Dogs

Title

Dogs

Language

English

Year

1939

Subject

Dogs

Dog breeds

Dog behavior

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

[This article presents the different characteristics and breeds of dog.]

Fulltext

lune, 1939 THE YOUNG CITIZEN Dogs A DOG is man's oldest and most faithful friend. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. '¥hen all other friends desert, he remains. Of no other animals can this be said. Among the many animals which man uses, the dog stands first of all. Long before there were any pictured records of man's history, the dog was his tamed companion; his bones have even been found with those of Stone Age man. Scicnists say that early men developed dogs for hunting purposes from the wild wolves of their particular regions. These were wolf-like dogs such as the Eskimos use today, or such as arc shown in Egyptian pictures more than 5,000 years old. Most of dogs that we know, however, have been developed within the last few centuries to meet man's needs or his whims. But our dog friends of today still have many queer little ways of reminding us of their wolfish ancestors. The hunting dog bays-a reminder of hunting wolves baying to keep the pack together. The dog howls at night-the habit of his forefathers of calling the pack. He turns around before lying down because his ancestors had to do so in tramping down a flat sheltered bed of grass or leaves. And he still buries bones just as his wild forefathers buri-ed theirs in the wilderness in order to prevent their enemies from sharing them. The dog has to thank his ancestors, too, for his wonderful sense of smell, his keen hearing, his marvellous eyes, sharp teeth, 207 208 THE YOUNG CITIZEN his great endurance, his man and his dog were rescourage in the face of dan- cued. ger, his strong legs for run- Another dog, without ning, his lean muscular any help, dragged his masbody covered with coarse ter-left for dead-back to protective hair - all of the trenches. A great sheep which fit him for the ac- dog from time to time tive life of a hunter. saved the lives of a hunIn the World War dogs dred French soldiers lying were used as rat killers, as wounded. Many other stoRed Cross dogs for feeding ries could be told of how and aiding the wounded, as dogs helped in the Great sentinels, and as messen- World War. gers. About 10,000 of these In times of peace the dog dogs were "doing their bit" proves himself a useful when the armistice was friend in many ways. The signed. Scotch collie som.etimes has During the Great War, charge of a flock of sheep. dogs were sent out with Then he lives wi'th them, . first-aid kits strapped to gathers them from the distheir collars to hunt dut the tant pastures, brings them wounded; they carried cans to the fold when they are of soup through front line needed, and will let no trenches to c h e e r and prowler meddle with them. strengthen the fighting It is a wond,erful sight to men. They mounted guard see one of these dogs going at dangerous listening posts over hill and valley getting because their keen sense of his flock together, separathearing was better than that ing a sheep from other of man; they carried mes.. sheep, guarding the flock, sages through barbed wire keeping them from runand showers of bullets. ning away, and finally Some dogs were heroes, bringing them home. Beand received medals for cause of his remarkable June, 1939 Canada and Alaska. The sleds and the dogs to draw them make possible an expedition in the interior in the dead of winter. Many oJ our ·barking four-footed friends serve as sentinels or guards of honor for their masters. Mastiffs, those large, brave fellows, were once used in warfare and hunting, and in Roman ·times, for fighting in the amphitheater. The great Dane dogs are used in Northern Europe for hunting. Bulldogs are remarkable for their courage and their ability to "hold on." Today mastiff, <lane, and bulldog are all excellent watch dogs. bravery. There was a little black and white setter, whO, when his master was buried by a shell explosion, partially dug the soldier out of the earth, and then faithfully remained by his side for three days and nights, until finally the The bloodhound has a most astonishing keen scent. Like their wild ancestors they learned the trick of following the scent of one animal throuv,h the 1 confusion of many other smells, and learned, too, even to pick up a trail on the iarther shore of running water. Bloodhounds are used by police in tracking down criminals. So remarkable sense of smell, the collie is their scent, it is said, that and other shepherd dogs they can follow a trail 30 can trace and find lost hours after it is made. sheep in. snow storms. Some very useful dogs are those which draw the sledges w h i c h furnish transportation in the frozen parts of North AmericaOne of the swiftest running dogs .is the slender . greyhound. He h a r d I y seems to touch the ground ground as he darts along. (Turn to page 220.) 