|
IT is often amusing to hear
those who know little about the subject describing the " almost reason " of
the St. Bernard's dog, and not unfrequently of the Scotch "colley."
It appears to me that the instinct of
these animals is more prominently forced upon their notice, and they do not
take the trouble to watch and discover it in the other species. Sagacity is
more equally distributed among the different varieties of the dog than such
casual observers are aware of; but it, of course, takes different
directions, according to the temper, habits, and treatment of the animal. It
would be a waste of time so far to control the keen tempers of sporting dogs
(by which I mean setters and pointers) as to make them perform the duties of
a well-broke phlegmatic retriever. The instinctive power may therefore
appear greater in one than the other ; but from the quiet easy temper of the
retriever, it is much less difficult to develop and make use of his instinct
in that particular way : while the setter and pointer, owing to their more
active life and hunting propensities, may often pass unnoticed, even by
their masters, though, every time they are in the field, displaying as much
tact as the most cautious retriever. Their sagacity is never thought of; and
the only praise they get is, that they are " excellent dogs," which means
that they find plenty of game.
There is another reason why
sporting dogs appear more deficient in sense than some others, and that is
their mode of life. Confined always in the kennel unless when seeking game,
all their powers are employed to this end. There are, however, abundant
proofs, that when made companions, and suffered to occupy a place upon the
hearth-rug, they are capable of the same attachment, and would equal in
sagacity the much-lauded dogs of St. Bernard. [May we not be allowed to
suppose the dog in Helvellyn, whose attachment to its dead master was
thought a fit subject for their muse by two great poets of the day, was of
the sporting kind 2-at all events it was
"not of mountain breed ! !"]
Indeed, the usual mode of imprisoning sporting dogs is so great a
disadvantage, that I have seen some with excellent noses and every requisite
for the moors, grow sulky, and refuse to hunt with their usual freeness,
unless left in a great measure to themselves. This, I know, arose partly
from a want of proper management, and not keeping the medium between
encouraging kindness and merited correction; for too much lenity is nearly
as injurious to a dog as over severity: suikiness will often be the effect
in the one case, shyness in the other. Still, if the dog were allowed to be
the companion of his master, he would both acquire sense and tact in half
the time, and would not give half the trouble either by shyness or
sulkiness; whereas it will generally be found, that a kennel dog is long
past his best before he excels in that sagacity on the moor which so greatly
assists him in finding game. Even the veriest village cur, when kindly
treated and permitted to bask at the "inglenook," will learn all sorts of
tricks, many of them requiring as much
reflection as
the most intricate duties of the shepherd's dog.
I had a little cocker reared in a cottage, that of its own accord, when only
seven months old, brought in the post-bag, thrown down by the mail in
passing. The person who had charge of it, having been detained a little, was
astonished to see the bag safely deposited in the house; and, upon watching
next day, saw the little creature marching along with its load. It had seen
the bag carried in once or twice, and immediately learned to do so.
I do not mean to deny that
some varieties of the dog may excel others in sagacity-but this will be
found in most cases to arise from other circumstances than the
natural gift-and that dogs whose
avocations require a phlegmatic, quiet temper, have certainly the advantage
over others, though the instinctive powers of both, in the first instance,
may have been equal. A terrier, for example, may and has been taught to herd
sheep, and if kept to this employment, would appear more sensible; but his
snappish disposition (an advantage in his own more congenial occupations)
renders him unlikely to excel in those of the colley. The latter again is
admirably adapted for his own work; his thick, rough coat protects him from
the severity of the weather to which he is constantly exposed, and his less
ardent temper prompts him to look for guidance from his master in all his
movements. Both sheep-dogs and terriers may be taught to point; but they are
always deficient in hunt, and their olfactory powers are never so
acute as in those dogs which nature seems to have formed for the purpose. We
thus see that dogs are trained to different employments, for many
qualifications apart from their instinctive powers, though these may be
materially increased or retarded by the nature of their occupations.
The Newfoundland and
water-dog are generally reckoned paragons of sagacity; but has their
treatment nothing to do with this? From their earliest days taught to fetch
and carry, and never leaving their master's side, they learn to understand
his least signal, and from constant practice sometimes even anticipate his
will. This is also precisely the case with the colley: as soon as it is
able, made to follow the shepherd to the hill, and from every-day habit
always on the alert to please him, it
daily acquires greater dexterity both in comprehending and obeying, till at
last it can perform feats that perfectly astonish those who have not seen
the gradual process. My retriever, already mentioned, has given many proofs
of sagacity which have excited the admiration of those present; and yet I
don't consider him at all more knowing than the old pointer, whose cut I
have likewise given. A superficial observer would wonder at the comparison ;
but, independent of the tact and ingenuity displayed by the pointer in
finding game, I feel convinced that if his educational advantages and temper
had been the same as the retriever's, he would have equalled him
in his own beat.
To illustrate my meaning, I may
mention a feat or two of each: - Having wounded a rabbit on the moors when
the pointer was behind a knoll, but fancying, from the agility with which it
made its escape, that I had missed it altogether, I was surprised to see him
shortly afterwards bring a rabbit and deliberately lay it down at my feet.
It would have been nothing if the dog had been taught to fetch and carry ;
but, on the contrary, he is, of course, broke to drop at the shot and never
to lay a tooth upon game. Had he seen me fire and afterwards stumbled upon
the rabbit, he would from his breaking have thought he had no business to
touch it ; but, not having seen the shot, he fancied he had a right to bring
what he had himself found upon the moor. Any person who was no judge of dogs
would have said, " Why, this is no more than what any retriever puppy would
have done." It is not, however, the mere act alone, but the connecting
circumstances which often show the superior instinct of the canine species.
