Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-05-26
ABOUT WATCH DOGS.
What a Dealer in CANNES Knows
from Long Experience.
Some Dogs Bark In Season, Some Out Of
Season. and Some Don't Bark at ALL
Good Points of the Bull Terrier
and the skye Terrier.


"You can have this one for nothing,
ma'a m," said the liberal dealer Sand if
he does not suit you l shall not ask you to
| bring him back Just leave the basement
door open and set the house cat at him.
| III warrant you'll see him no more"
The lady, saws New York Sun reporter,
was offended She picked up her reticule,
| which she had deposited on a char, and
haughtilyswept out of the store. The dealer
| politely held the door open and allowed a
vagrant yellow and white cur tofollow her.
He watched them until they disappeared in
the crowd Then he turned to the reporter,
who had silently witnessed the interview
''She would have given me five dollars for
that dog" he said, ..if had told her he
was well bred She is one of the many
people who fancy that the watch dog is of a
| peculiar species. Of course, anybody who
has the slightest practical knowledge OF
dogs is aware that they are all watchers.
They are the lightest of all sleepers, and
are very vigilant and quick to detect a
strange footstep in or near the house. The
| only difference in their mode of watching
| lies in their action after they are aroused.
| The common cur, such as the one who has
| just gone out with the lady, is by far the
most watchful, but he will bark furiously at
any thing; and it is not the pleasantest
thing Imaginable to have the house dis
turbed every time belated man passes
it in the night. But the barking dog is the
one that most women want. They
have horror of an animal that bites, and
only desire to be notified when robber is
about to enter or has already entered the
house. Then they can put their heads under
the bedcothes and pray that the burglar
may be satisfied with stealing every thing
he can find out side Of their door, and go
away without entering their apartment.
Of course, this end might be achieved with
much greater personal comfort in the alb
sence of the dog, when they could sleep
through the danger, instead of lying par
alyzed with terror; but they can't realize
that, and always value dog in proportion
to the noise he makes.
''The bull terrier is capital watch dog.
BE never barks, because he feels that he
can deal unaided with any burglar; and in
nine cases out of ten he is right. 1t is all
tooth with him, and a robber rarely knows
that he is present until he feels him. But
in this line of business he is not favorite
with refined people. You see, there are no
bounds to the ferocity of a bull terrier when
he is once aroused, and the lifeless body OF
a robber is an unpleasant thing for the
servants to find on kitchen floor when
they get up in the morning. l once sold
good bull terrier to the widow of clergy
man. She lived in a lonely house in West
chester County, and before she had owned
the dog week burglar climbed through
the basement window. He saw the terrier
in the dining room, and managed to Chamber
up on the high mantelpiece. 1t was Bit
terly cold night in mid-winter, and be chung
there, shivering for several hours, while the
dog hungrily licked his jaws underneath.
The lady kept no servants and when she
entered the room in the morning she was at
first terribly frightened; but the fellow
told her such ptiful story of his sufferings
that she was moved to compassion. She
gave him two dollars and good breakfast,
and allowed HIM to go away. Then she
sent the dog back to me, advising me to
shoot him, as such savage, remorseless
brute was clearly unfit to live. Bull ter
riers and the widows of clergymen have no
common ground upon which they can AMIGA
bly, meet.
~ doubt, too, whether bull terriers, faith
ful, brave, strong and watchful as they are,
have very much intelligence. Certainly
they have not as much as the Scotch or the
old fashioned Skye; l mean the big silky.
haired Skye, from which the delicate little
thing, like a miniature portrait OF his an
cestors, has been bred for a lady's lap dog.
A prominent lawyer of New Haven bought
a fine bull terrier from me about a year
ago. On the second night after the dog had
been in his possession the gentleman was
guest at supper party, and did not reach
home until the small hours Of the morning.
The terrier met him at the gate Of his or
chard, and drove him up an apple tree,
where he held him prisoner until the fam
lily arose at breakfast time. The dog had
only seen him half dozen times, and he
did not recognize him. This is danger with
all bull terriers when used as watch dogs.
They reason slowly, and when they once
reach conclusion whether 1t is wrong or
right, they cling to it as tenaciously as
though it was an oppon throat or
prowling tramp's leg, and, like gun with
an imperfect breech. they are apt to injure
their owners in an excess of zeal. Nothing
will beguile them to forget their duty while
life lasts, but their sense OF smell Is very
weak, and bit of poisoned meat thrown
over the fence is tolerably sure to clear the
course for the burglars when they arrive,
ready for business, at night
''By far the best dog for keeping watch
and ward in country house is one of the
large hght-colored, rough-coated terriers,
with as little Of the reduced breeds about
him as is possible. He need not be pure
strain, but there must be no bad blood in
him A cross of Scotch and Irish is very
good, but, 1 think, the old Skye and large
plain Scotch is better. IL should produce
dog weighing about twelve pounds. Such
an animal, without either the strength or
the ferocity of the bull terrier, has all mis-
courage, tempered with good deal Of dis
cretion. When he hears noise near any
Of the doors or windows he does not at once
begin to bark He goes cautiously TO the
place whence the sound came, and, OF
course generally finds that 1t was made by
the wind, or some harmless passer by, and
the sleepers are not aroused without rea-
SON. But when he barks you may feel as
sured that it is time for you 70 get up, for
he never gives false alarm; and II there
Is any fighting TO be done he Will take his
fun share Of it. But he IS no FOOL de can
not deal with the burglars alone, and he IS
not going to try TO do so. His bark almost
invariably frightcns them away, but If your
house i. isolated and they persist In trying
to enter it, you can safely count upon him
a. a valuable assistant. The bull terrier
allows them 10 come In before be begins
operations, while the rough-coated dog en-
deavors TO keep the door between you and
them"
A Pronunciation OF Ear ingI
lPars Cor. London News
Dr. NORM, in his work on the hygienics Of
beauty, makes dead set against earrings.
Ii numbers Of cases he has known erysip-
elias TO proceed from their use The idea
that they ara good for weak eyes he quite
disposes Of 1t IS possible he SAYS, that n
cases OF innar1ed eyes they might act as