The educability of the dog's perceptive faculties has been exemplified
in a remarkable manner by his acquired knowledge of musical sounds. On
some dogs fine music produces an apparently painful effect, causing
them gradually to become restless, to moan piteously, and, finally, to
fly from the spot with every sign of suffering and distress. Others
have been seen to sit and listen to music with seeming delight, and
even to go every Sunday to church, with the obvious purpose of
enjoying the solemn and powerful strains of the organ. Some dogs
manifest a keen sense of false notes in music. Mrs. Samuel Carter
Hall, at Old Brompton, possesses an Italian greyhound, which screams
in apparent agony when a jarring combination of notes is produced,
accidentally or intentionally, on the piano. These opposite and
various manifestations show what might be done by education to teach
dogs a critical knowledge of sounds. A gentleman of Darmstadt, in
Germany, as we learn, has taught a poodle dog to detect false notes in
music. We give the account of this remarkable instance of educability
as it appears in a French newspaper.
Mr. S----, having acquired a competency by commercial industry,
retired from business, and devoted himself, heart and soul, to the
cultivation and enjoyment of music. Every member of his little
household was by degrees involved more or less in the same occupation,
and even the housemaid could in time bear a part in a chorus, or
decipher a melody of Schubert. One individual alone in the family
seemed to resist this musical entrancement; this was a small spaniel,
the sole specimen of the canine race in the mansion. Mr. S---- felt
the impossibility of instilling the theory of sounds into the head of
Poodle, but he firmly resolved to make the animal bear _some_ part or
other in the general domestic concert; and by perseverance, and the
adoption of ingenious means, he attained his object. Every time that a
_false note_ escaped either from the instrument or voice--as often as
any blunder, of whatever kind, was committed by the members of the
musical family (and such blunders were sometimes committed
intentionally)--down came its master's cane on the back of the
unfortunate poodle, till she howled and growled again. Poodle
perceived the meaning of these unkind chastisements, and instead of
becoming sulky, showed every disposition to howl on the instant a
false note was uttered, without waiting for the formality of a blow.
By and by, a mere glance of Mr. S----'s eye was sufficient to make the
animal howl to admiration. In the end, Poodle became so thoroughly
acquainted with, and attentive to, false notes and other musical
barbarisms, that the slightest mistake of the kind was infallibly
signalised by a yell from her, forming the most expressive commentary
upon the misperformance.
When extended trials were made of the animal's acquirements, they were
never found to fail, and Poodle became, what she still is, the most
famous, impartial, and conscientious connoisseur in the Duchy of
Hesse. But, as may be imagined, her musical appreciation is entirely
negative; if you sing with expression, and play with ability, she will
remain cold and impassible. But let your execution exhibit the
slightest defect, and you will have her instantly showing her teeth,
whisking her tail, yelping, barking, and growling. At the present
time, there is not a concert or an opera at Darmstadt to which Mr.
S---- and his wonderful dog are not invited; or, at least, _the dog_.
The voice of the prima donna, the instruments of the band--whether
violin, clarionet, hautbois, or bugle--all of them must execute their
parts in perfect harmony, otherwise Poodle looks at its master, erects
its ears, shows its grinders, and howls outright. Old or new pieces,
known or unknown to the dog, produce on it the same effect.
It must not be supposed that the discrimination of the creature is
confined to the mere _execution_ of musical compositions. Whatever may
have been the case at the outset of its training, its present and
perfected intelligence extends even to the secrets of composition.
Thus, if a vicious modulation, or a false relation of parts, occur in
a piece of music, the animal shows symptoms of uneasy hesitation; and
if the error be continued, will infallibly give the grand condemnatory
howl. In short, Poodle is the terror of all the middling composers of
Darmstadt, and a perfect nightmare to the imagination of all poor
singers and players. Sometimes Mr. S---- and his friends take a
pleasure in annoying the canine critic, by emitting all sorts of
discordant sounds from instrument and voice. On such occasions the
creature loses all self-command, its eyes shoot forth fiery flashes,
and long and frightful howls respond to the immelodious concert of the
mischievous bipeds. But the latter must be careful not to go too far;
for when the dog's patience is tried to excess, it becomes altogether
wild, and flies fiercely at the tormentors and their instruments.
