoundland blood. The colour is black or tan, and the hair of the face, body and tail is close and curly, although wavy-coated strains exist. The Newfoundland is simply an enormous spaniel, and shows its origin by the facility with which it takes to water and the readiness with which it mates with spaniels and setters. It has developed a definite See also:instinct to See also:save human beings from drowning, this probably being an eyolution of the retrieving instinct of the See also:original spaniels. The true Newfoundland is a very large dog and may reach 31 in. in height at the See also:shoulder. The coat is shaggy and oily, and is preferred with as little white as possible, but the general black coloration may have rusty shades. The eyes and ears are relatively small, and the forehead white and See also:dome-shaped, giving the face the well-known appearance of benignity and intelligence. Although these dogs were originally brought to Great Britain from Newfoundland and are still bred in the latter country, greater size, perfection and intelligence have been attained in England, where Newfound-lands for many years have been the most popular large dogs. They are easily taught to retrieve on land or water, and their strength, intelligence and fidelity make them specially suitable as watchdogs or , guardians. The See also:Landseer Newfoundland is a black and white variety brought into notice by See also:Sir See also:Edwin Landseer, but the exact ancestry of which is unknown. The Labrador Newfoundland is a smaller black variety with a less massive head. It occurs both in Newfoundland and England, and has been used largely in producing crosses, being almost certainly one parent of the retriever. The St Bernard is a large breed taking its name from the monastery of See also:Mount St Bernard in the See also:Alps, and remarkable for high intelligence and use in rescuing travellers from the See also:snow. The origin of the breed is unknown, but undoubtedly it is closely related to spaniels. The St Bernard attains as great a size as that of any other breed, a fine specimen being between 6o and 70 in. from the tip of the nose to the See also:root of the tail. The colour varies, but shades of tawny-red and white are more frequent than in Newfoundlands. In the rough-haired breed the coat is long and wavy, but there exists a smooth breed with a nearly smooth coat. Hounds.—These-are large dogs, hunting by smell, with massive structure, large drooping ears, and usually smooth coats, without fringes of hair on the ears, limbs or tail. The bloodhound is probably the stock from which all the English races of hounds have been derived. The chief character is the magnificent head, narrow and dome-like between the huge pendulous ears, and with transverse puckers on the forehead and between the eyes. The prevailing colour is tan with large black spots. Blood-hounds, or, as they are sometimes termed, sleuthhounds, have been employed since the time of the See also:Romans in pursuing and hunting down human beings, and a small variety, known as the Cuban bloodhound, probably of Spanish origin, was used to track fugitive negroes in slaveholding times. Bloodhounds quest slowly and carefully, and when they lose the scent See also:cast backwards until they recover the original trail and make a fresh See also:attempt to follow it. Staghounds are close derivatives of the bloodhound, and formerly occurred in England in two strains, known respectively as the northern and southern hounds. Both breeds were large and heavy, with pendulous ears and thick throats with dewlaps. These strains seem to be now extinct, having been replaced by foxhounds, a large variety of which is employed in See also:stag-hunting. The modern English foxhound has been bred from the' old northern and southern hounds, and is more lightly built, having been bred for speed and endurance. The favourite and most common colour is black-white-and-tan. The ears are usually artificially clipped so as to present a rounded lower margin. Their dash and vigour in the See also:chase is much greater than that of the bloodhound, foxhounds casting forwards when they have lost the trail. Harriers are a smaller breed of foxhounds, distinguished by their pointed ears, as it is not the custom to See also:trim these. They are used in the pursuit of See also:hares, and, although they are capable of very fast runs, have less endurance than foxhounds, and follow the trail,with more care and deliberation. Otterhounds are thick, woolly harriers with oily underfur. They are savage and quarrelsome, but are naturally excellent water-dogs. Beagles are small foxhounds with long bodies and short limbs. They have a full See also:bell-like cry and great cunning and perseverance in the tracking of hares and rabbits. They are relatively slow, and are followed on See also:foot. Turnspits were a small, hound-like race of dogs with long bodies, penduldus ears, out-turned feet and generally black-and-tan coloration. They were employed as animated roasting jacks, turning See also:round and round the wire cage in which they were confined, but with the employment of See also:mechanical jacks their use ceased and the race appears to be extinct. Basset hounds are long and crooked-legged dogs, with pendulous ears. They appear to have been produced in See also:Normandy and the See also:Vendee, where they were employed for sporting purposes, and originally were no very definite breed. In comparatively recent times they have been adopted by English fanciers, and a definite See also:strain with special points has been produced. The dachshund, or See also:badger hound, is of See also:German origin, and like the basset hound was originally an elongated distorted hound with crooked legs, employed in baiting and hunting badgers, but now greatly improved and made more definite by the arts of the breeder. The colour is generally black-and-tan or brownish, elite body is' extremely long and cylindrical; the ears are large and pendulous, the legs broad, thick and See also:twisted, with everted paws. The coat is short, thick and silky, and the tail is long and tapering. The pointers, of which there are breeds slightly differing in most European countries, are descendants of the foxhound which have been' taught to follow game by general body scent, not by tracking, nose to the ground, the traces See also:left by the feet of the quarry, and, on approaching within sight of the game, to stand rigid, " pointing " in its direction. The general shape is like that of the foxhound, but the build is lighter and better knit, and the coat is soft, whilst white and spotted colorations are preferred. Pointers