What breed of Baskervilles?

Many fans of classical literature and good cinema probably thought about what the Baskervilles breed was. Surely the legendary monster had a real prototype. The author of the immortal works about the great detective meant not exactly what most Russian-speaking readers and viewers today represent. Let's try to understand the issue by analyzing some facts.

Baskervilles Book Dog

Who was the Baskervilles dog? The breed of the dog in the book is not exactly indicated, but Arthur Conan Doyle left us some clues. It is considered that, describing the monster, overtaking the horror of the neighborhood, he had in mind either the mastiff or the bloodhound (hound). But if you carefully read the text, it becomes clear that the author, most likely, spoke about metis half-breed, in which there are traits of both breeds. Thus, we understand that the famous beast is half mastiff, half bloodhound. The dog is described very large (more than representatives of rocks), which theoretically could well have taken place.

Inaccurate translation

Where did the disagreements come from and why do many fans of Arthur Conan Doyle's creativity raise questions about what was the breed of the Baskervilles? Let's not forget about the language barrier. In the original work you can find the word hound , which in Russian translates as "hound" or "sniffer". But in English its meaning is much broader. Firstly, this word is often included in the names of different breeds (basset hound, bloodhound), and secondly, in a broad sense, it is synonymous with the word "dog".

The translators did not mention the hounds and the cops, but they chose this version of the translation. That's how we received from the time of the first Russian-language edition not a specific breed, and the name "Baskervilles dog" is so capacious and abstract at the same time.

Bloodhound and Mastiff

Light on the secret helps shed and professional dog breeders. Metis, whose parents are mastiff and bloodhound, is a rather rare dog.

However, some classifiers even distinguish it in a separate breed, called the Cuban (Brazilian) hound or Stapleton's dog. Behind this animal, frankly bloody words were fixed, and it's not just a triplet of "blood" (from the English "blood"). These large dogs were once brought up aggressive and cruel to use for military purposes, as well as to suppress insurrections, capture fugitive slaves and convicts. Judging by the few cases described in the sources, very few people managed to get away from the terrible chase.

In our time, the need for such a formidable dog has disappeared. Intentional knitting of mastiffs with bloodhounds is one-off. But the actual existence of hybrids only confirms the version that the breed of the Baskervilles is not at all a mastiff and not a bloodhound. The author had in mind just a cross.

Here it is worth mentioning that in those times in which the events of the book unfold, bloodhounds were long described in classifiers, and the mastiff was considered a completely new and fashionable breed. Perhaps the author wanted to beat this contrast also.

Curiosities on the set of the legendary film

When the question of what breed of Baskervilles the breed was before the Soviet cine-goers, they had to face many difficulties.

A black dog, pasted with a light reflecting film and photographed against a black velvet background, looked like a funny skinny skeleton on a film. There was no mention of any phosphorus plating (no animal would just let it happen). We even considered the idea of removing the calf in the main role! And someone suggested ... a Pekingese, disfigured by scars in fights.

As a result, the film crew stopped to sew a mask and a vest for the dog artist. And the Baskervilles played the dog is not a mastiff or a bloodhound, well, certainly not their half-breed. In the role removed the English dog - a large dog with a frightening appearance, but at the same time peaceful and intelligent.

The film crew remembers a lot of curiosities. The cunning dog did not run into the light (and it was necessary for light reflectors), walked around obstacles, stood on its paws when it was necessary to fall. And once the dog, right along with the box, sliced Solomin's birthday cake. But the artists very warmly speak about this dog, which on shootings managed to fall in love with the whole group.

Today we know what kind of dog in the movie "The Dog of the Baskervilles" (USSR, 1981). But this gave rise to another misconception, because many believe that according to the book she was a dane. In other films in the title role, various large dogs were shot, sometimes even shaggy, not smooth-haired.

However, fans of the story of Sherlock Holmes are accustomed to perceive the monster just like a Baskervilles dog, and the lack of accurate identification does not prevent us from admiring the amazing monster every time it appears in the frame or on a book page.