The performances of the retriever are
more showy, and the generality of observers would immediately on that
account pronounce him the more sagacious dog. In taking a walk with him last
winter, I met a friend who had dropped a whip : if this had happened to
myself, there would have been no difficulty, as I had only to send the dog
off upon my track; but upon trial, lie immediately ran back upon that of my
friend, recovered the whip, and brought it to me. Another time, when he was
following an open carriage, a shawl was dropped ; no one perceived the loss
until the dog was seen carrying it in his mouth behind. Not long after a
bouquet of flowers was missed: I immediately looked round for the retriever,
and, to be sure, there he was with the bouquet most jauntily carried in his
mouth. But perhaps the following instance may serve still better to show the
influence of temper and education upon the instinct of dogs. Having taken
sea-bathing quarters for my family, about forty miles from my residence in
Perthshire, I walked there over the hills, accompanied by my faithful
retriever. When I returned for a week's shooting, I ordered old
"Gruff"
to remain behind. After waiting three days, and finding I
did not come back as he expected, he started off one night about nine
o'clock, made his way through the most intricate by-paths and short cuts of
all descriptions, across a deep ferry, and arrived at home about five next
morning, when he was discovered lying at the door. There are many
authenticated accounts of dogs making much more distant journeys than this ;
but the point to be noticed is, his remaining three days, though perfectly
at large, and then taking his departure. A keen-tempered dog would have
started the next day, at latest, or, by having his attention engrossed with
other things, have remained quietly where he was. Even in the former case,
he would not have gained half so much credit for sagacity, as every one must
have perceived that the patient retriever waited to see whether or not his
master would return. Few would give themselves the trouble to remark that
his education and apathetic temper favoured him in this particular, and that
equal instinct might have been shown in the more hasty resolves and quicker
movements of another. It is thus that keen dogs always appear deficient in
sense, because they are hurried away by their temper from one thing to
another; and their feats are seldom such as to arrest the attention or
excite the wonder of the general observer. The instances I have given are
merely mentioned as explanatory of my theory, viz.; that we are apt to
overvalue one dog for sagacity, while we overlook its more unpretending
neighbour, because, from shyness, surliness, eagerness of temper, or want of
practice, all its powers of instinct and memory are employed in a
different and less obvious way; for there is no doubt, if a dog is
eager, shy, or sulky, it may have superior instinct, and yet show less
than another of a more phlegmatic, sociable, or easy disposition. This
accounts for the difficulty of procuring a good retriever from a cross
between the water-dog and terrier, so valuable if the medium between them is
preserved; because, when the dog partakes too much of the nature of the
terrier, his quick temper unfits him for the purpose, [A dog of a very cool
temper will retrieve wild-fowl better in loch-shooting, than another with
quicker movements and perhaps a finer nose. Many of the cripples in this
shooting take refuge in weeds and bushes, and the keen-tempered dog is apt
to overrun them, thus losing time ; whereas the other slowly tracks them one
by one to their hiding-place. It must be recollected that I do not speak of
coast and cover-shooting, where more agility is required : on the coast,
from the numbers to be secured after a heavy shot of the stanchion gun; and
in cover, that wounded hares and rabbits, winged pheasants, &c., may be more
speedily retrieved. For my own part, I should prefer the slow dog even in
cover ; but few sportsmen like to wait] and when too little, he is generally
deficient in nose. A cross between the water-dog and any others of the
sporting kind would be still less likely to suit; and the Newfoundland is
too large, and of the wrong colour. Perhaps (the noses of colleys and
terriers being pretty much upon a par) a breed between a water-dog and
colley might answer well; there is only the objection, that the progeny
might be too large and conspicuous.
With regard
to the St. Bernard dogs, what is it they do but what almost any dog of
equal strength might be taught also? It is certainly a noble occupation,
but far, I should think, from difficult, to teach a dog to run the track of
a man upon the bare mountain, and either guide or carry the benumbed wretch
home. The colleys in the Highlands do the same when sheep are in jeopardy,
and know their own flocks from any others. They will also climb hills and
work by the slightest signal from their masters at the foot. [A shepherd of
my late father, celebrated for having the best colleys in the country,
preferred those with quick tempers, to save himself trouble. This man
used to stand at the door of his hut, sending his dogs to "clear the
marches," at the tops of the highest hills. They worked by signal long after
they could not hear his voice. For this distant work, a slow dog, though
more easily broke at first, and steady as a rock afterwards, was often found
too lazy. The shepherd has known one lie down to rest for an hour behind a
rock, when he thought himself unobserved. He therefore reserved these cool
geniuses for the near work, and sent the younger and more keen-tempered on
the distant and toilsome duty.] All this may appear very wonderful to any
one unacquainted with the nature of dogs; and still more so when he sees the
very colley which had excited his admiration, completely outdone in some
more domestic feats of usefulness by a wretched turnspit.
If, therefore, my hypothesis be correct, that there is
not so much real difference in the instinct of dogs, but that the
degree of sagacity they will exert for our benefit or amusement depends in a
great measure upon their tempers and dispositions; and that the treatment
they meet with has much to do in forming these tempers and dispositions,
it follows that too great care cannot be taken to train them properly, and
especially never to correct in anger or caprice. |
