Doubtless dogs are much readier to respond to tone and
gesture than to vocables. Possibly the Chows understand Chinese better than spaniels English, for Chinese is a tonic language ! The most Obedient of our dogs to sound are the sheep dogs ; and their trainers issue commands alrnost entirely by a form of whistling that very closely resembles a bird's song. This is true ; but nevertheless and notwith- standing it can scarcely be denied that dogs achieve the mastery of some few words, whatever the tone in which they are spoken. They certainly, I should say, distinguish sibilants ; and for this reason, as because the subject stirs their feelings, a great many dogs understand the word " puss." A sportsman will hardly be_ found who will deny that his dog knows the meaning of 'heel," or down," or " seek," or " dead." But control experiments are needed. If the conditions at all suggest the, order, " Toe ! " will bring a dog to heel as readily as any more appropriate monosyllable. Does any dog understand as many as a dozen—as half-a-dozen—words, if isolated from a particular inflection of voice ?
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