Dogs as home companions

As with the terrier varieties, there is a wide field for selection among the medium-sized dogs, both sporting and non-sporting; consequently much depends upon what the dog is intended for. If any of the members of the household are inclined to sports afield, then one of the many varieties of spaniels would make a suitable house companion, for aside from being an alert watch dog, he is a natural all round hunter and is equally good on upland game as on water fowl. Spaniels make excellent retrievers, very good grouse and quail dogs where the mere questing for and finding of game is desired, but naturally the dog should be educated for the purpose. Unlike the pointer, the setter, or the griffon, the spaniel does not point, but finds the game and flushes it in front of the sportsman; in view of this fact he must be trained to quest within gun range. This, however, is easily taught the spaniel, for all of the many varieties are intelligent animals and therefore easily educated. A spaniel makes an excellent dog for ladies who enjoy field shooting, for the reason that he is so much more easily handled than any of the bird dog varieties, and peculiarly amenable to the gentler sex.

As a guardian of the home the spaniel might not strike terror to the hearts of unwelcome intruders, like some of the terrier or other breeds, but they are good watch dogs, quick to give the alarm upon the approach of strangers, and besides, they are very docile and cleanly about the premises. There may be some objection to the long coat, on the ground that if the animal is shedding, he is prone to leave stray hairs on rugs and furniture, but in this connection it might be said that daily grooming will ameliorate this evil to a great extent, for after all is said, a dog that is allowed to frequent the house even during only a small part of the day, must be kept clean whether he is a long or a short-haired one.

Of the many varieties of spaniel, the Cocker is the most popular. They come in all colors; solid blacks, reds, creams, orange and browns, but if of the latter color, it should be of a rich liver and not the washed out shades which sometimes crop out in a litter. These off-color ones should be eschewed if one wishes to conform to the standard. Neither should the whole-colored dogs have white on them, but a strip of this color on the chest, while objectionable, should not disqualify. The parti-colors are also very handsome animals. These are white and black, liver and white, orange and white, cream and white, and roans; either blue or red.

The standard weight calls for cockers ranging from eighteen to twenty-four pounds. Here of late it has become fashionable to breed them down to the minimum weight, but this is almost making toys of what was once considered one of the principal sporting breeds. If the prospective purchaser intends to use his dog for sporting purposes he is advised to select one from stock that will come nearer reaching the maximum rather than the minimum weight, for the eighteen pound cocker is entirely too small for utility purposes. As a matter of fact, some years ago twenty-eight pounds was the standard maximum weight of working cockers which is really more logical in a dog that is intended for field work. At all events, it is better to have a cocker over, than under the weight allowed by the standard, if one expects to make use of him afield.

The cocker should be a neat-headed, wide-awake, serviceable looking little dog, with rather large dark eyes and an intelligent expression. He should stand on strong, well-boned, but short legs absolutely straight in front, with well bent stifles behind. His quarters should be muscular and powerful, especially when viewed from behind; short in body when viewed from above, yet standing over considerable ground. He should, in short, give one the impression of a massive little dog, yet at the same time, he must have considerable speed and endurance. The coat is flat or slightly wavy, silky and very dense, with ample feather on legs and his feet should also be well supplied with hair, but the coat should never be curly. The stern is usually docked to a length of about two or three inches. This should be carried just below the level of the back and when the dog is working or animated, its action should be merry, but never carried gaily.

The Field Spaniel may be described as a larger edition of the cocker; longer and lower in body in proportion to his general make-up, but a well-knit, massive dog, the males weighing from thirty-seven to forty-five pounds, the bitches about five pounds less. The true field spaniel is always black, though his near kin is the springer which comes in parti-colors also. There are various strains of the springer spaniel, as for instance the Welsh and the English, but in all essentials they are identical. The difference between the springer and the field spaniel is that the former is usually shorter in body and higher on the leg. In the matter of intelligence he is fully the equal of the cocker or the field spaniel and for field work he is probably the most practical of the three, especially when it comes to retrieving waterfowl.

The Clumber Spaniel is the largest of the land spaniels, the weight in males ranging from fifty-five to sixty-five pounds, the females from thirty-five to fifty pounds. He is a strong, sturdy, compact dog, with profuse coat, but a smaller ear of the V-shaped variety. In color he must always be white and lemon or white and orange, ticks on the head or fore legs add to his beauty. He should have few, if any markings on his body. This variety is not very numerous in this country, though in many parts of England he is used quite regularly as a sporting dog.

The Sussex is another variety of the large land spaniels, smaller, however, than the Clumber, weighing from thirty-five to forty-five pounds. In color he is a rich golden liver. In this country he is practically unknown, but he is numbered as among the oldest of breeds in England.

