The dogs of the steppe are the most vulgar and worthless of all the curs in the world. They are long-haired, long-legged, long-headed, and long-tailed, and have evidently more wolfish than doggish blood in their veins. Their prevailing coloiu is a dirty grayish-brown, and, though little cared for by the Southern Russian, their number is incredible, and fully equal to what it can be in any part of the Ottoman empire. Yet the Southern Russian never tolerates a dog in his house, nor ever admits him to that familiarity which the race enjoys with us, and to which the cat and the cock are constantly courted by the tenants of the steppe. Still, whether as a protection against the wolf, or whether in consequence of that carelessness which allows the breed to multiply unchecked, every habitation on the steppe is certain to be surrounded by a herd of dogs, that receive neither food nor caresses from the hands of theii' owners, but must cater for themselves as well as they can. In spring, the season of abundance, when all the cattle and horses of the steppe run wild, the dog likewise wanders forth from the habitation of his master, and the puppies born at, that period of the year are not a bit tamer than the wolves themselves, untii the viugas of winter drive them back to the farmyards and villages. In summer, the dogs hunt the mice, rats, and soosliks, suck the eggs of birds, and learn even to catch a bird upon the wing, if it venture too near the ground ; but in winter they are certain to congregate about the towns and villages, where swarms of shy, hungry, unowned dogs, are seen lurking about, in search of any kind of garbage that may be thrown away. Dozens of them may often then be seen gathered about the body of a dead animal, and gnawing eagerly away at its frozen sinevvS.
In the country, the dogs are a subject of complaint with every one, and with none more than with those who devote some care to the cultivation of their gardens. Tlie dog of the steppe is passionately fond of fruit, and will not only devour the grapes in the vineyards, but wll even climb into the trees in search of pears and plums. The better the dog is fed, the more eager he will be after fruit, which is supposed to cool hig blood, af«er too free an indulgence in animal food.
Like the wolves, the dogs of the steppe bm-row in the ground, where they dig, not merely small holes, but roomy habitations, with narrow doors and spacious apartments, in which they find shelter against the heat of summer and the cold of winter.
Tlie half-savage state in which tlie dogs live, leads them often to pair with the wolves, and a kind of cross-breed ensues. Tlie people in the Ukraine, however, deny that the dog is ever permitted to acquire the rights of citizenship among the wolves; indeed, so jealous are the latter of the purity of their blood, that a she-wolf always destroys her brood if, on being taken to the water, they are found to lap up their liquor, instead of snapping at it in the approved wolfish fashion. In this way the wolves preserve their aristocratic blood from any mixture with that of the plebeian hounds, who are much less scrupulous. A straggling shewolf will sometimes make up a match with a soUtary cur, but after keeping house with him for a few months, she almost always grows ashamed of the connexion, runs away from her husband, and leaves him to provide for his young family the best way he can. The deserted father, on the return of winter, usually brings his hopeful progeny to his accustomed haunts, where the spurious race may always be known by their wolfish fur, their pointed ears, and the peculiar sharpness of their bite. They are much less apt to bite, indeed, than the genuine dog, but when they do bite, there's " no mistake " about the matter, and, in their partiality for mutton, they seldom fail to show themselves worthy of their maternal ancestor ; for this reason, when allowed to live, they are usually chained up. They are useful in hunting wolves, whom they attack with greater animosity than any other dogs will do ; and when old, they are usually destroyed, their skins being nearly of the same value as those of genuine wolves.