I am always tickled to find words of high praise for any dog breed, though I have to say most of what I find in old sources has to do with the greyhound. They truly are beautiful and elegant animals, and have been thought so for two millenia, as you'll see below:
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That the greyhound is highly worthy of every attention, care, and consideration, to produce him in the highest state of excellence, I need only quote a short passage from Arrian, to show. "In figure, the most high bred are a prodigy of beauty; their eyes, their hair, their colour, and bodily shape throughout. Such brilliancy of gloss is there about the spotiness of the party coloured, and in those of uniform colour, such glistening over the sameness of tint, as to afford a delightful spectacle to an amateur of coursing; of all dogs whatsoever, the most noble and princely, strong, nimble, swift, and valiant. The most high bred greyhounds have a prominent brow, and look proud. Their tread is light, quick stepping on their toes; and they walk sideways, extending their necks like horses curvetting."
Thomas Thacker, The Courser's Companion (London, 1834), p. 157. Arrian was a Greek historian and public servant of the 2nd century AD. Do you know of any similar high words for other breeds? Want to take a stab at it yourself?
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