If there be one study in connection with dogs more interesting than
another, it must be that which has reference to the gun dogs and the
coursing dogs of the world. Since time immemorial, dogs have been used
by man for certain purposes and those which he has bred, maintained and
improved for his services, have kept time with the ever-changing methods
whereby the human is able to obtain and have for himself the beasts of
the field and the birds of the air. The first men who went after game
hunted it for food; and they very soon found out the most suitable dogs
for their purposes and they bred and produced dogs for different kinds
of work. It is fair to write that no domestic animals are better
represented throughout the world than are thoroughbred dogs of one kind
or another. The pure-breeds are to be found in countries that are
foreign to their varieties, and what is more, they are highly and justly
prized by their owners and even the very community in which the imported
dog has its new being. For let it be known, there are less distinctions
than owning a superior dog, and as these dogs are capable of reproducing
themselves, and both the males and females are prolific breeders, there
is almost at once, or within one year, established in the kennel of the
new land the high-blooded and moreover most useful dogs of other
nations. And that is the reason that wherever we may go we shall
probably find the particularly good gun dogs of Great Britain. These
consist of the pointer, the English, Irish and Gordon setters, the
retrievers and the Labrador or Lesser Newfoundland dogs, and the various
spaniels, which have all been practically made perfect in the British
Isles and distributed to the four corners of the earth. Dogs have been
produced that will hunt as well in one country as another; but one can
generally find that dogs—gun dogs and coursing dogs—are mostly chosen
with an eye to the environment in which they will have to hunt.
[Illustration:
_A Fine Group of Gun Dogs._
]
[Illustration:
_The Hunter and His Dog_
]
Both the pointer and the spaniel originally came from Spain, so it is
said. But the original Spanish pointer was too heavy and slow in his
pace for the English gunner, so he was crossed with the lighter
foxhound, and it is even said with the greyhound, so that he should be
more active and able to cover his ground better. Furthermore, the
heavy-headed Spanish pointer had the kind of head and lips that proclaim
a hunting dog that is inclined to keep his nose to the ground, rather
than carry it highly and thus better obtain the body scent of birds and
other game in the distance. The setter was originally the large spaniel,
and was taught to “set” or sit down when he had come upon birds, so that
the game could be encompassed by the fall-net, or the hawk or falcon
might have the better opportunity to fly at her quarry. When the small
pellets of lead were invented and the shotgun first used then the
setters of the netters and falconers became gun dogs, and as such we
will find pointers, setters, retrievers and spaniels of English origin
in every country where the sportsman may be found. Gun and coursing dogs
are not only imported into America as workers but as show dogs, and in
the great majority of cases these dogs are thoroughly broken or trained
as well as being good to look upon. Then these gun dogs may compete at
the various field trials now run off all over Europe, the United States
and Canada, or even South Africa, or at the coursing meetings in every
country of the world. The coursing dog is found most useful in Canada,
especially in the prairie provinces, where coyotes are destructive and a
curse to the sheepman and even the horse breeder, for a pack of prairie
wolves will attack and kill a foal. As a part and parcel of the farm,
the ranch, the station and estancia the gun dog and the coursing dogs
are invaluable. Pointers, setters, spaniels and retrievers are useful
under all circumstances, and they perform the same work in all climates
and under the various and dissimilar conditions. In some countries
pointers are preferred to setters; but, on inquiry, it will generally be
found that the alleged fitness of one variety of dog over the other, is
merely a matter of taste or “fancy.” A man who owns setters prefers
setters; the individual who possesses pointers has a preference for
pointers. ’Tis his fancy—his hobby, and that gentle leaning towards one
breed often means the fellow’s antipathy to another breed.
In a land or country that has been indifferently cultivated or is wild,
there are several kinds of burrs that inconveniently fall at the very
time when the hunting or shooting season begins. Some say that the
pointer, because of his short coat, will not be so troubled with these
prickles as will the long-coated setter, which is feathered on the legs
and picks up the burrs wherever he may go. On the other hand, the setter
admirer avows that the feathered and better protected foot of the setter
saves him from being lamed so often as the clean and unprotected footed
pointer. So it will be seen that these preferences are mostly imaginary
and may be traced to fancy.
