Page:The power of the dog.djvu/62

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conformation. The rough coat would be Nature's method of compensating for the rigours of climate.


The Scottie is a stout hearted little fellow with plenty of pugnacity, qualities which stand him in good stead when, in his native land, he is asked to turn the fox out of his lair in the rocks. The task is not always easy, but the labour in which he delights physics pain, and he proceeds with zest to bring Reynard to his master's gun, for in Scotland vulpicide is no sin. In the rough country hounds are useless, and foxes are to be kept under or they will become a nuisance. In the South we have no better occupation for this solemn looking little man than to win prizes for us on the show bench, or to act as a companion for us in our homes and on our walks. This he does with much fidelity, winning his way into our hearts by his pleasing manners. In habits he has a good deal of independence, which calls for care in his early training if we would have him all an inmate of the house should be. He has the merit, too, of attaching himself exclusively to master or mistress, without the spaniel-like fawning upon strangers which may at times be very provoking.


English folk are very acquisitive, annexing dogs from all parts of the habitable globe. Why they should have been so long in finding out the Scottish terrier is one of those things which cannot well be explained, and when they did decree that he was worthy of