208 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



Ownerless In Constantinople the relation of Man 

 Dogs in to Dog is said to be quite similar. 



Constantinople. Hacklander says: "Inseparable from 

 the streets of the capital is the thought of their per- 

 manent inhabitants, the ownerless Dogs, which one 

 sees in countless numbers. Usually one gets an ex- 

 aggerated impression of things when he reads of 

 them and is disappointed when brought face to face 

 with the facts. This is not the case with these Dogs. 

 Though all travelers agree in representing them as a 

 plague, the majority of these writers are too mild in 

 their description of the nuisance. The animals belong 

 to a quite peculiar breed. In appearance they prob- 

 ably come nearest the Shepherd Dogs, but their tail 

 is not curled, and the short hair is of a dingy yellow. 

 When one sees them slinking along in a lazy manner, 

 ■or lying in the sun, he must confess that no animal 

 Jias a more impudent, I may even say, depraved look. 

 All the streets and squares are full of them; they 

 stand either in a row before the houses, waiting for 

 scraps that may be thrown to them, or they lie in the 

 middle of the street; and the Turks, who carefully 

 avoid harming any living creature, go around them. I 

 have never seen a Moslem kick or beat one of these 

 animals ; but, on the contrary, the tradesman throws 

 them the remains of his meal from his shop. The 

 Turkish Kaikshi and the sailors from the ships do 

 not have this tenderness of feeling, and many a Dog 

 ■ends his life in the Golden Horn. 



" Every street of the city has its own Dogs, which 

 hold possession of it, just as beggars have their par- 

 ticular localities in our large cities; and woe to the 

 Dog which enters a strange domain ! I have often 

 :seen a number of these Dogs pounce upon such a 

 luckless Cur and literally tear him to pieces, if he did 

 not make a hurried escape. Every time we bought 

 ■anything eatable at some corner bazaar, all the Dogs 

 we passed would follow us, and would leave us only 

 when we entered another street, where a similar 

 -escort awaited-us." 



LinncBus' The. description of the character and 



Description of life of domestic Dogs is best begun 

 the Dog. by the incomparable characterization 

 -given by the father of zoology, Linnaeus, in his pecul- 

 iarly succinct and^pertinent manner,: ''Eats?meat,'.c3,r- , 

 masses, cereals, no herbs, digests bones, vomits after 

 partaking of grass. Drinks in a lapping manner ; 

 "the nose is damp, the scent is excellent ; runs side- 

 ways, walks on toes ; perspires very little, lets his 

 tongue hang when he is overheated ; before going to 

 .sleep goes round the spot where he intends to lie ; 

 hearing keen ; when asleep, dreams. The litter of 

 Pups numbers from four to eight, the males resem- 

 bling the father, the females the mother. Very 

 faithful companion of Man; wags his tail at ap- 

 proach of owner; defends him; if owner walks he 

 runs ahead, stopping at crossings; is docile, searches 

 for lost things, makes the rounds of the master's 

 premises at night, announces the approach of people; 

 guards goods, drives Cattle from fields, keeps Rein- 

 deer together, defends Cattle and Sheep from wild 

 animals, keeps' Lions at bay, drives up game, points 

 Ducks, brings killed game to the hunter, turns the 

 spit in France, draws the wagon in Siberia. Pleads 

 for scraps at table; if he has stolen, he timidly hides 

 his tail ; eats greedily. At home he lords it over 

 all ; is the enemy of beggars, and attacks strangers 

 without provocation. Heals wounds, gout and can- 

 cers by licking the affected place. Howls when he 

 hears music, bites at stones which are thrown toward 

 him; feels depressed and has an unpleasant odor 



before a thunderstorm. Suffers from tape-'svorm ; 

 propagates rabies. Finally gets blind and gnaws 

 his own limbs. The American species forgets how 

 to bark. Moslems abhor him. Victim of dissect- 

 ors for observing circulation of blood, etc." 



Character and This description needs nothing save 

 Life of elaboration. All domestic Dogs are 



Domestic Dogs, practically alike in their mode of life 

 and conduct, so long as the influence which the hab- 

 its and customs of human beings exert over them 

 does not change their manner of living. 



Dogs are both diurnal and nocturnal animals, are 

 equally well endowed for light or darkness, and are 

 as active and lively by day as by night. When 

 allowed to do so, they hunt in the daytime as well 

 as after nightfall, showing a predilection for uniting 

 into packs. One of the essential traits of their char- 

 acter is love of society, and this has a most decided 

 influence on their habits. They eat all kinds of food 

 that Man eats, both animal and vegetable food, and 

 are indifferent as to whether it is cooked or raw. 

 They are most fond of meat, especially if it has 

 begun to decompose a little, and they greedily 

 devour carcasses. Some of the breeds prefer meat 

 to any other food, others esteem it less highly. Of 

 cooked foods they prefer that which is of a wheaten 

 nature, especially if it be sweet; and those Dogs that 

 eat fruit prefer the sweet to that which has an acid 

 flavor. Bones, good broth, bread, vegetables and 

 milk are the best food for a Dog; fat and too much 

 salt are harmful. He can also thrive on an exclu- 

 sive bread diet if he is trained to eat it at regular 

 times. His food should never be given to him hot, 

 but should always be lukewarm and served to him in 

 a clean dish. An adult Dog receives sufiScient nour- 

 ishment if he eats his fill once a day, but it is better 

 to feed him twice daily, and if he is given enough 

 to eat in the evening he will be a more faithful 

 watch Dog; for a hungry Dog may not infrequently 

 be bribed into treachery by a meal. Dogs drink a 

 great d,eal of water, lapping it with the tongue, 

 which they bend in the shape of a spoon, curving 

 the tip. A plentiful supply of water is an essential 

 condition to their health. ,. • 



Physical The Dbg can run and swim excellently. 



Traits of the and can also climb to a limited extent, 

 ^"S- but he finds it difficult to walk on the 



edge of a precipice without becoming dizzy. He 

 walks and trots in a peculiar slanting direction. 

 When running quickly, he may take leaps of consid- 

 erable length, but is not capable of making sudden 

 turns. Some Dogs are very fond of the water, but 

 those that are spoiled in training are afraid of it. 

 The climbing abilities of Dogs I observed in Africa. 

 They climb walls or the slightly inclined roofs that 

 are common in that country, very adroitly, and run 

 on the narrowest landings with the unfailing security 

 of Cats. In repose the Dog either sits on his hind 

 legs, or lies down on his side or abdomen stretching 

 his hind legs sideways and his fore-legs to the front, 

 and putting his head between them. He rarely 

 stretches his hind legs behind him. 



All Dogs like to sleep, but only at intervals, and 

 their sleep is very light and restless, frequently dis- 

 turbed by dreams, which cause them a perturbation 

 which they indicate by wagging their tails, by twitch- 

 ing movements, growling or low barking. They are 

 exceedingly cleanly in their habits; and the place 

 where they are kept, and especially where they sleep, 

 must be kept clean. They perspire very little, even 

 when they have been running for a long time ; saliva 



