34 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 



though he may maintain his original dislike of the man who 

 has been forced upon his acquaintance, will continue to treat 

 him with a certain consideration, though it is often easy to 

 see that it is a difficult matter for him to conform to the 

 requirements of society. When we compare the conduct of 

 dogs in these regards with the behavior of other animals, 

 even highly domesticated forms, we perceive how marvel- 

 lously successful has been man's unconscious effort to mould 

 this creature on his own nature. 



Another extremely human characteristic of our canine 

 friends is shown in their susceptibility to ridicule. Faint 

 traces of this quality are to be found in monkeys and perhaps 

 even in the more intelligent horses, but nowhere else save in 

 man, and hardly there, except in the more sensitive natures, 

 do we find contempt, expressed in laughter of the kind which 

 conveys that emotion, so keenly and painfully appreciated. 

 With those dogs which are endowed with a large human 

 quality, such as our various breeds of hounds, it is possible 

 by laughing in their faces not only to quell their rage, but to 

 drive them to a distance. They seem in a way to be put to 

 shame and at the same time hopelessly puzzled as to the 

 nature of their predicament. In this connection we may note 

 the very human feature that after you have cowed a dog by 

 insistent laughter you can never hope to make friends with 

 him. A case of this kind is fresh in my experience. A year 

 or two ago I was imprudent enough to laugh at a very 

 intelligent dog in my neighborhood, he having unreasonably 

 assailed me at my house-door, where he had been left for a 

 long time to wait while his owner was within and had thereby 

 been brought into an unhappy state of mind. Sympathizing 

 with his situation, I preferred to laugh him out of his humor 



