Colonial Dog Trainer
According to
historical portraits, prominent colonial men and women (but mostly
women) often had four-legged side kicks from the canine family. Colonial
dog trainers usually trained their dogs to do not much except look good
and be friendly to their owners.
For example,
during colonial times in the 17th and 18th
centuries, the King Charles Spaniel was very popular among affluent
ladies. Colonial dog trainers taught these King Charles Spaniels
become used to being carried around in the beds, bosoms, and arms of
society’s leading ladies. The dogs were even trained to become used to
the noises of carriage riding since many were transported around in
carriages.
Sometimes colonial dogs
portrayed in portraits symbolized loyalty. If a woman had a
picture painted of her and her adored canine, it could symbolize a
reassertion of her loyalty and fidelity to her husband. (One can only
assume these feelings of loyalty and fidelity were reciprocated by the
beloved hubby.) This is because, like today, many of the colonial dogs
had an unbreakable loyalty to their owners.
In an artistic sense,
this loyalty was transferred to another loved party through painted
images. Another example of a dog symbolizing loyalty is if a dog was
painted with his widowed owner. During colonial times, the dog often
symbolized the woman’s loyalty to her deceased husband.
During colonial times
men often posed with dogs in portraits as a sign of their virility and
power. Of course, in these cases, the men never posed with cute little
King Charles Spaniels. The dogs of choice for such portraits were
usually conspicuous, large and very powerful, like a Giant Mastiff.
Dogs in portraits
during colonial times didn’t always symbolize something more than what
they were. At times, a dog in a portrait simply meant that the family
adored their pet and wanted to include him as a member of the family.
Colonial dogs,
especially the tiny ones, were often educated by colonial dog trainers
to sit still for long periods of time. The reason for this is twofold.
The first reason is so that they could easily be painted. The second
reason is more practical.
During colonial times
fleas and diseases were very real problems.
Small dogs in the presence of
colonial people kept the fleas away. This is because fleas,
if given the choice, were usually more interested in chewing on warm dog
bodies than biting into human flesh.
But most times indoor
dogs during colonial times didn’t have much practical use and were only
kept by the affluent as a sign of their status and wealth.
Copyright © 2006 Womach Brother Productions
- Colonial Dog Trainer
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