THE RELIGION OF NATURE 



vived in the struggle for existence by evading 

 unequal combat. 



A dog's exhibition of distress when separated 

 from its master and mistress is, again, only the 

 working of the strong instinct of the gregarious, 

 hunting animal, needing the primary factor of his 

 life, namely, a leader to follow. Animals which 

 hunt in packs, like the wild dogs, have been able to 

 survive in the struggle for existence simply be- 

 n^ cause instinct always taught them in no circum- 



" stances to become separated from the leader of the 

 pack. They might change leaders, as a domesti- 



7 cated dog may change owners ; but, unless its 

 instinct has somehow been perverted, a leaderless 

 wild dog or an ownerless tame dog ought not to 

 know a moment of rest until the great gap in its 

 life has been filled. 



Again, all those signs of shamefaced self -con- 

 sciousness as we interpret them in the case of a 

 dog who has committed an offense are habitually 

 shown by all dogs, wild, half -wild, or tame, when 

 they come into the presence of a 'more powerful 

 animal of whose temper they have reason to be 

 doubtful. You may witness the whole performance 

 any day in the meeting of a small dog and a big 

 dog in the street. Whether the signs are used 

 in a cringing advance or a shrinking withdrawal, 

 they are exactly the same instinctive motions as 

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