On the Continent of Europe we find many kinds of most useful dogs; but
both the pointers and setters are only modifications of the old hunting
dogs that came from Spain. There are rough-haired and smooth-coated
pointers in Germany, and they are very handsome animals with excellent
formation and with hunting qualities of the highest order. The griffons
of France, Holland and Belgium are particularly good dogs; rough and
ready in appearance, with excellent brains and great scenting powers. In
him we will recognize a lot of hound blood which may have come from the
otterhound or the hounds of Vendée. But they are just the sort of dogs
that a man wants for rough-shooting in the woods or swamps. The griffon
is an active dog, does not throw his tongue when immediately close to
game or in sight of it, as does the hound. The griffon makes a good
woodcock, “partridge” and duck dog; and as such he has been found of the
greatest use in America. The griffon is a good dog in the water as well
as on land, and in this way he proves himself a thoroughly serviceable
all-round sporting dog. The wolf-hounds of Russia are most useful dogs,
and as their name foretells, they are used as wolf-coursing dogs. Three
are slipped to the wolf after he has been driven from cover by foxhounds
or beaters. When they come up with their game they bump into the quarry
and at the right moment lay hold of the beast by the neck and hold him
until the hunter arrives and either dispatches the game with a pistol or
knife, or placing a stick in the wolf’s jaws, twists a rope around the
muzzle and neck, and thus preventing him from accomplishing any harm,
captures the creature alive and practically uninjured. The Russian
wolf-hound is the best killer of any of the coursing dogs. Like a
bulldog, he holds on to what he seizes; his jaws are very powerful, and
it is because of this tenacity that the Russian wolf-hound, or borzoi,
as he is frequently called, is used for crossing purposes on the English
greyhound and the Scottish deerhound or on the progeny of these two
breeds, for the purpose of producing what is known as the “long dog” of
the Canadian prairies, where he is used principally for coursing and
killing the coyote. The Russian wolf-hound has also been successfully
crossed on to the deerhound in Australia, either for straight out
kangaroo dogs or dingo killers. The Russian wolf-hound goes to the
throat of his enemy, and such a dog is required for the prompt killing
of dingoes. The long and strong limbs of the kangaroo are means of
defense, both as propelling powers in his long and swift bounds or jumps
and for fighting when it comes to the more serious defense as against
dingoes or the domesticated dogs, hence the kangaroo dog is taught to
attack from behind.
The slugi or greyhounds of Arabia, Persia and Egypt may be noticed. In
these we will find small examples of the Russian wolf-hound, but they
have down or setterlike ears as opposed to the half-cocked or fully
pricked ears of the Northern dogs. The dogs of the near East have
generally long feet and these are feathered, as are their ears, legs and
tails. They are used to course antelopes and hares, and one of the most
ancient of sports is to not only course the antelope with these slugi,
but at the same time fly hawks at the fleeing buck, which has the
advantage over the dogs in sandy places and over stony or rocky ground.
The big and somewhat picturesque greyhounds of Afghanistan are large
dogs much after the form of the near Eastern dogs; they are used for the
same purposes, and because of their surroundings in high altitudes, they
grow large and woolly coats to aid them against the vicissitudes of the
cold climate. In India, indeed, all over Asia, the different gun dogs
generally associated with the British Isles are used and they cannot
very well be done without on the small feathered game which is
plentiful. In Japan and China the pheasant shooting is very good, and
Americans who have gone over to shoot in those countries have taken
their dogs from this country with them and have found them to accomplish
all that was required of them.
