THE DOG. 



CHAPTER I. 

 THE DOG AND TfS HABITS. 



Origin— Characteristics— Age, &c., &c. 



THE DOG belongs to the division Vertebrata, and 

 the class Mam??ia/ia. It is also in the order Ferce, 

 the family FelidcB, and the sub-family Cajwia, which in- 

 cludes the dog, wolf, jackal, and fox. This sub-family is 

 distinguished by having two tubercular teeth behind its 

 canine teeth in the upper jaw ; and the Canis familiaris 

 has the pupils of the eye round, while in the fox they are 

 like those of the cat, perpendicular slits, and in the wolf 

 oblique ones. Volumes have been written on the origin 

 of the dog, but our knowledge on this subject may easily 

 be summed up in one little word, 7iil; I shall therefore 

 not inflict upon the readers of this book all the various 

 arguments /r^ and con; suffice it to say, that the dog is now 

 an inhabitant chiefly of cold and temperate climates; that 

 it rapidly degenerates if transported to a very warm one, 

 as is seen in India and China, but that it will bear every 

 climate from the Arctic circle to the Equator without loss 

 of life. The dog is a carnivorous animal by nature, 

 though he will feed upon and devour any vegetable sub- 

 stance that comes in his way if pressed by hunger. In 

 his domesticated state he thrives best upon a mixed diet, 

 and is usually considered, and with truth, as omnivorous. 

 His teeth are fitted for tearing flesh, and he has no true 

 grinders suited to bruise grain ; his stomach is a simple 



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