ALSATIAN DOGS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22400, 22 April 1936, Page 17

ALSATIAN DOGS

Sir, —The origin of the so-called Alsatian dog is explained in a letter which appeared in the London Spectator a few years ago. In this, the writer, who had lived in Brittany, states that she "used to hear a good deal about the wolves which were said still to linger in the mountains round Carhaix, and the strange, fierce breed of hounds, half wolves themselves, which were used to hunt them. The hounds were partially bred from wolves. The wolf cubs were captured young, and mated with a purebred hound. The progeny from this first cross was useless in the pack—too ferocious and unbiddable. But a second cross with a purebred hound gave splendid results from the point of view of a French chasseur. This would be in the "sixties" and •'seventies." The wolf strain in these Alsatian clogs must be obvious to anyone of ordinary common sense, apart from their "yelp" when excited. Their only fitness is for the hunting of wolves and similar cunning and swift-footed wild animals. They should not be permitted in any settled and civilised country like New Zealand. E. F. Warren.