THE ALLEGED SNOBBISHNESS OF DOGS.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.1
SIR,—In Professor Huxley's recent work on Hume, there is this passage :—" One of the most curious peculiarities of the dog- mind is its inherent snobbishness, shown by the regard paid to external respectability. The dog who barks furiously at a beggar will let a well-dressed man pass him without opposition. Has he not a generic idea' of rags and dirt associated with fhe idea of aversion, and that of sleek broad-cloth associated with the idea of liking ?" (p. 106.) Now, is this statement borne out by facts ? I think those who are familiar with dogs will decline, upon this evidence, to accept the verdict of " inherent 'snobbishness." Dogs who belong to or associate with well-dressed persons will bark more furiously at a beggar, no doubt, because his appearance is more strange to them ; but dogs accustomed to rags and dirt will also, and for the same reason, bark more furiously at persons clothed in sleek broadcloth. Does not the charge rest upon insufficient observa- tion ?
But even if the fact as stated be accepted, would it imply "inherent snobbishness " on the part of the dog ? I venture to think not. Will Professor Huxley deny that a dog is justified in being more suspicious of a beggar than of a well-dressed man ? Surely the weight of evidence is, after all, in favour of external respectability.—I am, Sir, &c., A DOG FANCIER.
Previous page
