1 DECEMBER 1917, Page 26

A SHEEP-DOG'S POWER OF REASONING.

(To TUE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOE."3 Sue—Your correspondent "F. W. S." may be assured that dogs do reason their pada/sins out, as the following personal ,experience of a sheep-dog's vows? to do so proves. All this dog's instinct

and training anent dead against the action he did Mite wimp suddenly called upon to perform a perfectly novel duty.

Same twenty years ago, on a large -farm near Wets, in Shrop- shire, we employed Al Welds shepherd who poesessed „a remar4cabLy clever ahem-dog. At the same time we had a moat morals and dangerous ball, who gave no end of trouble in getting him hack into his loose-box when he was let out of it. Du one of these oecaaions the shepherd came into the yers1 and woe asked if he thought Bob, as the dog wee named, could get the bull .41 again. The man simply pointed in the direction of the bull and said " Get him in, Bob!" The old dog rushed ,ht the hull, not at his heels, but at his nose. Xmmediately the bull lowered his head to attack the dog, who rapidly retreated into the loose-box, followed by the bull, and as lie went in the dog slipped out„and the =au ip charge, who had realised the dog's design, shut the door before the bull could turn round. In all this, 'Sir, I claim the dog showed reasoning-powera of the highest order. It was a duty he had never been called upon to perform before. All his previous training bad been to , drive " s4usep; bet ,bn Oetantly realized that be could not do it with a bull, so adopted the only possible way of imlueing the bull to follow bins into the loose-boa by barking and biting at the Isidro ame.-1 am, Sir, *.c.,