train having been
originally obtained by the factory hands of Airedale in the North of
England, who thus sought to obtain a hardy dog--one not afraid of
water, and that would prove a useful assistant when out poaching either
water-fowl, hares or rabbits, occasions on which it is of importance to
carry out the work with as little noise as possible.

"This breed provides a favourite 'house dog'; they have proved
invaluable as Army Medical Service dogs, and are friendly with
children. Jocularly they are called (in Germany) Petroleum dogs ( = a
play on the name Airedale, as pronounced in German, i.e. 'Erd-oel'").

As already said, Lola's parents were the much spoken-of Rolf, the
so-called "thinking" or "speaking" dog, and Jela, no longer owned by
the Moekels. Jela seems to have been an unimportant little animal, not
even very affectionate as a mother. The litter Lola was dropped at
consisted of twelve pups; of these one died at once, and after the
vicissitudes puppies are heirs to, those that remained and have become
known to us, are Heinz, Harras, Ilse, and Lola. The first-named three
all have their different owners by whom they are being taught with a
certain amount of success--as indeed their reports have shown.

Previously to coming into my possession, Lola, had been removed from
Mannheim at an early age, and had passed through many hands,
undergoing, moreover, the most various attempts of instruction. Lack of
time and also the war, had been answerable for these changes; twice,
however, her own fidgetiness had resulted in her being deemed
unsuitable, and it was felt that the attempt had proved a failure. Even
Frau Dr. Moekel, into whose hands she had finally returned is said not
to have thought much of her, having only been able to get her to learn
"yes" ( = 2), and "no" ( = 3). I mention this, because it became clear to
me later on that the success of such teaching does not depend solely on
the patience, the love and the attention, nor even on the ability to,
or the faculty for sensing the feelings of other creatures: not on the
sympathy nor yet on the calm of individual persons, but rather on _a
particular person being suited to a particular dog_.

No matter how great the ability of both the individual and the dog may
be, should their temperaments not be in accord--every attempt will be
fruitless. For instance, I feel very sure that I could not have taught
Rolf; also that I shall never be able to get a sheep-dog (I