225 



, THE DOG AND ITS ANCESTORS. 



That the domestic dog has been held in 

 high esteem by mankind from the earUest 

 times, is shown by written records and 

 mummified remains obtained from coun- 

 tries situated widely apart. The state- 

 ment occurs in the Zendavesta, that "the 

 world. exists through the intellect of the 

 dog." Cuvier wrote that "the dog is the 

 completest, the most singular and the 

 most useful conquest that man has ever 

 made * * * each individual is devoted 

 to man and remains attached to him even 

 unto death ; and all this springs not from 

 necessity nor from fear, but from a true 

 friendship. The dog is the only animal 

 that has followed man all over the globe." 



Egyptians monuments dating back 

 3,400 years B. C, show several varieties 

 of dogs, most of them being allied to the 

 greyhound. Carved records of a later 

 period portray the mastifif, a turnspit and 

 a form closely resembling the hound. 

 Without question the dog was domesti- 

 cated in Europe previous to any histori- 

 cal record. His remains are found in the 

 kitchen-middens of Neolithic times and 

 an increasing size in the animals is no- 

 ticed through the Bronze and Iron ages 

 in Denmark. Remains of the Neolithic 

 in Switzerland disclose skulls closely re- 

 sembling our hounds, setters or spaniels. 

 The Americans had indigenous dogs be- 

 fore the conquering Spaniards introduced 

 European species, and mummies of dogs 

 are found in the oldest Peruvian tombs. 



All this goes to show that the differen- 

 tiation of the dog took place at a very 

 early date. As in the case of man, the 

 link is missing, but the ancestry is cer- 

 tain. Without question the varieties of 

 the dog originated in domestication and 

 inter-breeding of different species of 

 wolves living in various parts of the 

 world. 



The dog family is divided into three 

 groups. First, the wolves or wild dogs, 



having a round pupil in the eye and a 

 short tail. Second, the foxes, which are 

 characterized by a slit-like pupil and a 

 long bushy tail ; and, third, the long-eared 

 dogs which inhabit eastern deserts and 

 possess more numerous and a different 

 set of teeth than the other groups. Con- 

 sidered as a family they are distinguished 

 by a lean body, small head, the slim or 

 long legs terminated by small paws fur- 

 nished with strong but not retractile 

 claws. The fore paws usually have five 

 toes while the hind paws are always lim- 

 ited to four. As the dogs do not live ex- 

 clusively on animal food they are not as 

 savage as the cats, neither do they pos- 

 sess the "soulless expression of face so 

 characteristic of the felidae." 



While most of the dog family are 

 gregarious, certain forms lead lives that 

 are solitary or nearly so. Other species 

 are nocturnal in their habits, while yet 

 others burrow in the earth for shelter or 

 protection. All bend the joints of the 

 legs in walking, all possess great speed 

 and endurance, and without exception 

 are good swimmers. 



Intellectually, dogs are more highly de- 

 veloped than any other brute animal. 

 Many forms act with a rational delibera- 

 tion and follow carefully thought-out 

 plans. The senses are wonderfully devel- 

 oped. The sense of smell is marvelous 

 in many forms, while strength of eyesight 

 distinguishes others. 



Of the three groups mentioned, the 

 wolf without question was the ancestor 

 of the domestic dog. In the German 

 mythology, he was consecrated to the 

 god Woden, but when Christianity recon- 

 structed old beliefs, Woden was meta- 

 morphosed into "The Wild Hunter," and 

 the wolves became his attending dogs, 

 which finally were evolved into the 

 ghost-like wolves of nursery and fable. 

 The wolf has all the attributes of the dog 



