The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-02-02
THE NAMING OF DOGS.
Oddities in the Nomenclature Of
Various Breeds.
An Interesting Chapter on the Peculiari-
ties and Origin of CANNES of
Marked Character
istics.

Dog nomenclature isquite an interest
ing subject, says writer in the Detroit
Free Press Take, for instance, that
favorite canine known as the terrier, a
name given the breedofrom his habit of
following game into burrows in the
earth, whicn latter in Latin is termed
terra. BY way Of quick gradations the
word was metanorphosed into terrier.
A skye terrier is SO called because the
breed was once chiefly raised on the
island OF Skye, one of the Hebrides.
The celebrated Dandy Dnmont terrier
obtained its distinctive title from the
fact of its being depicted as the favorite
of a character bearing that name in
Sir Walter SCOTS Guy MannerinG."
The fox terrier was so named because it
was originally kept as an addition to
every pack Of foxhounds. Bloodhounds
derive their name from the possession
Of a peculiar power Of seeming the
blood Of a wounded animal In oltlen
times stag hunting was a favorite
amusement of the nobility, and the
dogs used in such sport--part grey
hounds and part bioodhounds were
given the name of staghounds. Fox
hounds, in like manner, were trained TO
aunt the willy animal Various exDla-
nations have been given of the origin
IF the term greyhound, some authori-
lies claiming that the prefix grey is
taken from Fratus, meaning Greek;
others that it signifies great, while stall
others say that it has reference to the
color Of the animal. In no other breed
of hounds is the blue or grey color SO
prevalent, and consequently the last
mentioned seems the most plausible.
Harriers are chiefly used in hunting
hares in England. while the title bea-
gle, applied to breed which is an IN
veterate enemy of rabbits, is probably
derived from the Celtic beag, or bite, or
the Welsh back, signifying little, they
being in reality a small species of hound.
A pointer is so called because OF its
habit of stopping and pointing at game
with its nose, while the setter gets its
name from like habit, excepting that
1t crouches instead of standing when
pointing under similar circumstances.
Newfoundland dogs Were originally ma
tives of that country and Labrador,
from which circumstance they receive
their title. In the same manner the
noble st. Demands are SO called from
the famous monastery Of that name in
the Alps. That rather dangerous breed
called Spitz or PoIneranian dogs, a va
riety of the Esqpimau, were first bred
in Pomerania, Russia, but the populaS.
name of Spitz was probably derived
from the erroneous notion that they
originated in Spit2enhergen. Spaniels,
of which there are many breeds, are
supposed to have first come from Spain,
from which circumstance is derived
their distinctive pames. Charles I. was
an ardent admirer of a small variety of
this animal, and from that arose the
designation of his pets known she world
over as the King Charles.
Mastif is the term applied TO very
large and powerful species of the canine
family, and there Is considerable con-
fict of opinion regarding che origin of F.
the word. Some claim that it is de-
rived from the italian nastino, or the
French mastin, both of which signify
large-limbed. Others, again, say its
true origin is the old German masten,
to fatten, because the mastif IS large
dog and so seems better fed than any
other. Poodle is derived from the Ger !
man pudel. puddle or pool They are
doubt the most intelligent Of /
all CANNES. The shepherd dog-called /
the collie in Scotland, from the Gaelic !
cuilean, or puppy-gains its title from
the fact Of its being used to watch |
sheep and protect them from maraud- |
ers of every description. AS to the /
derivation of the word bulldog it is
only necessary to state that at one time |
this species was exclusively used in bull
batting, and from that circumstance |
arose the name by which it is univer-
sally known. A cross between this and /
the terrier is appropriately termed the .
bull terrier.