THE RUSSIAN SHEEP DOG.

Kumara Times, Issue 418, 28 January 1878, Page 2

THE RUSSIAN SHEEP DOG.

In all S'iithern, aud partly .also, in-' Russia, sheep-breed in£ is carried on upon' a scale approaching that of Australia or California.- The owners and shepherds \vw<\ au invaluable v as-■'! sistant in the huge and clever ereaUiresV specially called sheepdogs They are', shepherds born, just' as a: pure-blood setter is a hunter horn, and two or three of these noble beastsj under 'the direction of only one man, will drive out to pasture a flick of sheep df several thousand.head, and keep them-j in perfect order, never allowing them L to transgress a certain line, and ef-*j fectually keeping the wolves from them. • A good sheep dog can easily dispose of : a wolf in single combat, but there are ; several attached to each iicck. They j take up their position around it, J and the moment a sheep strays beyond ! the prescribed limits, the nearest dog; gently, but sternly, drives it Itiick. The : are mostlj r black aud grav, often immense, and always above the average size. When taken care of, their hair is remarkably.lonir and fine, but they lose this beauty in the field, for it soon becomes tangled and matted into an un- [ distinguished mass, hanging in knotted fringes often down to tlie very ground, i In a pouring autumn rain, of the kind ; that lasts whole days, you can frequently i see a sheep dog lying u.n&uicernedlv in ' the open »ir, curled up in a round hall, 'from which the water rivus down without penetrating to thn warm dry skin, protected by the shaggy, u:.couth, real» waterproof coat. These dogs ar<> great favorites, and are kept very commonly in the courtyards of country mansions, being most excellent and trustworthy watchdogs, gentle and kind, and only tierce when occasion requires, in defence of house, man, or sheep intrusttd to their care. j