AMONG THE DOGS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12087, 16 August 1917, Page 6

AMONG THE DOGS.

A YELPING CHORUS. SOME DEGREES OF DIGNITY. "Dignify and Impudence" is the Oitle of ;a notable painting in which n perky little dog peeps out ot the kennel of a huge sedate mast ill, which gazed out on the world very placidly. .Just such degrees ol canine society may be noted among the dogs ranged around tho Kennel Club's show to-day. llio first thing that salutes t.ho visitor is a violent! yapping from all sides. Like tUq roar ol the sea, it is punctuate*}, by sudden silences, a ; every yelp subsides at the same moment only to break out again more furiously. This chorus will gradually subside, however, as flie animals become more accustomed to tho restraint ol their pons and weary of their etforts to break off' the chain. Just inside, the door of the show, on the left, .are som d canine statues, huge dogs that justi sit on their lia.unclnes and appear to have their thoughts m iles a way beyond the curious visitors that gaze at them respectfully. On the other Hide are tlui bulldogs, much more alive to their immediate .surroundings. These, old fellows appear to tire of standing, a,ltd -are mostly crouched, dormant rather than couchant, but/ with a watchful eyo looking ahead rather intently. Bulldogs, as everyone is learning, are very pleasant mannered dogs, amen,able to a. lit.tlo fondling, but unfortunately their stem exterior makes them the object of too much respect, except where a, wagging tail invites confidence. Undoubtedly the noisiest section of the show this morning was Llici roughhaired fox terriers, little vivacious (logs, with every luiir seeming to bristlh for a brush with a healthy rat. These little; fellows, whose little hairy faces give a suggestion of' age and. experience, madli< desperate efforts to get, off their chains for a. romp with the other dogs. in cages opposite them were tho little lapilogs, sonw/ oi ! hcni. actually snoring .a,way on suk pillows, the picture of ii,seiessnc>s. luirtlier oil •wore, the Airedales, th.e big black and tan terriers that seem so ready i'>r tha chase, and near them are tho smart littlo Irish terriers, the- Esquimaux dogs, collies, spaniels, poodles and all the other breeds that none but a dog fancier could catalogue. The alternate reserve and forwardueiss of oath class of dogs was in tie resting. Some made wild overtures for a patting, while others shrunk angrily into their corners and ignored all '.advances. A tour of the dogs in tho Kennel Club's show calls to mind a. very expressive passage written in praise of tHn dog a-s the friend of man: "The dog, apart from his beauty of form, his liveliness, his strength and his fleetness. has, abovq all, the homely qualities that endear him to man. A nature warm, angry, oYleji ferocious and sanguinary, makes the dog rodoubtable among all the a.tiimals, yet gives way in tho house-dog to the most gqutle sentiments, to an anxiety to attach himself to man and to please him in everything. He comes cringing to lay at his master's feet all lii k s courage, his strength and his talents; lie awaits his orders with ready obedience !be consults him, hj!' questions him, ho entreats him. A glance at tho eye is enough ; he reads tji<i slightest wish. Without the samo intellect as man, ln ri has the samo warmth of feeling a.nd even greater fidelity and constancy in his affections. No ambition, no self-interest, no desiro for vengeance, no fear sa,vo that of displeasing, he is all zeal, all ardour and all obedience. More responsive to the memory of good thou of ill, lie is not disheartened by the worst usage. Ho submits i,o it a.nd forgets it, or remembers it only to attach himself the more firmly. Ho licks thpi hand that comes to punish him, and, offering no resistance but his complaint, he disarms his master finally by his pationce and submission."