"if cats had wings, larks would be expensive" - russian proverbs

From a 20th-century collection of 1200 Russian proverbs comes this selection, none of which I think I've seen before.

• Manure does not shame the field.
• The horse is often wiser than its rider.
• A stupid dog is not a tiger.
• The dog that likes to eat partridges is of no use to the hunter.
• If you deal with dogs, learn how to bark.
• The cat saw the camel and immediately arched its back.
• Old mice like fresh lard.
• If the cat can't eat the fish with its mouth, it will eat it with its eyes. (Too true - curator)
• A wet poodle does not fear water.

-- Langnas, Izaak Abram, 1911-. 1200 Russian Proverbs. New York: Philosophical Library, 1960.  Passim.