Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-10-21
st. Bernard Dogs.

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The breed of st. Bernard dogs Is a
very old one indeed in its native Swift
zeriahd. The monks OF the order of st.
Bernard, when they first settled in their
monastery to carry on there their work
oi self denying mercy, found that they
could hardly go on with it unless they
could find some band OF efficient help
ers; accordingly they began TO search
out and train certain large, powerful
dogs of the country. Experience soon
proved that the worthy fathers had
chosen their friends Alright; constant
companionship with men developed in
The dogs an intelligence which fell little
short OF reason; firm but gentle discip-
line showed him to be capable OF the
most complete self-restraint; he ex-
hibited a vast capacity for attaching
himself to individuals; his perfect tenn
per made him safe and trustworthy
guardian for a woman or child. Thus
year after year the st. Bernard lived on
in his mountain home doing noble work
there.
The chief reason, perhaps, why he
has so quickly made his way in general
society is his singular aptitude for
family life. In spite of his immense
size, he is, most essentially, house pet !;
he Is born gentleman in all his tastes
and habits; very little training will
give him the most perfect manners; his
heavy body renders him not at all averse
to sedentary hours of doing and medi-
tation upon a hearth-rug; his fine,
placid temper makes him an excellent
children's playfellow. He is also, by
nature, friend of man and "A lover of
mans company; that what enables
him to do, with such generous free. will,
his work OF mercy among the mountain
SHOWS: and that Is what causes him, in
domestic life, to be never so happy as
when he is sitting in room filed with
people. or lying close to his masters
side. His extreme sociability is, at
times, somewhat Of a trial to his neigh
bors, for if for any casual reason he is
banished from the house for while TO
shed or stables, his loud and prolonged
lamentations and his angry, impatient
barks cause the air for no small distance
round to be filled with anything but
sweet harmonies.
There are two distinct breeds of st.
Bernard dogs-the rough and the
smooth. The monks prefer the smooth,
because in their mountain excursions
the movements of these short-haired
dogs are, of course, less impeded by con-
gealed ice and snow hanging about them
in stifiening clots and Jumps than those
of their thicker-coated brethren; but in
other countries they enjoy abou. equa
popularity. There is certainly great
charm for the touch of master or mis-
tress in passing the hand through a
rough St. Bernard's coat; rough though
it Is called. 1t is like lingering a vast
mass of the richest and finest silk. On
the other hand, IL he is taken out for a
winter country walk, he comes home
with dress of plastered mud that his
smooth relation would never have IN
wear.
A st. Bernard dog SHOULD be from
twenty-eight TO thirty-one inches high,
and should measure in length, from
muzzle TO tip OF tail, some six feet; his
color should be tawny orange mixed
with white. In the smooth breed a
white collar round the neck is regarded
rs mark of good family and pure blood.
In the rough breed the orange should
be of n very deep hue. The points OF n
real st. Bernard are immense, very
strong, wide pave, huge limbs. deep
lips, broad head, large dropping ears,
brown eyes, which, though not very big
and full, atone for their want OF size by
their depth of thoughtful intelligence,
and long curling tail, which is always
in active, laxative movement, NJ d
which, when its owner is in high spirits,
imperils greatly the safety OF glass and
china on bracket or side board. To
these marks of aristocracy are added. by
some people knowing in the breed. dew
claws on the hind feet, but judges differ
as to whether these latter are or are not
indispensably necessary. For a dog OF
his size and strength, the St. Bernard
needs careful feeding; If overcrammed.
or allowed to overcram himself, which
he will do, like all the canine f.mily, he
Is liable TO bad attacks of indigestion.
HdTper's Weekly.
Musk.