WATCH DOGS.
Many kinds of dogs are used as watch dogs, and where all that is required of them is a notification of nightly intruders, and the awakening of the household, perhaps the species used is of comparatively little consequence. Where the dog is intended to act as a defender as well as a sentinel, strength and courage are important requisites. With many the bull dog is a favorite for this purpose. Though the least intelligent of his species his unflinching and unconquerable courage renders him a terrible opponent. So utterly without intellect is his courage, however, that no consideration of his foe’s powers deters him from attacking the most formidable thing that gives offense. Striking examples of this quality are displayed in England in what are termed “bull baits,” exhibitions whose cruelty and brutality are scarcely excelled in the customs of any other country. In these bull baits the dog, while fastened to the nose of some unfortunate bull, has had one leg after another cut off with a knife to test his courage. So persistent is the dog in maintaining his hold that the most frightful mutilation will not compel him to relinquish it until his strength is exhausted from loss of blood; he has been known to die from this inhuman hacking with his death grip firmly holding the bull.
Probably the best watch dog is the mastiff. Capable of great attachment to his master, he unites strength with intelligence, and, while implacable toward intruders, toward members of his master’s family he is docile and gentle. His hearing is remarkably acute, for he can detect the difference between a familiar and a strange footstep, however light it may be.