The Irish Water Spaniel scarcely comes within the province of this book. He is a large dog, standing well up on the leg. It is said that he is a cross between the Irish setter and the large poodle, but this may be all conjecture. At all events he stands as high at the shoulder as an Irish setter. In color he is liver; any white except on chest or toes, disqualifies. His coat is a mass of short curls back to his tail which should be entirely free from feather. On his skull he has a well-defined top-knot; indeed, this is one of the distinguishing marks of the breed. As a house dog he is almost too large though for wild fowl retrieving under any and all weather conditions, he is par excellence.

Among the non-sporting medium-sized breeds, the Chow Chow stands preeminently to the forefront. He is a Chinese breed, like the Pekingese, and considering that he breeds very true to type, it is possible that he is of more ancient origin than many of our much lauded “pure breeds” of England. The chow is given credit for being a very intelligent animal; he is a good house dog and a faithful companion. In size he is about like the old-fashioned Spitz dog from which the Pomeranian is descended. In color he should be either black, red, yellow, blue, or white, but the shade should run uniform except that the underpart of the tail and inside of thighs are frequently of a lighter shade. He carries his tail curled over his back; his coat should be abundant, dense, straight and somewhat coarse in texture, with a soft, wooly undercoat. His ears are carried erect. He has a rather peculiar sour expression and his eyes are dark and small in all but the blues, in which a light color is permissible. One of the distinguishing features of a chow is his tongue, which in pure specimens is blue-black. His nose should also be black, large and wide.

The chow became popular about a quarter of a century ago, then for a time the interest lagged, but of late years his popularity seems to be increasing once more. The dog is perhaps among what one might call the high-priced varieties, but it is always possible to buy a “waster” which will answer the same purpose for a companion as the perfect show dog. A breeder of chows once said to me: “This breed has all the oriental mysticism about it that one finds in everything that comes from the Far East; they seem to know what you are thinking about and at times, as they lie there on the rug, one imagines they are actually going to speak and tell you what they have on their minds. But once your friend, a chow is always your friend.”

The French Bulldog is another breed that has come into great popularity during the past fifteen years, especially among the ladies. As far as his actual usefulness is concerned, we cannot say much, although his admirers might probably take one to task if this statement were made in their presence. He makes a delightful companion, smooth of coat and clean in his habits. For the house he is probably one of the most desirable breeds among the many, even though his real utility might be questioned. However that may be, the dog is popular and good specimens command high prices.

In appearance the French bulldog resembles the Boston in many respects—that is, a Boston of the heavier type and with uncut ears, but he is more muscular and substantial in appearance. His ears must be of the pronounced “bat” variety; his head, large, square and broad; skull almost flat; the underjaw, like the English bulldog, is large, powerful, and undershot, with the muzzle well laid back and the muscles of the cheeks fully developed. The tail should be either straight or screwed (but not curly) short, and hung low. The eyes are wide apart set low down in the skull, as far away from the ears as possible. Back must be short, the chest broad, the forelegs straight and muscular and wide apart, while the hind legs should correspond in the matter indicating strength. The French bulldog standard calls for two weights; dogs under twenty-two pounds and those of twenty-two pounds and not exceeding twenty-eight. The colors are any shade of brindle, though the darker the better. The novice looking for a good specimen, however, should be careful about the absolute disqualifying points as for instance, other than bat ears, any mutilation, solid black, black and white, black and tan, liver and mouse color, eyes of different color (as they will come sometimes), nose other than black and hare lip, which is also a fault that frequently crops up and many unscrupulous breeders are apt to foist such undesirable specimens upon the unsuspecting novice who might be none the wiser.

The English Bulldog is another of the “manufactured breeds” so grotesquely ugly that he is beautiful in the eyes of some. The bulldog will attract attention anywhere, but as to his sphere of usefulness in these days of his grotesque appearance, there is always room for doubt. There was once a time when the bulldog was a shifty and useful animal, but as he is at present bred, this quality has, to a great extent disappeared with his “improvement,” although his admirers will claim stoutly that he is a good watch dog and quite intelligent. His very artificiality makes him a dog which is difficult to rear, being susceptible to various diseases to a much greater degree than most of the more normal breeds.

Everyone, even he who is only remotely interested in dogs, knows the Badger Dog, if not under this name, at least under his old appellation of dachshund, by which he was known up to the time of the World War when his Teutonic origin was expediently disguised under the name that he now bears. Owing to his length of body and his abbreviated legs he has always been known as the original “sausage” dog, for his length of body is several times his inches in height, which should be, at shoulder, only from 7 1/8 to 8 1/5 inches. The weight is divided at bench shows, as for instance, dogs under sixteen and one-half pounds, bitches under fifteen and one-half pounds. Middleweights from the maximum lightweight division to twenty-two pounds. Heavyweights, dogs and bitches over twenty-two pounds.