This dog's case is a very curious one, and the attendant phenomena not
very easy of explanation. From the animal's power of discerning the
correctness of musical composition, as well as of execution, one would
be inclined to imagine that Mr. S----, in training his dog, had only
called into play faculties existing (but latent) before, and that dogs
have in them the natural germs of a fine musical ear. This seems more
likely to be the case, than that the animal's perfect musical taste
was wholly an acquirement, resulting from the training. However this
may be, the Darmstadt dog is certainly a marvellous creature, and we
are surprised that, in these exhibiting times, its powers have not
been displayed on a wider stage. The operatic establishments of London
and Paris might be greatly the better, perhaps, for a visit from the
critical Poodle.
It is now settled, as a philosophical question, that the instruction
communicated to dogs, as well as various other animals, has an
hereditary effect on the progeny. If a dog be taught to perform
certain feats, the young of that dog will be much easier initiated in
the same feats than other dogs. Thus, the existing races of English
pointers are greatly more accomplished in their required duties than
the original race of Spanish pointers. Dogs of the St. Bernard variety
inherit the faculty of tracking footsteps in the snow. A gentleman of
our acquaintance, and of scientific acquirements, obtained some years
ago a pup, which had been produced in London by a female of the
celebrated St. Bernard breed. The young animal was brought to
Scotland, where it was never observed to give any particular tokens of
a power of tracking footsteps until winter, when the ground became
covered with snow. It _then_ showed the most active inclination to
follow footsteps; and so great was its power of doing so under these
circumstances, that, when its master had crossed a field in the most
curvilinear way, and caused other persons to cross his path in all
directions, it nevertheless followed his course with the greatest
precision. Here was a perfect revival of the habit of its Alpine
fathers, with a degree of specialty as to external conditions at
which, it seems to us, we cannot sufficiently wonder.
Such are some of the qualities of dogs in a state of domestication,
and let me hope that the anecdotes related of them will tend to insure
for them that love and gratitude to which their own fine disposition
and noble character give them a claim from us.
It is pleasing to observe that men of the highest acquirements and
most elevated minds have bestowed their sincere attachment upon their
favourite canine companions; for kindness to animals is, perhaps, as
strong an indication of the possession of generous sentiments as any
that can be adduced. The late Lord Grenville, a distinguished
statesman, an elegant scholar, and an amiable man, affords an
illustration of the opinion: It is thus that he eloquently makes his
favourite Zephyr speak:--
"Captum oculis, senioque hebetem, morboque gravatum,
Dulcis here, antiquo me quod amore foves,
Suave habet et carum Zephyrus tuus, et leviore
Se sentit mortis conditione premi.
Interiere quidem, tibi quae placuisse solebant,
Et formae dotes, et facile ingenium:
Deficiunt sensus, tremulae scintillula vitae
Vix micat, in cinerem mox abitura brevem.
Sola manet, vetuli tibi nec despecta ministri,
Mens grata, ipsaque in morte memor domini.
Hanc tu igitur, pro blanditiis mollique lepore,
Et prompta ad nutus sedulitate tuos,
Pro saltu cursuque levi, lusuque protervo,
Hanc nostri extremum pignus amoris habe.
Jamque vale! Elysii subeo loca laeta, piorum
Quae dat Persephone manibus esse canum."
In the previous pages I have endeavoured to give my readers some idea
of the general character of the dog, and I will now proceed to
illustrate it more fully by anecdotes peculiar to different breeds.
These animals will then be found to deserve the encomiums bestowed
upon them by Buffon, "as possessing such an ardour of sentiment, with
fidelity and constancy in their affection, that neither ambition,
interest, nor desire of revenge, can corrupt them, and that they have
no fear but that of displeasing. They are, in fact, all zeal, ardour,
and obedience. More inclined to remember benefits than injuries; more
docile and tractable than any other animal, the dog is not only
instructed, but conforms himself to the manners, movements, and habits
of those who govern him. He is always eager to obey his master, and
will defend his property at the risk of his own life." Pope says, that
history is more full of examples of fidelity in the dog than in
friends; and Lord Byron characterises him as--
"in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend;
Whose honest heart is still his master's own;
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone;"
and truly indeed may he be called
"The rich man's guardian, and the poor man's friend."
[Illustration]
[Illustration: DEER-HOUNDS.]
"His bulk and beauty speak no vulgar praise.
* * * *
Oh had you seen him, vigorous, bold, and young,
Swift as a stag, and as a lion strong;
Him no fell savage in the plain withstood,
None 'scap'd him, bosomed in the gloomy wood;
His eye how piercing!"
POPE.