“Yes, my friend; for fighting and nothing else. Let no one ask it to watch over a flock, accompany the hunter, retrieve the fallen game, or even turn the spit; its dull intelligence does not go so far as that. Its one gift is the gift of the jaw that snaps and does not let go; its one passion, the frenzy of combat. When its teeth have once fastened themselves in an adversary’s flesh, do not expect them to loosen their hold: a vice is not more tenacious in its grip. Calls, threats, blows, nothing avails to separate two bulldogs fighting each other; it is necessary to seize them and bite them hard on the end of the tail. The sharp pain of the bite can alone recall them from the fury of combat.”
“I wouldn’t undertake the operation; the animal might turn against the one trying to make it let go.”
“For the master there is no danger, as the bulldog is strongly attached to him. Boldness, strength, and indomitable tenacity in battle make this dog an efficient protector such as it is well to have at one’s side in a rough encounter. To leave the enemy as little hold as possible, it is the custom to crop the dog’s tail and ears; furthermore, the [[210]]neck is protected with a collar studded with iron points.
“This pugnacious breed is especially in favor in England, and it is from the English word dog that we French take our word dogue, in the sense of bulldog.”
“Then dogue means dog?” asked Emile.
“Nothing else. From the same word comes the diminutive doguin (pug-dog), by which we designate that little growling, scatter-brained poltroon, glutton and good-for-nothing, better known to you under the name of carlin (pug). Like the bulldog, it has a round head, short and flat-nosed muzzle, and hanging lip; and up to a certain point it has also the bulldog character, which it shows by a noisy rage, not having the size or strength necessary for anything further.”
“That’s the funny little dog that barks at me in the doorway and immediately runs in if I pretend to go after it.”
“The Turkish dog is another useless animal. Its size is that of the pug. It is remarkable for its almost naked skin, oily-looking, black, or dark flesh-color, and spotted with brown in large splashes. It has little intelligence and no attachment to its master. Its singular nakedness, which in our climate makes it shiver with cold a good part of the year, is its only merit, if it be a merit. I should rather call it a very disagreeable infirmity. Those who take pleasure in raising these poor animals clothe them in winter with a cloth coat.” [[211]]
“A dog that needed a tailor to furnish it with a winter costume would never do for me,” declared Emile. “I’d much rather have Medor, the spaniel, and Sheep, the barbet. They don’t shiver when it snows, and they are good friends, too.” [[212]]