396 



THE ZOOLOGIST. 



I may here I'emark, by way of parenthesis, that in all truly 

 wild dogs the ears are erect, the tail pendent or drooping ; while 

 pendent ears and a recurved tail invariably indicate domesticity. 

 It is not difficult to understand how this change came about. 

 A wild dog for its own safety is ever on the alert, and depends 

 much on its keen sense of hearing. The familiar expression, 

 "pricking up the ears" suggests how much the muscles of the 

 ears must be exercised and strengthened by daily and hourly 

 necessitated use of them. In a domestic condition, a dog 

 becoming attached to an owner and his friends, and growing 

 accustomed to the approach of strangers without molestation, 



Fig. 1.— Egyptian Dog. B.C. 3700. (Birch, I.e.). 



would gradually lose his constant apprehension of danger, would 

 consequently cease to prick up his ears, and the muscles of these 

 gradually becoming weakened would fall into disuse ; until, at 

 length, from being semi-erect they would become completely 

 pendent, and this peculiarity would become more and more 

 marked in succeeding generations.* 



Then, with regard to the tail, we know what an index of 

 temper it is in the dog. When an animal puts his tail between 

 his legs, or wags it violently from side to side, we know as well 



* This want of power to erect the ears is esi^ecially noticeable in Spaniels 

 and certain long-eared hounds like the Bloodhound. 