The badger dog, while not classified among the terriers, has the characteristics of that family, for he goes to ground for his quarry, and in every other way shows his terrier characteristics. On the other hand, he is also a fairly good trailer and, like the beagle, will hunt rabbits. As a house companion he is intelligent and cleanly; his short, satiny coat fitting him eminently for a ladies’ dog. The breed comes in a variety of colors: black and tan, all tan, all red, yellowish red and spotted in various shades.

The Beagle, while not to be considered a house dog, is small and may be kept very nicely in a small place, provided he is allowed to run and exercise in the open every day and is given the opportunity to hunt his favorite game—rabbits—frequently. As a keen-nosed dog for his own sphere he has no equal, and having been bred for years with this sole purpose in view, his intelligence is concentrated along these lines and not toward making him an allround home companion, but given the opportunity and the human companionship, his intelligence may be improved to a wonderful degree. The beagle is in every sense of the word a miniature foxhound, ranging in height from nine to fifteen inches which is the maximum; dogs over this height are disqualified at bench shows and beagle trials. The classification in vogue at the present time is dogs thirteen inches and under, and dogs over thirteen and not over fifteen inches.

The Whippet, which is a miniature English greyhound, is a neat, cleanly dog, not perhaps a desirable companion when all essentials of an intelligent dog are taken into consideration, but he is a trim animal, very distinguished in appearance, and short of coat, hence he is worth considering on this account, if for no other. At the present time the whippet is coming into greater popularity, mainly because of the fact that bench show clubs are giving him ample classification and further, because as a racing dog he has gained quite a vogue in some parts of the country.

Among the many intelligent non-sporting dogs is the Large Poodle, a dog somewhat larger than the chow. He is in every sense of the word a larger edition of the toy poodle, but a much more useful dog because of his size and superior intelligence. The poodle is one of the most readily trained dogs in existence today. As a trick dog he has no equals and he may be broken to retrieve from land and water with the same facility as any of the sporting retrievers or spaniels. There are two varieties of the poodle; the corded and the curly. The latter is the more common and also the more practical, for the corded poodle’s coat is the most difficult of any among the canine race, to care for. The hair on the latter hangs from the dog in long rope-like strands, almost touching the ground and unless it is given daily attention it is likely to become matted and soiled. The corded poodle is covered with short curls all over his body. It is customary to clip them about one-third; that is, the coat is left on head, neck and front, extending well back of the shoulders while the loin, hips and back legs are closely clipped, leaving a tuft here and there and on the end of the docked tail. A well cared for poodle makes a unique appearance. The breed comes in all black, all white, all blue and all red. The colors should be solid—that is, on blacks there should be no white and vice versa.

A breed that promised to come into popularity some years ago is the foreign born Samoyede. Although it is not so many years ago that this breed lived in a semi-wild state in Siberia where reclaimed specimens were used for hunting bear, and by the natives of Lapland, he was used for rounding up tame elk. The samoyede is peculiarly amenable to civilization and the companionship of human beings. Fifteen or twenty years ago the breed was seen in fairly large numbers on the show benches of this country and England. After that there came a lull, but of late he seems to be gaining in popularity. In the far north he was used as a sledge dog like the husky and other arctic breeds. The dog is long-coated and in many respects resembles the Spitz, though he is larger than the average of those specimens. He may not be the ideal dog to have about in the home where there are children as he is of uncertain temperament, but he is a rather unusual looking animal for which reason he has gained a certain amount of notoriety.

The Doberman Pinscher, which is really a terrier possessing characteristics of the Airedale, is another dog which, when he once becomes fully known and appreciated for his sterling qualities, will become a more general home favorite. He is smooth coated, prick-eared and black and tan in color, weighing in the neighborhood of thirty-five to forty pounds. He is very intelligent and is as easily taught to perform the duties of an allround “varmint dog” as any breed in existence. As a police dog he is said to be even more readily trained than the breed which is supposed to be a specialist in that sphere—namely the shepherd dog—until lately known as the German or Belgian shepherd dog.

While on the subject of the latter breed, it might be said in passing, that this dog is gaining in popularity each year. He is said to be intelligent, in fact he is easily trained, but here also is a breed which is somewhat uncertain in temper despite the stories to the contrary. As a watch dog he cannot be surpassed. For those having country estates or large enough out-door space, this dog is a very desirable one, but it is scarcely possible to keep one of these in limited quarters.

The same may be said of any of the larger breeds, and as this book is devoted to the dogs that are suitable for the large towns and cities we shall refer the aspiring fancier who is bent upon going in for the large dogs to procure a copy of “Dogcraft,” a former work of mine which gives the standards of all breeds, large and small.