Dogs are found in a wild state in Africa and South America.
As an attached and faithful servant of man, the dog is equalled by no animal. Though destitute of the faculty of thought, he has all the ardour of sentiment. He is all zeal, warmth, and obedience; and, forgetful of injuries, he seeks only how he may gain the favour and affection of his master. During the night he guards the house, and, by the noise he makes, he gives notice of the approach of depredators. He also protects the property committed to his care, and secures it from being plundered. He directs the steps of the blind, and, in some instances, has even been instructed to pick up money, and put it into his master's hat. Being endowed with great strength and fleetness of foot, some kinds of dogs are trained to the chase, and taught not only to pursue and to destroy noxious and savage beasts, but also to hunt for and secure animals as food for their master. And there are many countries, both of the old and new Continent, in which, if man were deprived of this faithful ally, he would unsuccessfully resist the foes that surround him, and that are incessantly on the watch to destroy his labour, attack his person, or encroach upon his property.
But it is not only during his life that the dog is serviceable to mankind. After death his skin is converted, by the inhabitants of Greenland, into garments, and particularly into stockings. It is also used for the coverlets of beds. Dogs' skins in our own country are tanned, and applied to several useful purposes, as leather, and particularly for gloves and shoes. The hair of some kinds of dogs is so thick and matted that, like wool, it is capable of being converted into cloth. A small kind of King Charles's dog is mentioned by Dr. Anderson to have had long and soft hair, covering a finer sort, which might, with advantage, have been woven into shawls. He speaks of another kind which had a very thick fleece, much resembling that of some of the Lincolnshire sheep; and of a third kind with close frizzed wool, which was shorn annually and made into stockings. He, however, remarks that the finest hair he ever saw upon a dog, and which indeed for softness and gloss more resembled silk than hair, grew upon a very small kind of Maltese dog. This, if manufactured, might have been converted into shawls of uncommon softness and beauty. The fleece of a water dog, belonging to a farrier in the horse artillery, was manufactured into hats, and answered this purpose sufficiently well. Each fleece was sufficient for two hats, and was considered to be worth about twelve shillings.
Disgusting as it may appear to us, the flesh of the dog is a favourite food in many countries. The Greenlanders eat it with avidity. In the markets of Canton, dogs are exposed for sale in the same manner as other animal food. The negroes of Africa prefer their flesh to that of any other quadrupeds; for dogs are sold in some of their markets at as dear a rate as mutton or venison. With the North American Indians they are considered a great delicacy; and we are informed by Pliny, that the Romans were so partial to this kind of food, that a fricassee of sucking puppies was considered a favourite dish with even the most notorious Roman epicures.
There are near thirty distinct and well ascertained varieties of the dog; of which fourteen are considered to be natives of our own island.
26. The SIBERIAN DOG is distinguished by having its ears erect, and the hair of its body and tail very long.
To the inhabitants of many northern countries of the world, these dogs are of essential service. They are employed in drawing sledges over the frozen snow, five of them being yoked to each sledge, two and two, with the fifth in front as a leader. These sledges generally carry only one person each, who sits sideways, and guides the animals by reins fastened to their collars; but more particularly by his voice, and a crooked stick which he carries in his hand. If the dogs be well trained, the charioteer has only to strike the ice with his stick to make them go to the left, and the sledge to make them go to the right; and, when he wishes them to stop, he places it betwixt the front of the sledge and the snow. When they are inattentive to their duty, he chastises them by throwing his stick at them; but great dexterity is generally requisite in picking it up again. So much, however, depends upon the excellence of the leader, that a steady and docile dog for this purpose is not unfrequently sold for as much as ten pounds sterling.
The fleetness of the Siberian dogs is so great that they have been known to perform a journey of 270 miles in three days and a half; and with a sledge containing three persons and their luggage, they will travel sixty miles in a day. During the most severe storms, when their master cannot see his path, nor can even keep his eyes open, they seldom miss their way. And it is said that, in the midst of a long journey, when it is found absolutely impossible to proceed any further, the dogs, lying round their master, will keep him warm, and prevent him from perishing by the cold.
The natives of Kamtschatka wear the skins of these animals as clothing, and consider the long hair as an ornament.
27. The NEWFOUNDLAND DOG, for united size, strength, and docility, exceeds all the kinds of dog with which we are acquainted. As its name imports, it is a native of the island of Newfoundland; and also of the adjacent parts of America, where it is employed in drawing wood on sledges, from the interior of the country to the sea-coast. Four of these dogs are harnessed to each sledge, and are able with ease to draw three hundred weight of wood for several miles. And it is peculiarly deserving of remark, that they often perform this service without any driver. Before the introduction of horses into general use in Canada, most of the land-carriage was performed by dogs.