ALSATIAN DOGS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21982, 17 June 1933, Page 17

ALSATIAN DOGS

10 THE EDITOR. Sin, —I can see shortly your footnote to letters on the subject of Alsatian dogs, “ This correspondence is now closed,” because no further good will come out of lengthy correspondence on the subject. I have been a breeder of dogs and cats in the past, and my sympathies every time are with the dumb friends. The Alsatian has been very much abused. I can only compare his-temperament with that of the bulldog—a breed with which I am familiar. Either animal when excited is apt to lose its temper and forget for the moment. What about human beings? A man with a drink or two will do ail sorts of acts. The courts “fine” him or perhaps sentence him to a month or two in gaol, but’just because a woman’s cloak flicks an Alsatian in the face, oh, yes, he must be destroyed, as dangerous to the community. No, Sir, it cannot be done. I think “Safety First” must find some other outlet for his venom. Had I the means I would breed Alsatian dogs.— l am, etc.. Turtle Dove.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I must congratulate your correspondent Mr G. who so ably gives ,ug information concerning Alsatians. It is to be hoped that “ Safety First ” and “R. S.” have gained considerably by. careful perusal of this valuable letter—especially “ Safety First,” who, u with masterly pen, writes about the “halfbreed wolf in our city streets.” Such nonsensical statements are caused only by lack of knowledge and antagonism towards the breed. To Mr Collett’s enlightening letter may I add a little concerning the Alsatian’s origin and history? We find the first trace of the Alsatian in the seventh century, when a paragraph in the old Germanic law says: “The one,,who kills a sheep dog capable of killing a wolf and of depriving it of its quarry, if capable of barking loud - enough so that his voice can be heard at the second or third neighbouring farm, will be punished by a.'fine of three solidis (about 38s in English money).’ From then until ,1606 we have absolutely no documentary evidence of the breed, but in «the latter year P. C. Gessner described the Alsatian in the following manner: —“Many of these large dogs are trained to guard the house and the cattle, and they are generally called ‘dogs for the sheep.’ The ‘ schaffhunde ’ (sheep dogs) must be large, strong, courageous, and enterprising, and must possess a strong voice.” So we see that the Alsatian is by no means a recent arrival. For the benefit of “R. S./’ “ Safety First,” and-“ Public Safety” I shall quote from a . well-known authority on dogs, Hcx-r lliechelniann, who says: “ The Buglish name, Alsatian wolf dog, is a misnomer, for thii! dog has been bred without recourse to a wolf crossing. In its native country it is known as the Berger d’Alsace, and in Germany as the shepherd dog. The Alsatian is docile, thoroughly reliable, faithful, and vigilant, making an excellent guard and watch dog.” .■ The reason,’ says Strebel; why _ the Alsatian, notwithstanding its great ability, was so late in making itself known, and was for so long treated in such a “ stepmotherly ” fashion, was, first, on account of its peculiarities as a working dog; and, secondly, owing to the fact that from ancient times a kind of odium attached to the breed, with the result that shows preferred dogs of : hetter “reputations.” ■ j . ■ Let me add a few differences between Alsatians .and wolves to show their nonconnection. . The whole of the wolfs skull is more angular than that of the .Alsatian, on account of the- greater diastasis of the zygamatic arches-which form the arms of the letter “V ; the car holes are very much over the dental line, the cavity of the socket of the eye is very oblique, the. forehead is flat, without any slop and the occipital ridge is nearly completely straight. Paul Megnin, a French authority on Alsatians, declares that the idea of “the wolf having laid tlie foundation of the Alsatian is absolutely dnd emphatically false.” _ _ The opinions of these authorities, along with those of many others, are enough to persuade me of the utter ignorance of public opinion concerning these dogs, and my advice to “Public Safety, P. lll ’ e Breed,” and others is not To make such a clean breast of their stupidity and ignorance, hut-to make themselves thoroughly acquainted with the'Alsatians before condeming them. How an Alsatian mated to (mother Alsation can breed a wolf is yet to be found put, and how “Pure Breed .rets his information as to the mongrel quality of an Alsatian will be unknown forever. He declares that dogs have been making brave rescues throughout the ages, I have never heard of a Pekingese or of a Pomeranian effecting such rescues. It is quite evident that “ Public Safety suffers- from an over-imaginative mind when he refers to “ naturally inherited wolfish instincts,” and from nightmare when he writes of an “Alsatians wolfish ancestry making sheep worrying a natural instinct.” Heaven only knows how a shepherd dog will naturally kill sheep! Publie Safety ”■* writes of men, women,, and children being snuzzled over by Alsatian wolfdogs till-these latter decide whether it is a ease for friendship or wolfish attack.” This is wholly untrue unless the training of s.n Alsatian has boon sadly neglected. Then t( Pro Bono Publico conaiders it his Unquestioned duty to write, like a true statesman striving for the betterment of the common weal, concerning the various measures, etc., necessary his end. I assure "R. S. ’’ that I am no owner of Alsatians as he so thoughtfully suggests, but consider that every breed of dog is entitled to fair play and: honest judgment beforebeing condemned by persons who know little or nothing concerning the subject they write about,-—I am, etc., Fancier.