Dogs and All about Them

Not merely as a showman's dog has he distinguished himself. He is something more than a mountebank of the booths, trained to walk the tight rope and stand on his head. He is an adept at performing tricks, but it is his alertness of brain that places him apart from other animals. There is the example of the famous Munito, who in 1818 perplexed the Parisians by his cleverness with playing cards and his intricate arithmetical calculations. Paris was formerly the home of most of the learned Poodles, and one remembers the instance of the Poodle of the Pont Neuf, who had the habit of dirtying the boots of the passers-by in order that his master--a shoe-black stationed half-way across the bridge--might enjoy the profit of cleaning them. In Belgium Poodles were systematically trained to smuggle valuable lace, which was wound round their shaven bodies and covered with a false skin. These dogs were schooled to a dislike of all men in uniform, and consequently on their journey between Mechlin and the coast they always gave a wide berth to the Customs officers. On the Continent Poodles of the larger kind are often used for draught work. There can be little doubt that the breed originated in Germany, where it is known as the Pudel, and classed as the Canis familiaris Aquaticus. In form and coat he would seem to be closely related to the old Water-dog, and the resemblance between a brown Poodle and an Irish Water Spaniel is remarkable. The Poodle is no longer regarded as a sporting dog, but at one period he was trained to retrieve waterfowl, and he still on occasion displays an eager fondness for the water.