138 ] Animal Friends and Helpers 



things and garden crops, he could settle down at last and make 

 permanent towns and villages. Civilization, long postponed by 

 the never-ending quest for enough to eat, could at last begin. 



Man has not been satisfied merely to raise animals as he found 

 them in nature. He has carefully selected and mated stocks, de- 

 veloping in his animals the qualities that serve him best. He has 

 bred meat animals that give more meat, fur bearers that give 

 more fur. He has created different varieties of dogs over three 

 hundred are known today for practically every conceivable pur- 

 pose. Still, if he lets some of his animals go cats, for example 

 in a few generations they become wild creatures again. 



There is plenty of food for thought and talk when you take 

 your children on a family excursion to a farm and see domestic 

 animals in their proper setting, or encounter a cat, a dog, or a 

 horse on city streets. Today they are our friends and helpers. We 

 take them completely for granted. But in a distant yesterday, 

 they were prowlers and fighters whose conquest was one of the 

 greatest victories of all time. 



Dogs 



Dogs are "sniffers." They depend on their sense of smell much 

 more than on the other senses, and with good reason. The soft 

 damp skin that covers the dog's nose carries all scents to the wide 

 nostrils, which can be lifted in any direction. The upper sides 

 are slitted. This enables the nostrils to quiver, making them even 

 more sensitive to odors. 



You will notice that a dog investigates strangers by sniffing. 

 If the scent he detects has pleasant associations, he accepts the 

 stranger as a friend. On the other hand, the dog may immediately 

 turn hostile if the scent is distasteful that is, if it suggests a person 

 who has been unkind, or perhaps the odor of another dog. 



A dog will frequently rely on his nose where another creature 

 would use its eyes. If he loses something a bone, say, or a toy- 

 he does not look for it; he sniffs until he locates it. A foxhound 

 stays on the trail of a fox for many miles, guided by a scent which 

 may be several hours old. This ability has been put to good use 

 in several breeds. An outstanding example is the bloodhound, 