are employed to mark game for guns, and are especially useful in low See also:cover such as that afforded by See also:turnip See also:fields. The Dalmatian or See also:coach dog (sometimes called the See also:plum-See also:pudding dog) is a lightly built pointer, distinguished by its spotted coloration, consisting of evenly disposed circular black spots on a white ground. The original breed is said to have been used as a pointer in the country from which it takes its name, but has been much modified by the fancier's See also:art, and almost certainly the original strain has been crossed with bull-terriers. Mastiffs are powerful, heavily built dogs, with short muzzles, frequently protruding lower jaws, skulls raised above the eyes, ears erect or pendulous, pendulous upper lips, short coats and thin tails. The English mastiff is a huge and powerful dog with pendent ears but short and silky coat. Fawn and brindle are the See also:colours preferred. The Tibetan mastiff is equally powerful, but has still larger pendent ears, a shaggy coat and a long See also:brush-like tail. Mastiffs are employed for fighting or as watchdogs, and for the most part are of uncertain temper and not high intelligence. The bulldog is a small, compact but extremely heavily built animal of great strength, vigour and tenacity. The lower jaw should be strongly protruding, the ears should be small and erect, the forehead deeply wrinkled with an indentation between the eyes, known as the " stop." The coat should be thick, short and very silky, the favourite colours being white and white marked with brindle. Bulldogs were formerly employed in bull-baiting, and the tenacity of their grip is proverbial. Their ferocious appearance, and not infrequently the habits of their owners, have given this breed a reputation for ferocity and low intelligence. As puppies, however, bulldogs are highly intelligent and unusually docile and affectionate, and if well trained retain throughout See also:life an unusual sweetness of disposition, the universal friendliness of which makes them of little use as guardians. The German boarhound is one, of the largest races of dogs, originally used in Germany and See also:Denmark for hunting boars or deer, but now employed chiefly as watchdogs. The build is rather slighter than that of the English mastiff, and the ears are small and carried erect. The Great Dane is somewhat similar in general character, but is still more gracefully built, with slender limbs and more pointed muzzle. The ears, naturally pendent at the tips, are always cropped. It is probable that the strain contains greyhound blood. The bull-terrier, as its name implies, is a cross between the bulldog and the smooth terrier. It is a See also:clever, agile and powerful dog, extremely pugnacious in disposition. The pugdog is a dwarf race, probably of mastiff origin, and kept solely as a pet. The Chinese pug is slender legged, with long hair and a bushy tail. Terriers are small dogs of agile and See also:light build, short muzzles, and very highly arched skulls. The brains are large, and the intelligence and educability extraordinarily high. The number of breeds is very large, the two extreme types being the smooth fox-terrier with compact shape, relatively long legs, and the long-bodied, short-legged Skye terrier, with long hair and pendent ears. All the well-known breeds of dogs are highly artificial and their See also:maintenance requires the See also:constant care of the breeder in mating, and in rejecting aberrant progeny. The frequency with which even the most highly cultivated strains produce degenerate offspring is notorious, and is probably the See also:reason for the profound belief in telegenic See also:action asserted by most breeders. When amongst the See also:litter of a properly mated, highly bred fox-terrier, pups are found with long bodies and thick short legs and feet, breeders are disposed to excuse the result by the supposition that the bitch has been contaminated by some earlier mating. There is ample See also:evidence, however, that such departures from type are equally frequent when there was no possibility of earlier mismating (see See also:TELEGONY). Glossary of Points of the Dog. See also:Apple Head. A rounded head, instead of flat on See also:top. See also:Blaze. A white mark up the face. Brisket. The part of body in front of the See also:chest. Brush. The tail, usually applied to sheepdogs. Butterfly Nose. A spotted nose. See also:Button Ear. Where the tip falls over and covers the orifice. See also:Cat Foot. A short round foot, knuckles high and well developed. Cheeky. When the cheek bumps are strongly defined. Chest. Underneath a dog from brisket to belly. Chops. The pendulous See also:lip of the bulldog. Cobby. Well ribbed up, short and compact in proportion. Couplings. Space between tops of shoulder See also:blades and 'tops of See also:hip See also:joints. Cow Hocks. Hocks that turn in. Dew Claw. Extra claw, found occasionally on all breeds. See also:Dewlap. Pendulous skin under the See also:throat. Dish Faced. When nose is higher than muzzle at the stop. See also:Dudley Nose. A yellow or flesh-coloured nose. See also:Elbow. The joint at the top of the forearm. See also:Feather. The hair at the back of the legs and under the tail. See also:Flag. A term for the tail, applied to a setter. Flews. The pendulous lips of the bloodhound and other breeds. Forearm. Part of foreleg extending from elbow to pastern. Frill. A See also:mass of hair on the chest, especially on collies. Hare Foot. A long narrow foot, carried forward. Haw. Red inside eyelid, shown in bloodhounds and St Bernards. Height. Measured at the shoulder, bending head gently down. Hocks. The hock joints. Hucklebones. Tops of the hip joints. See also:Knee. The joint attaching fore-pastern and forearm. See also:Leather. The skin of the ear. Occiput. The projecting See also:bone or bump at the back of the head. Overshot. The upper teeth projecting beyond the under. Pastern. Lowest See also:section of See also:leg, below the knee or hock. See also:Pig Jaw. Exaggeration of overshot. Pily. A term applied to soft coat. See also:Rose Ear. Where the tip of ear turns back, showing interior. Septum. The division between the nostrils. Smudge Nose. A nose which is not wholly black, but not §potted. Stifles. The top joints of the hind legs. Stop. The indentation below the eyes, most prominent in bulldogs. See also:Tulip Ear. An erect or pricked ear. Undershot. The lower teeth projecting in front of the upper ones. (W. B.; P. C. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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