I have been told that while a trained sheep-dog is so valuable to his
master, and can be so trusted by him, one that has been allowed to grow
up without any teaching or training is of little worth. The training must
begin while the collie is young, and an old hand at it says, "The first
thing to learn your pup is to mind at the word." From this beginning the
dog goes on until he seems almost to read his master's thoughts in his
face, and to watch each movement of his hand and each glance of his eye. Of
one of these dogs his master says:
"I have known him lie night and day among from ten to twenty pails full of
milk, and never once break the cream of one of them with the tip of his
tongue; nor would he suffer cat, rat, nor any other creature to touch it."
Sheep-dogs become very much attached to each other, as this story shows.
Two Scotch collies were fast friends, going everywhere together until one
of them died, and was buried on the top of a hill. The other watched the
spot, and when no one was by, actually scratched at the new-made grave, and
dug up the body of his comrade. Afterwards, when it had been buried again,
and heavy stones laid round the place, he still kept watch there, howling
piteously and eating nothing, until he died upon the grave of the friend he
had loved so well.
But while there are so many beautiful stories of the loving and faithful
and tender and true ways of dogs, we must not forget that they sometimes
show cruel and revengeful tempers, as well as something of that low kind of
cleverness which tries to deceive, and on account of which the fox has such
a bad name.
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