0 The History Perspective: Dog Care

Sage advice from a dog book about treating a sick animal:

"A change of air and diet will sometimes renovate when all remedies fail: a change from city to country, from greasy meat to fresh milk, from a confined yard to the green fields, will generally revive him without the aid of medicine."

Q: From which decade does this advice originate?

a)    The 1960s

b)    The 1860s

c)    The 1760s

To help you make up your mind let's take a look at some further advice. This time about inadvertent harm done to lapdogs by coddling them too much.

"Nursing in the lap is injurious; not of itself, but the animal is thereby subjected to constant chills, in emerging from a snoozy warmth to a cold carpet or chilly bed. A dog accustomed to the lap is always shivering after it."

 

This lapdog may be in danger of chilling 

Sounds like common sense, if a little extreme. What the author is saying is that pet dogs are done a disservice when treated like toys rather than dogs. A valid argument. Some more common sense along the same lines…

"The tenderly-nursed pet is affected by every change of atmosphere, and subjected to a variety of diseases unknown to the dog that has been hardened since his birth. I ask you, then, neither to stuff nor starve; neither to chill nor burn."

I for one, agree with that. But perhaps the next statement is more controversial, especial amongst owners of dogs that are "faddy" eaters.

 

Oh dear, another lapdog in danger

"Lack of appetite, so common to pampered favourites, is generally the result of an overloaded stomach and disordered digestion. This is easily cured by medicine, but more safely and simply without it. Fast him for twenty-four hours; after which , keep him on half his ordinary allowance. If this agrees with him, and he keeps in fair condition, continue the regimen."

That said, the author isn't totally oblivious to the fact that some small dogs are more delicate than others – especially when it comes to bathing.

"Great care should be taken in the washing of delicate dogs. When this operation is performed, they should be rubbed perfectly dry; after which they should be covered, and remain so till the shivering has completely subsided."

 

Cover the dog until shivering subsides

Have you guessed the decade yet?

To give you a helping hand, let's look at some of the other events that took place the year this book was published.

-       Charing Cross railway station, London, opened for the first time

-       Overarm bowling was ruled as legal in the game of cricket

-       On the 11^th and 12^th of March the Great Flood of Sheffield took place, with loss of life

And these final clues are a bit of a give away

-       The serialization of Charles Dickens' "Our Mutual Friend" began

-       Lord Palmerston was the British Prime Minister and Queen Victoria was on the throne.

 

An illustration from Edward Jesse's
"Anecdotes of dogs"

Yes! You guessed it, the correct answer is (b) the 1860s – or 1864 to be precise.

In 1864 Edward Jesse's popular book "Anecdotes of Dogs" was published – and I'm pleased to say it is still available (as an eBook) a century and a half later – although he views are perhaps a little outdated, the book is still a joy to read. 

Detail: The History Perspective: Dog Care

0 A Cur : A Compliment Not a Curse

"A dog of mixed type, especially one that is frightening or fierce." Oxford Dictionary

Times and language change.

Last night, whilst reading "Anecdotes of Dogs" – a charming book written by Edward Jesse in 1858, this was brought home to me in the table of contents. Reading through chapters listing dog breeds, nestled between "the Great Danish dog" and "the Lurcher", was "the Cur".

I am more familiar with "cur" being used in historical fiction as an unflattering curse, as in "You cur, unhand that woman!" but it seems in Victorian times (and presumably pre-dating this) a cur was a type of purpose bred cattle droving dog. Admittedly a cur was of mixed ancestry, but he was a noble working dog all the same.

I decided to skip straight to the chapter on curs, and indeed found out that this forgotten strain of dogs were shot through with fine instincts and loyalty to their owners- far removed from the modern implication.  

The first (true) story related by Mr. Jesse concerns a merchant's shop in London. A large box properly labelled and seemingly in order, was delivered one evening to stay their overnight and be shipped off with other goods in the morning. A customer and his cur entered the shop whereupon the dog set to sniffing the box and then barking at it with intent to draw attention. This led the merchant to investigate the box, at which point he found a boy hidden inside tasked with the job of letting in his fellow felons after dark, in order to plunder the shop.

Another moving story is that of a pregnant cur. This bitch belonged to John Lang, Esq, who used her to work his cattle. One day, large with pup, she went into labor whilst working the cattle. She gave birth on the moor, concealed the puppies in a gorse bush and went back to work herding the cattle back home with all diligence. Only once had she handed over her charge did she return to the puppies and brought them home by the scruff, one by one. In Mr. Jesse's account he notes how Mr. Lang preserved the entire litter so as not to distress so faithful an animal (this seems to imply that he might otherwise have destroyed some of them!)

 

The gates to Portsmouth dockyard - circa 1901

Our final tale involves the aptly named "Trusty". This cur belongs to a workman employed in Portsmouth dockyard. The man's wife prepared his meal every day, tied it in a cloth and placed it in a hand-basket. The dog was trained to carry the basket by the handle and cover a distance of a mile or so to deliver it to his master. If the dog tired, he carefully placed the basket on the ground whilst he rested, but growled at anyone who approached. Once he got to the dockyard, he had to wait until a porter noticed him and opened the gate.

Knocking off time at Harland and Wolff shipyard, Belfast

 On finding his master, by all accounts man and dog were equally enamored of one another, and the man shared his food with Trusty. Once finished, the laborer repacked the basket and the dog delivered it safe home again.

There now! Put's a different complexion of the word "cur" doesn't it? Based on these examples it should be a compliment, not a curse. 

Detail: A Cur : A Compliment Not a Curse