THE DOG. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE EARLY HISTORY AND ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE DOG. 



THE DOG, next to the human being-, ranks highest in the scale of in- 

 telligence, and was evidently designed to be the companion and the 

 friend of man. We exact the services of other animals, and, the task 

 being performed, we dismiss them to their accustomed food and rest : 

 but several of the varieties of the dog follow us to our home ; they are 

 connected with many of our pleasures and wants, and guard our sleeping 

 hours. 



The first animal of the domestication of which we have any account was 

 the sheep. " Abel was a keeper of sheep." a It is difficult to believe that 

 any long time would pass before the dog who now in every country of 

 the world is the companion of the shepherd, and the director or guardian 

 of the sheep would be enlisted in the service of man. 



From the earliest known history he was the protector of the habitation 

 of the human being. At the feet of the lares> those household deities 

 who were supposed to protect the abodes of men, the figure of a barking 

 dog was often placed. In every age, and almost in every part of the 

 globe, he has played a principal part in the labours, the dangers, and the 

 pleasures of the chace. 



In process of time man began to surround himself with many servants 

 from among the lower animals, but among them all he had only one 

 friend the dog ; one animal only whose service was voluntary, and who 

 was susceptible of disinterested affection and gratitude. In every country, 

 and in every time, there has existed between man and the dog a connexion 

 different from that which is observed between him and any other animal. 

 The ox and the sheep submit to our control, but their affections are prin- 

 cipally, if not solely, confined to themselves. They submit to us, but they 

 can rarely be said to love, or even to recognise us, except as connected 

 with the supply of their wants. 



The horse will share some of our pleasures. He enjoys the chace as 

 much as does his rider ; and, when contending for victory on the course, 

 he feels the full influence of emulation. Remembering the pleasure he 

 has experienced with his master, or the daily supply of food from the 

 hand of the groom, he often exhibits evident tokens of recognition ; but 

 that is founded on a selfish principle he neighs that he may be fed, and 

 his affections are easily transferred. 



a Gen. iv. 2. 







