Dogs as Home CompanionsBy A. F. Hochwalt.INTRODUCTION.
Dogs as Home Companions
By A. F. Hochwalt.
Most people are interested in dumb animals, but every normal person loves a dog; it is the heritage of the ages. The man or the woman who hates a good dog is abnormal. There is something fundamentally wrong in their psychical makeup. How often we hear of people of this class who say they can see nothing friendly or desirable in any dog; that they are all alike; vicious and treacherous. The story of the man who writes articles in newspapers and pamphlets advocating the destruction of all dogs because they are a menace to mankind is a common one in every part of the world. A story is told of one of this class—a New England money lender—who took great pains to besmirch the character of the dog in public and private. His contention was that any dog would bite, and as proof, circulated a story that a little nondescript dog actually followed him aboard a street car and bit a piece out of his leg! Perhaps this is the truth and on the other hand, it may be manufactured out of the whole cloth, but it is to be hoped that it is so, for it only proves what keen perceptions dogs have. Every dog recognizes his friends among humankind with one glance at a person’s face. The dog is a better student of human nature than any other animal—biped or otherwise—and the dog that shuns one person and loves another knows from instinct and perception how to distribute his likes and dislikes. Therefore, those who see nothing but viciousness in the canine race have no one but themselves to blame; the dog knows his enemies at sight. To that class who are dog haters, this book is not addressed and they are advised to lay it aside before going farther.
There are many, however, who love dogs, who understand them and appreciate their many good qualities, for Dogs as Home Companions, have been cherished since time immemorial. A dog is like one of the family in many a household, for those who really understand him are aware that mentally he is not far removed from the human race, and emotionally is practically the latter’s equal.
Perhaps some may smile at this assertion, but nevertheless it is a fact.
This book is for the dog lover; not he who raises dogs for show purposes or as a commercial pursuit, though that is a most laudable enterprise, but he who loves the companionship of an intelligent dog and appreciates him for his real qualities as a home companion. As guardian of the house, a faithful ally to share in the joys and the sorrows of the household; or as a boon companion of the children. In short, a dog which is, to all intents and purposes, “one of us.”
There are many people in the world, of this class, and as many more who would have a dog, if they knew how to keep one, for deep down in their subconsciousness the love of the dog is there. To those, this book may be of help; it may prove that a dog in the home is like a regenerating influence; and many a family needs regeneration.
There are still many more who feel that they would like a dog for home and children if one could be kept in the city in a satisfactory manner. It is true that the dweller in flats could not have a St. Bernard or a Great Dane tagging about with him, but in many a flat small dogs are harbored and live their lives in the companionship of their human friends as happily, if not more so, than those dogs which live in kennels.
I have no brief for the hot-house dog, however, or those that are not living at least part of the time in the open, if it is necessary to give him the entire run of the house, the best chairs to lounge upon day and night, or perchance, the center of a nice, clean counterpane in the best bedroom. That is not my idea of keeping a dog, but nevertheless there is no reason why any person should live a dogless life simply because his home is in the city.
The dog lover, intending to become the owner of the dog, should first consider the facilities he has for keeping one and after the pros and cons have been carefully gone over, when a thorough inventory of the situation has been taken, then he should decide what breed is best suited for his particular case. That is the object of this book; to investigate the various breeds suitable for city life, to point out the best way to care for the dog in health and in disease and to give such little hints about dog keeping that the novice or one-dog owner may put to good use under any contingency that may arise during the life of his pet.