[Leica] Re: Didier's dog

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Mar 11, 2007, at 6:27 PM, lug-request@leica-users.org wrote:

> My family and me were having long discussions about what new dog we  
> want to buy. The Groenendael was evaluated, too, but the final  
> choice went to a smaller dog. We ordered a "Lagotto Romagnolo" from  
> a breeder. That's an italian truffle dog, or better said, THE  
> truffle dog there is. Looks a bit like a poodle. That will give me  
> a lot of walks, photographs, and hopefully truffles! We've had an  
> old, big and heavy Sarplaninac (Yugoslavian shepherd dog) which I  
> had bought over there before the war. But this breed is way too  
> strong and strong minded to let go out with children alone. Though  
> it was a female dog, she did not miss any occasion to show who is  
> the boss, and dominated every other dog if he did not surrender  
> immediately. Nothing special about a dog that is breeded to guard  
> sheeps from wolves, but not easy to handle in urban environments.
>
> Didier


Didier's comments about selecting a new pet prompts me to write a few  
words about the dogs that we had the pleasure of knowing in North  
Wales. For the most part, they are descendents of working dogs,  
usually Border Collies, but also a few Australian or German  
Shepherds, and Retrievers. They are honest folk. No yapping little  
terriers or frenchy miniatures here. Most of them are bigger than  
knee height and are strong enough to pull a cart loaded with lead  
ingots.

        Their most endearing characteristic is that they are extremely  
patient and well behaved. I don't know what finishing school the  
Welsh send their dogs to but it seems to be a lot better than the one  
to which they send their children. Dogs will wait outside the  
supermarket for their shopping owners, sitting quietly on the  
concrete plaza until their masters return. They don't chase cars or  
growl at passers-by. The most notice we get is a slight turn of the  
head before Bowzer returns to its contemplation of tonight's dinner  
or whatever else dogs think about.
        
        Even dogs in cars are well behaved. True, they fill up the back seat 
 
of the tiny cars that most Brits drive, but lie with their paws  
folded and view the passing scenery. When guarding the car in the  
parking lot, they don't tear up the seat or defecate on the floor,  
just sit quietly and read the Manchester Guardian.
        
        We were told that the reason that most of the family pets were  
Border Collies or similar working dogs was the economics of dog  
breeding. These breeds are known for their remarkable intelligence  
and sheep herding ability. Intelligence seems to be characteristic of  
most of the black and white collies, but a superior instinct for  
sheep herding is not. Only one or two puppies out of a litter of five  
or six have an overpowering urge to round up every moving thing they  
see. Every spring, after the breeding season, the sheep farmers visit  
the kennels to pick out the natural herders. The price of the puppy  
reflects its estimated sheep herding ability. We have seen prices  
posted on community billboards for good sheep herding Border Collie  
puppies at about ?100. The breeding kennel seconds go for as little  
as ?20. If the puppy is a descendent of a sheepherding competition  
champion, the price can get as high as a good midfielder on an upper  
division soccer team.
        
        The selected dogs make very good farm dogs but terrible pets. If, by 
 
chance, one of the herding naturals is let loose in a city, it will  
try to corral all the autos on the street with usually disastrous  
results.
        
        Once the best herding puppies are sold to the hill farmers, the rest 
 
of the litter must be disposed of. Brits, and especially Welsh, are  
so fond of their dogs that killing the unwanted puppies is  
unthinkable. A Brit would no more kill a dog than a Hindu would eat a  
cow. Letters to the London Times still brim with indignation over the  
fact that Norwegian Amundsen ate his surplus sled dogs when beating  
British Scott to the South Pole. That fact alone was enough for the  
Royal Exploration Society to deny Amundsen's claim. The race to the  
Pole was in 1912. The letters are still coming in.
        
        So instead of eating the unemployable Border Collies, as any  
respectable Indonesian would do, they are sold or given away as pets.  
They play Frisbee with the kids, fetch the slippers and newspaper for  
their masters, and keep the grouse from eating the tulips. They are  
nanny, downstairs maid and gardener's helper in one. In this day of  
vanishing household help, the Border Collie has found a new role.  
Lassie, come home!

Larry Z