If we leave Asia and continue our wanderings and huntings to the South,
and reach Africa, we will find plenty of work for our hunting hounds,
our coursing dogs and gun dogs. The slugi or greyhounds were the most
valued dogs of the Pharoahs. In the ancient monuments the dogs’ places
are at the sides of some great personage. It would appear that the
tastes of the Egyptians of old were exactly those of the ancient
Britons, for there is an old Welsh saying which states that “a gentleman
is known by his horse, his hawk and his greyhound.” The slugi in its
native or home state is now principally to be found in its purity among
the Bedouin Arabs. They place the greatest value on these dogs, and they
are as difficult to obtain from the wandering Arabs as are their
thoroughbred horses. Furthermore, there is an Arab saying that the most
valued of all things among the highest of these nomads and hunters are
“his horse, his slugi and his wife’s earrings.” The Arabian greyhounds
are primarily valuable for coursing antelope in sandy countries and
where the sun is felt with all his power. They also thrive in temperate
climates.
[Illustration:
_Incident in a Waterloo Coursing Meeting_
]
Our old friends the pointers and setters are used in Northern Africa, as
they are in the South and the East, the West and Central of that
enormous and game-holding country. American foxhounds have been found
most useful running on the trail of the lion; furthermore, they have the
good sense to keep away from the great cat when it comes to close
quarters. These hounds will soon tree a cheetah and the rifles or the
arrows of the natives will accomplish the rest. In Africa, generally,
there is much bird life, as that term applies to partridges, snipe,
quail, etc. In that country there are several small and dangerous
snakes; but it has been found that the dogs’ sagacity has been such that
they, of their own initiation, immediately become alive to the dangerous
natures of these reptiles and that they will return to the shooter when
they get near a snake, either in the grass or on a branch overhead.
Greyhounds are used in Africa for coursing the smaller bucks and hares,
and such dogs, fleet of foot and able to run down an antelope, may be
bartered “up-country” for produce of great value, the natives,
especially the chiefs of powerful tribes—practically nations—having been
known to give mining and other concessions where first class dogs have
been given as presents.
There is a great deal of variety in the Australian shooting and the bush
life of that lovely country is entrancing for the lover of nature and
the observer of mammals and birds. Pointers and setters are used in just
the same way as they are anywhere else. Quail are plentiful and the
varieties of numbers of wild fowl are beautiful and often countless. As
for hares, in some places they are almost as common as the rabbits; and
hares are three times more prolific in that balmy country than they are
in climes north of the equator in Europe and America. Coursing is a
great sport there and is a means of much speculating or wagering among
Australians and New Zealanders. New Zealand in many climatic instances
and country surroundings is very much like England, and game has been
imported and the different societies and clubs have done much to
acclimatize, breed and protect game. Here is a country where springer
spaniels could be more in evidence and worked with advantage. A good
trade should spring up between New Zealand and California for gun dogs
and greyhounds. The passage is one of less than three weeks, and the
freight inconsiderate. All over South America gun dogs and greyhounds
are required. There is some shooting in New Guinea, but the bush is very
dense and the natives not always agreeable to the visitation of the man
with a gun. Some very nice dogs are to be found in the Hawaiian Islands,
notably at ever-glorious and salubrious Honolulu, the Paradise of the
Pacific. And within a few days’ hail is the Golden Gate and the
ever-bountiful lands that slope down to the North Pacific and the
longed-for port by the voyagers from the far East and the farther South.
Here, of course, we will find gun dogs in great variety, and many
greyhounds. Some years ago several of the best running dogs in England
were imported by sportsmen in California. And that stock is in the
Golden State now. Gun dogs are not only esteemed as gun dogs or for
their work, but also for their good looks. The English setter is bred in
all his attractive loveliness and usefulness all the way up the Pacific
Coast as far as British Columbia. And it is in the last mentioned
province that some of the most beautiful of the blue-ticked, long and
silver silk-like coated setting dogs have been bred. Taking the whole of
the North American Continent we will find it one abiding place for gun
dogs of the highest merit; and as it is well known, Americans and
Canadians have always been circumspect and generous in their
importations of gun dogs from Europe, and, consequently, have possessed
themselves of specimens that are not only good to look upon, but easy to
train and delightful to shoot over.