220 CATS (Continued from page 206) Scientists do not agree on the question of the origin of domestic cats. The earliest records on the subject are found in Egypt. We know that Egyptian cats were tame more than 31 000 years ago. · The ancient Egyptians regarded the cat with superstitious awe, and treated it. as a member of their families. When a cat died in ancient Egypt, it was embalmed and buried l\ke ~ human being, and the members of the family Went into mourning. In ancient Egypt if any one purposely killed a cat, he was punished by death. The mummies of cats are often found among the ruins of ancient Egypt.. The bodies have been well preserved for centuries. The cat was seldom, if at all, kept by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and until long after the Christian era, cats were not common in some parts of Europe. The early Christians associated cats with witches, and the devil was often depicted in the form of a black cat. Superstitions about cats survive among many peoples even in civilized countries. The domestic cat will eat many kinds of food, but prefers meat or fish. Sometimes a cat will aetU.ally catch a fish, but usually it does not like to get wet. I ts fur is easily injured by water, because there is no oil in the hair. The cat is a good companion and is liked almost as well as the dog. It is a pretty, graceful animal. It is very cleanly and does not like to step in any kind of filth.. It always keeps its fur neat and clean. Cats like to be petted, and with gentle treatment a cat becomes greatly attached to its keeper, disTHE YOUNG CITIZEN playing its affection in many ways. Cats are very intelligent animals, and are useful in destroying rats and mice. They have the bad habit, however, of destroying birds. The cats that we commonly see and own today ar~ divided into two general classes, the shorthaired and the long-haired species. The various kinds of short-haired cats differ chiefly in their colors. The "long-haired cats came originally from Asia, and the best known varieties are Angora and Persian cats. They are closely related. The Angora cat comes from. the province of Angora in Western Asia. Many owners of a long-haired cat cannot tell· whether it is an Angora or a Persian. The head and body of a Persian cat are usually larger than the head and body of the Angora. Everyone knows, of course, that kittens are blind when they are born, and are quite helpless. It is bad for thetn to be handled until they are old enough to walk.· Cats should not be kept ·in the house too much. They need fresh air, and grass and other green things that they find growing form part of their necessary diet. • Cats are very independent by nature, and do not like to obey; when they do they take their own time about it. It is much harder to . teach them tricks than dogs. A curious cat comes from the Isle of Man, an island located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. This . is the Manx cat which is always born without a tail. It is shown in illustration No. I on page 206. Illustration No. 2 is the picture of a shaded silver Persian cat. No. 3 is ·a "smoked" Persian. No. 4 is a blue lune, 1939 DOGS (Continued from page 208) Greyhounds are often used as racing dogs. Another graceful runner is the ·beautiful Russian wolf-hound, which alSo is tall and thin, and is noted fo his won-' derfully silky coat-usually white with tan markings. Such a dog is a very valuable aaimil. The affectionate setter, with his plumy tail and long silky coat, is also useful in setting birds. There are many other kinds of dogs used in hunting, such. as the foxhound, the beagle, and the pointer. The rat terrier is useful in killing rats. A single rat terrier was once let loose in a room where a hundred rats had been collected. .Like a streak of lightning he worked, and in seven minutes had killed every one of them. Each was killed with one hasty bite. There are many different breeds C?"f dogs, but whatever the breed, the dog is a smart, plucky playfellow and protector. In the illustration on page 207 tCn different kinds of dogs are shown. The list includes some of the breeds best known. No. I in the illustration is a picture of" the smart little dog known as a fox terrier. No. 2 is a Newfoundland dog. No. 3 is a Scotch terrier. No. 4 is a Scotch collie. No. 5 is a bulldog. No. 6 is a setter. No. 7 is a mastiff. No. 8 is a Russian wolf-hound. No. 9 is a bloodhound. No. 10 is a greyhound.-Adapted. Persian. No .. 5 is a Siamese cat. No. 6 is the common domestic cat. No. 7 is an orange Persian. No. 8 is a chinchilla. No. 9 is a black Persian. No. 10 is a long-haired Angora.-A dapted.

pages

207-208, 220

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