DENTITION IN THE DOG. 59 



grinding action, and in breaking bones or gnawing long grass, 

 the dog may be seen to push the substance between these 

 back molar teeth. 



DENTITION IN THE DOG. The subjoined engraving (Fig. 

 26 X shows the form and position of the teeth of the dog. 



Fig. 20. 



Their number in the upper and lower jaw is expressed in the 

 following formula : 



f\ 11 f\ (\ 



Incisors, : canines,-^-; molars, - = 42. 



6 i-1 7-7 



The information we possess is furnished in Kreutzer's table 

 at page 52. Girard is the only authority on the subject, 

 and the following statement, as well as the illustrations, are 

 derived from his work. This is a subject worthy of study, 

 and I have the promise from kennels of the skulls of hounds 

 whose age is known, and by such means the observations of 

 the old authors may be confirmed or corrected. 



As Girard says, the dog is born with the eyes shut, and 

 which open on the 10th or loth day after birth. The whole 

 of the milk teeth are usually cut then, or very shortly after. 

 Between two and four months old the central incisors, and 

 often even the middle ones of both upper and lower jaw, drop 

 out, and speedily the whole of the permanent teeth are fully 

 developed, so as to complete the mouth by eight months. 



