Evening star., 1938-06-12
BY Z. Z. TAYNTON.


There is the cynical person who
claims that all tales told about Fido
are sentimental hooey. and there also
is the trusting soul who gushes on
for hours about how Fido has a spirit
ual nature. how he reasons, how SEN
sitive are his reactions. and what a
beautiful spirit he possesses.
As In all violently opposed factions,
the truth lies somewhere in between.
And often poor Truth is badly man.
gled in the war which wages over her
unprotesting body. ,..
Certainly not all the tales told about
dogs sagacity. tenderness. courage
or other virtues are Pigments Of the
teller's Imagination.
Equally certainly. not all the
tales told by proud dog downers
have any stronger basis in truth
than do many other stories re-
lated by the same owners.
Yet there are some things in dog
actions and reactions that are hard
to explain except in human terms
One dog know is very fond of play
ing with a certain other little dog in
the kennel. And although he will
play with the others, when his little
pal is present he will not leave her
alone nor let any Of the other dogs
get near her.
Recently, this dog was taken to a
series of dog shows for the first time.
He was not happy little dog at all.
But on the second day it was noticed
that every time he came near a GER
tain other little dog. he went into
ecstasies of joy. At every opportunity
he strained to get near her, licked
her face and tried to induce her to
play with him.
His Playmate's Sister!
She was profoundly bored at first.
and then even more profoundly an
noyed. His attentions to her were 50
marked that number of people
noticed and commented on them. A
study OF the catalogue revealed the
interesting fact that the strange dog
was a litter sister of the little play
mate back home in the kennel.
1t often is asked if a mother dog
recognizes her progeny after an ab-
sence OF some time. We had one who
had been raised in the house as a pet.
never had lived in the kennel at all.
and looked down on all the kennel
dogs. or so it seemed, for she would
have absolutely nothing to do with
them. Nor did she seem to be a
particularly good mother.
While she whelped her pups
without any difficulty and al
ways kept them fat and clean,
she spent the minimum Of time
with them to accomplish these
ends.
And II anybody admired her babies
she always made it unmistakable that
she was used to getting all the ad-
miration herself and saw no reason
for any change. However, months
after her pups were weaned and sold
to distant homes, If any one came
back for a visit this bitch would sniff
the apparently strange dog all over,
regard him intently for a few min
utes and then accept him on a basis
of equality she never accorded any
OF the others.
Dogs Much Like People.
The personalities of dogs are Just
as marked as are the personalities OF
people. And in dog families, as in hu-
man families. kinship is no sign of
similarity of temperament. Every
breeder knows that shy pups are Just
as likely as not to occur in litters with
bold ones. although it doubtlessly is
true that some strains are more prone
than others to reproduce shy pups.
Two puppies in one litter recently
demonstrated this forcibly. Both were
young, both had received exactly the
same treatment. both were equally
large and healthy.
They looked 50 much alike
that only their breeder could
tell them apart without careful
examination.
Yet one always was the first at the
gate when strangers came, he always
galumphed up to everybody. holding
one paw up and head cooked on the
side, asking for attention and get
ting 1t.
The other always sat back. While
he did not actually crawl under the
house when strangers appeared, he
was sur msly untnterested and looked