Baker Street Elementary – Barking Up the Right Tree

by I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere October 12, 2025

“the very picture of canine indecision” [SIGN]

Sherlock Holmes frequently relied on the use of dogs in his work. Which is perhaps an homage to the very family of animal that laid him up at university and changed the course of his life's work.

He knew that dogs are shrewd creatures, and their natural abilities afforded him additional insight and information than he might otherwise gain. Consider the various uses of dogs in the Canon:

Tracking tools:

Toby (SIGN) helped track the creosote footmarks of Jonathan Small and Tonga;
Pompey (MISS), given the scent of aniseed, helped retrace the path of Dr. Leslie Armstrong

Clue-givers:

The dog that "did nothing in the night-time" (SILV) is probably the most famous dog in the Canon, aside from the Hound. Its lack of activity indicated a known suspect.
Roy the wolf-hound (CREE) indicated its owner's personality with his behavior: "snarling people have snarling dogs."
The Airedale terrier, a "faithful little creature" (LION) was affected by the same condition as its master, giving Holmes a clue as to the identity of the killer.]
The strange behavior of the Shoscombe spaniel (SHOS) indicated there was something amiss with Lady Beatrice.

Experimental subjects:

The "poor little devil of a terrier which has been bad so long" (STUD) tried the placebo and then the deadly pill from Jefferson Hope's
Carlo, the Ferguson family dog (SUSS) was not the subject of an experiment by Holmes, but by little Jackie, who was testing out the strength of poison left on arrow-tips in the household.

Is it any wonder then, that in "The Creeping Man," Sherlock Holmes made a vow:

“I have serious thoughts of writing a small monograph upon the uses of dogs in the work of the detective.”

More on the appearances of dogs in the Canon in Episode 85 of Trifles:

Let's see what dogs the boys at Baker Street Elementary...

Baker Street Elementary follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at the Baker Street Elementary website.