ALSATIAN DOGS.

Evening Star, Issue 21819, 7 September 1934, Page 3

ALSATIAN DOGS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —“ Musterer ” states that he had Alsatians which did not come up to the standard of the collie. Because he did not make a success of the Alsatian, does that signify that where he has failed others have ■ failed also ? I quoted a big sheep farmer who has made more than a success of things. Why should a lady farmer of Dipton replace her Alsatian, who was run over, with another if they are not successes? The greater part of “ Musterer’s ” letter deals with the wolf-cross. He calls the Alsatian a wolfhound, which is ridiculous. A wolf-dog (i.e., a hybrid) does not and can not exist as a breed of dog. “ Musterer ’ states the Alsatian was only created in 1887, which is again Wrong. It came into prominence as a sheep dog in Germany in 1607. In 1701 breeders and old Roman farmers preferred the white Alsatians so that their sheep would be protected more from the attacks of wolves. The German Alsatian Sheep Dog Club was formed in 1899 with a little over thirty members. In 1922 the membership was over 45,000. If “ Musterer ” were to study the wolf and the Alsatian he would find a vast difference. In the Alsatian the eyes are at a right angle, as in the human being. In the wolf and its descendants the eye is very oblique and placed in the direction of the nose. The skull of the Alsatian shows a marked difference from that of a wolf. Tho wolf’s skull is more angular, the eye is very oblique, and the forehead flat. If there was wolf blood in the Alsatian, no matter how far back, it would show in the formation of the skull. I Will also challenge “ Musterer ” to publish names and addresses of farmers who have lost sheep through worrying by Alsatians, and for every case I will give a farmer’s name and address who uses Alsatians for sheep and cattle. Will “Musterer” explain why the Poverty Bay Farmers’ Union and the Waikato A. and P. Association favour these dogs?—l am, etc., Fair Plat. September 6.