GENETIC TYPE AND THE ENDOCRINES 39 



ance with the breeds concerned. The characters to be con- 

 sidered are strongly pronounced and readily recognized as 

 such regardless of the breed in which they occur. Only in 

 the most incidental way is this investigation concerned with 

 dog breeds from the points of interest to dog fanciers. 



However, in considering any so-called altered or modified 

 character, two basic and very important questions must of 

 necessity arise : From what is the character altered or modi- 

 fied? And what is the degree of modification? To answer 

 these questions a control standard or normal dog breed must 

 be determined, for in no other way can we have a basis of 

 comparison. This animal should approach the normal wild 

 or ancestral type dog in bodily size, characteristics and pro- 

 portions. It is also very essential that it possess, in so far 

 as we are able to diagnose, typically normal endocrine glands. 



It is not surprising to find, in surveying the great number 

 of breeds, that very few satisfy the requirements for an 

 ancestral type or normal control. The Labrador huskie and 

 other northern more or less wild and isolated breeds are 

 quite wolf-like and normally proportioned in most respects; 

 but many carry their tails in an abnormally twisted and bent- 

 over fashion lying flat on the rump. The Asiatic chow dog, 

 a wild type, and the European pug, a lap dog type, and others 

 as well, carry their tails in the same manner. This is cer- 

 tainly not an ancestral or common tail position for the dog 

 and involves modifications in both skeleton and muscles. 

 The ancient Saluki is also not a fair control, since it shows 

 unusual narrowness of type and greyhound-like structure 

 clearly associated with high metabolism and excessive ac- 

 tivity. Even the common hounds, pointers, setters and other 

 physically well balanced breeds practically all show on care- 

 ful examination slight degrees of structural peculiarities 

 which make them unfit as all-round controls for this particular 

 study. The excessive growth of skin and long hanging ears 

 in the hounds, and the loose flews or hanging lip-folds of 

 these, the setters and other breeds, might be the mild indica- 

 tions of certain conditions we were seeking to analyze. There 



