DOMESTIC DOGS 



From this evidence Darwin was inclined to believe that domestic dogs were 

 descended from the common wolf and the coyote, from the various local varieties of 

 the former, from the Indian wolf, from Azara's dog and another South American 

 species, from at least two species of jackals, and perhaps from one or more extinct 

 species. "Although it is possible or even probable that domesticated dogs, intro- 

 duced into any country and bred there for many generations, might acquire some of 

 the characteristics proper to the aboriginal Canidee of the country, we can hardly 

 thus account for introduced dogs having given rise to two breeds in the same coun- 

 try, resembling two of its aboriginal species." 



Mr. Bartlett, who is likewise a believer in the multiple origin of domestic dogs, 

 observes that "the fashion of hunting led, in all probability, to the separation of 

 domestic dogs into two well-known breeds, viz. , those that hunt by sight, as distin- 

 guished from those that hunt by scent ; for there can be no doubt that at a very 

 early period dogs were used in the chase of wild animals. . . . The usefulness 

 of dogs being established at a very early period would naturally lead to great care 

 being bestowed upon them, and doubtless to the breeding of them in a domestic 

 state. This would lead to the production of the many breeds and varieties that 

 have been developed, and these varieties may have been perpetuated by the mixing 

 and crossing of breeds originally obtained from distinct wild animals. ' ' 



With the extraordinary diversity existing among the different breeds of dogs, 

 it is impossible to give any general characteristics by which they can be collectively 

 distinguished from the wild species, with the exception of the habit of barking, 

 which is common to most, although not all, of the former, and is unknown, natu- 

 rally, in the latter. This characteristic will, however, distinguish other domesti- 

 cated breeds from the Eskimo dog, and also from the dingo. Very generally 

 domestic dogs have the habit of carrying the tail curled over the back, and thus 

 markedly different from the manner in which the straight " brush " of a wolf or a 

 jackal is borne. Then, again, the acquisition by some domestic breeds of drooping 

 ears is a decided difference from all their wild relatives. And an equally well- 

 marked characteristic of many domestic breeds is the distribution of more or less 

 brilliant colors in patches, in which respect they are widely different from their wild 

 ancestors. 



" Domestic dogs," observes Mr. Bartlett, "exhibit many of the habits of wolves 

 and jackals, such as the scratching up of earth with the front-feet, and the push- 

 ing back of it with the hind-feet, in order to cover up the droppings. Again, 

 when about to rest, the turning round two or three times with the object of forming 

 a hole in which to repose may be noticed in pet dogs about to lie down upon 

 the hearth-rug, which is a habit evidently acquired by inheritance from their wild 

 ancestors. ' ' 



That the dog was one of the earliest animals domesticated by man rests upon 

 abundant evidence. Summing up the evidence on this point, Darwin observes that 

 during the Roman classical period hounds, house-dogs, lap-dogs, and other breeds 

 were already well established, although it is in most cases impossible with any cer- 

 tainty to recognize the greater number from their portraits. A fresco representing 

 two greyhound puppies is, however quite distinctive ; and it appears that the 



