DOG. 



Peculiari- 

 ties. 



Allied 

 certain wild 



that they burrow in the earth like foxes, to pro- 

 duce their young, which ore three or tour, and that they 

 hunt in pm-k- like wolves. Their size and other pecu- 

 - are \crv imperfectly explained. 



The dog i* entirely a carnivorous animal, and in t< 

 .111; tears its prey. Farinaceous substances are readily 

 , .1 ; but roots, leaven, or fruits arc less acceptable, 

 and the bones of most wild fowl rejected. The real na- 

 ture of the animal ever betrays it>elf in seeking, and 

 \\-\V devouring, flesh when it c.in lw obtained. 

 Its teeth are calculated to break down the hardest bones 

 in .pliiiters which are digested in the stomach : and, 

 like most animals whose success is uncertain in rap- 

 turing prey, the dog can survive a long time on n 

 very slender supply. It drinks, as is well known, by 

 lapping a fluid with its tongue ; but it appears to us that 

 this N accomplished by the inverted curvature of the 

 organ, that the fluid is taken up in the edges below, and 

 not by the upper surface of the tongue. 



The female carries her young between sixty and sixty- 

 three days : they are blind during nine days alter their 

 birth, from a membrane uniting the eye-lids, and not 

 from the imperfection of the eyes. It is said that a repeti- 

 tion of the sexual union does not augment the number 

 of young ; an assertion which it would l>e difficult to 

 prove, though it is extremely probable, that the con- 

 < eption of females is immediate, perhaps instantaneous. 

 It might more correctly be advanced, that several pup- 

 pies are frequently the result of a single union ; and an 

 instance has been given, where the mother, a pointer, 

 having received two dogs of different descriptions, a 

 terrier and a greyhound, she produced two pointers, 

 two terriers, and two greyhounds ; the first and last of 

 which proved excellent dogs. The number of young 

 is exceedingly various, being from one to seventeen ; 

 which is the largest well authenticated litter that has 

 come within our knowledge, and was the offspring of 

 rrcyhound?. Generally the litter is between four and 

 ten ; most of which we are accustomed to destroy, from 

 supposing the safety of the mother would be endanger- 

 ed by rearing so many young. Possibly the dog is 

 greatly affected by domestication, but in all other situa- 

 tions nature has enabled the parent to provide for the 

 i. Hiring. 



Various other characteristics are given of the dog by 

 different naturalists ; such as the tail inclining to the 

 left, the animal running obliquely, resting on the toes, 

 going frequently round the place on which it designs 

 lying down, advancing before its master on a journey, 

 a'nd if the road divides, looking back. But the modi- 

 fications which the disposition and habits of this animal 

 undergo in an artificial state are so important, that we 

 cannot assume from them what would be its untamed 

 nature. It has been observed, however, that those which 

 have been long emancipated from human dominion, have, 

 to a certain extent, resumed the properties of their race. 

 Their ears are always erect, their bight piercing.and their 

 smell acute ; they live in numerous societies, refusing 

 the intermixture of any stranger breed ; they hunt in 

 concert, and their voice is seldom heard, unless when in 

 pursuit of prey : They then venture to attack the strong- 

 est animals, and repose immediately succeeds to the ex- 

 ertions which have procured them sustenance. 



The dog, the wolf, the fox, and jackal, are all intimately 

 allied in structure and habits. From some unsuct < 

 experiments in obtaining young from the dog and the 

 two former, it was believed that they were of different 

 genera; but later observations prove, that this intermix- 

 is practicable ; and we certainly see dogg which 



seem to betray their origin from a less domesticated ani- 



Naturalists in general ha\ c riulc.-ivnurr I to trace all 

 the varieties of the canine raee to one parent stork, which 

 is more commonly thought to centre in the she])!'. 

 dog, so called from always bring chosen as the guardian 

 of the Hock. T! is pre-eminently distinguish- 



ed by sauacity; and those of a genuii!. 

 quire education, for even while puppies they have been 

 -ecu instinctively collecting the slurp around their mas- 

 ter's feet. In South America, Don Felix A/av.i 

 quaint* us, that they are removed from the mother while 

 blind, and nursed on different e\vi - : they take the Hock 

 to pasture in the morning, and return with it to the 

 fold at sunset. The shepherd's dog is of a middle si/e ; 

 the nmr.y.lc rather slender ; the cars .short, pointed, and 

 erect. The whole Ixxly is remarkably hairy, particu- 

 larly the hips, but the face is smoother than the rest; 

 it- covering is calculated to resist the elements. The 

 tail is of considerable length, and bushy ; and the co- 

 lour of the whole animal is black, brown, or modi- 

 fications of both. Huflbn aflirm* that in France the 

 former is predominant ; we believe that it is not so 

 in Hritain. Since the days of that naturalist another 

 species has been discovered, which certainly tends to 

 corroborate his theories respecting the alioriginal stock, 

 we mean the dog of New Holland, called Dingo by the 

 natives. Considering the separation of that vast con- 

 tinent from all the civilized parts of the globe, the rude- 

 ness of its inhabitants, estranged from every art and im- 

 provement; and also, that scarcely any animals dwelling 

 upon it have l>een recognised in a different region, it is 

 not unlikely that the dog may have been preserved in 

 greater purity, or perhaps altogether free from inter- 

 mixture for many successive generations. Only a single 

 species has hitherto been found corresponding in every 

 thing excepting size ; and on comparing the figure 

 given by Mr White, Governor Phillips, and also on at- 

 tending to the minute description by M. Frederic Cu- 

 vier, the resemblance to the shepherd's dog is at once 

 irresistible. 



The New Holland dog is nearly two feet high, the 

 colour dun, but much lighter on the under part of the 

 neck, breast, interior of the thighs, and muzzle. The 

 tail is long and bushy, depressed when the animal lis- 

 tens, at other times elevated or carried straight. As 

 in those animals exposed to the intemperance of climate, 

 the hair close to the skin is short, fine, and woolly ; 

 and above, longer and coarse. The ears are short, erect 

 and always pointed forward ; and the head is carried 

 high. It is distinguished by great muscular ]>ower, 

 and uncommon boldness, readily attacking all other 

 dogs, when opportunity admits : its nature is remark- 

 ably savage, and unlike those of the old continent, the 

 domesticated (!n^ i.f New Holland seems irreclaimably 

 vicious. It seldom barks, and even does so with less 

 facility than the other dogs familiar to us. We are un- 

 acquainted with the mode of its propagation, and 

 whether it is ever found without a master, which is tin 

 genuine state in which its history is to be studied. 

 Some have l>een brought both to France and Britain, 

 which ate raw meat with avidity, but always rejected 

 fish, and however agile on the land, proved incapable of 

 swimming. 



Except in size, the skeleton of the dog of New Hol- 

 land can scarcely be distinguished from that of the 

 wolf; the teeth are the same in number, the relation of 

 the bones of the head intimately correspond, the verte- 

 brae of the tail consist of thirteen in both, and there is an 



>; ew 

 Uml dog " 



