Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-24
DOGS OF HIGH REPUTE.
CLAIMS THAT THEY CAN UNDER
STAND HUMAN LANGUAGE.


A Terrier Better Than a Burglar Alarm.
Noble Traits Of the Ulmer Hound-The
Common -Hydrophobia-Pugs and
Other Pets.
"Tippie, go away; / don't like you'll"
Tippie was startled, stopped her fondling,
and sank to the floor picture of abject
humiliation. She was not accustomed to
such rebuifs.
Now can you doubt that dogs have GER
tain degree OF intellect and can understand
human languagei"
The speaker was August Berg, North side
dog fancier, and Tippie was a long bodied,
silken haired Yorkshire terrier that leaped
into his lap and attempted to kiss him.
''Tippie is better than all the burglar
alarms that were ever invented Berg con
tined ''Now that you have entered the
house by invitation she treats you as a wei
come guest. She understands that you have
been properly introduced and she can trust
you Go and be friendly with him, Tippie,'
and the sleek little terrier sprang into the
visitors lap with the utmost confidence.
What breed OF dogs possesses the highest
degree of intelhgenceH
Probably the large poodle has the most
intellect Next comes the terrier, and then
the shepherd In fact, you can tram any
dog to do many tricks If you treat him well
have dogs that ! can send to another room
for my slippers or a whisk broom, and they
well understand the order and obey it. A
dog can be easily taught to sit on a stool and
pretend TO sing to piano accompaniment.
OF course, he does little moro than whine,
but he acts as though he was singing and no
doubt thinks he is"
And what breed multiplies most rapidlyg'
II have known Newfoundland to have
twenty puppies at time, and little pug to
have nine.h
"As to cleanlinessfa
'Of the larger dogs, beyond question the
| Timer hound, better known in this country
as the German mastiff. Most long haired
dogs have certain dsagreeable odor about
them; when their stomachs are out of order
they slohber. The Timer hound does not
and in intellect he is fully the equal Of the
st. Bernard. These qualities made him sc
popular with the students at the University
of Ulm, whence he derives his name
student would rather have a dog than G
degree. These hounds are as proud as tn.
emperor noble in their bearing, and will MOI
viciously attack man, or even another dog
At the same time they know their bushes
as trained guard, and when on duty a
their masters threshold they expect TO b,
treated with courtesy. When they stand OF
their hind legs, as they have way of doing
they are as tall as the tallest man, and
burglar would as soon encounter in darl
hallway a man with a loaded shotgun as al
Timer hound weighing $50 pounds. Tn
English mastif, whom they much resembl
in appearance, Is entirely different in traits
being, like his master, sturdy, heavy AM
'loggy.'n
Have you ever handled the curF'
"Only TO treat him when sick. He doesn'
have to be bred; he grows naturally, tn
same as weeds. And yet l have a great dea
of sympathy for him. Nobody likes hir
but his master, and because he has no friend
and is Kicked when the thoroughbreds ar
petted he gets jealous. 1t is jealousy tina
makes him bark and snap at you on tn
street. Turn, snap your finger, and spea
kindly to him and he instantly becomes dc
Gle and manifests his gratitude In all m
experience have never known kind trea1
ment to fail to transform the most viciou
cur into attractable and clumsily affectionat
animal While don't like ours am sorr
for them and can't help showing it.
"Have you ever treated dog for hydro
phobial"
Il can't say that have, but have treate
many dogs supposed to have hydrophobi
that were merely suffering from ordinar
diseases, Hydrophobia is to a large exter
a bugaboo. Every time dog has fit he
supposed to have hydrophobia, and mo:
likely he is killed. Now, all dogs are subjet
to fits and from natural causes Almo
every young dog has worms and in cons
quence fits You want to treat him fl
worms and not for fits. Then he has teetl
I ing fits, tie same as an infant, and will frot
at the mouth, snap and growl as though |
had hydrophobia. Most people jump to tt
conclusion that the dog is mad and kill hin
And after he is grown he may at any tin
have a fit as the result of overheating owe
feeding, or lack of exercise, and everybod
yells mad dogr and be is shot This is q
' the result of ignorance"
D ''Whct dogs used for pets are the mo
, valuableT
r That depends largely upon the suppl
There are not to exceed dozen Xii
Charles spaniels of pure breeding in Chica,
today, ard, therefore. the King Charles
h the most expensive, the price being from 8
4 to S75. They are mostly imported. Next
:, value is the Italian greyhound, resemblil
= the English greyhound, but very mu
smaller. As they are scarce they come hig
A thoroughbred Yorkshire terrier is SON
: what rare and, therefore, costs money, a
= so does the thoroughbred small black al
tan. The pug is more plentiful and brings
lower price. And then, because the pug dc
9 not, at first sight, appear to be as intellige
as some other kinds of dogs, customers W
i try to cut down the price, though all t
d while they prefer that kind of dog to a
/. other. A pug has many lovable traits,
h anybody knows who has ever owned OIL
and if it was rare it would be consider
a very valuable. The pug is the very best
=, mothers, and like fidelity characterzes
IL in all its relations in life Chicago Times