Fig. 48 Pug
Fig. 49 Mastiff
These animals have all a greater or less perfection of the senses, and these differences, which in man occasion not any eminent or remarkable quality, give to animals all their merit, and produce as a cause all the talents of which their natures are susceptible. I shall not here take upon myself to enumerate all the qualities of the sporting dogs; it is well known how much the excellence of their sense of smelling, together with their education, gives them the superiority over other animals; but these details belong only to a distant part of Natural History. Besides the tricks and dexterity, though proceeding from nature alone, made use of by wild animals to elude the researches, or to avoid the pursuit of the dogs, are perhaps more wonderful than the most refined methods practised in the art of hunting.
The dog, as well as all animals which produce more than one or two at a time, is not perfectly formed at the time of its birth. Dogs are commonly whelped with their eyes shut; the two eyelids are not only closed together, but adhere by a membrane which breaks away as soon as the muscles of the upper eye-lid acquire sufficient strength to raise it and overcome this obstacle, which commonly happens about the tenth or twelfth day. At this time the bones of the skull are not finished, the body and snout swelled, and the whole form incomplete; but in less than two months they learn to make use of all their senses, begin to have strength, and their growth is very rapid. In the fourth month they lose some of their teeth, which, as in other animals, are soon replaced by others that do not fall out. They have in all 42 teeth, namely six incisive, and two canine at top and at bottom, fourteen grinders in the upper, and twelve in the under-jaw; but these latter are not always the same, as some dogs have more grinders than others. When very young, males and females bend down to void their water; about the ninth or tenth month, the males and some females begin to lift up their legs for that purpose, and at which time they begin to be capable of engendering. The male can couple at all times, but the females only at stated seasons, which are usually twice a year, and more frequently in winter than in summer; this inclination lasts ten, twelve, and sometimes fifteen days and shews itself by exterior signs; the male is apprized of her situation by his smell, although she seldom consents to his approaching her for the first six or seven days. Once coupling is sometimes sufficient for her to produce a great number of young, but if left at liberty she will admit many times a day almost every dog that presents himself. It has been observed that when allowed to choose for herself, she generally prefers the largest, without attending either to his form or beauty; and it frequently happens that small bitches who have received large mastiffs die in bringing forth their young. It is well known that these animals, from a singular conformation, cannot separate after consummation, but are obliged to remain united as long as the swelling subsists. The dog, like several other animals, has not only a bone in its member, but also a hollow ring, which is very apparent, and swells considerably during the time of copulation. The females have perhaps the largest clitoris of any animal, and while compressed, a swelling arises which probably lasts longer than that of the male, and forces him to remain; for when the act is finished he changes his position, to rest on his four legs; he has also a melancholy air, and the efforts for separation are never made on the female side. Bitches go nine weeks with young, that is 63 days, but never less than 60. Those of the largest and strongest make are the most prolific, and those will sometimes produce ten or twelve puppies at a litter; while those of a small kind do not bring forth more than four or five, and frequently but one or two; especially the first time, which is always the least numerous in all animals.
Though dogs are very ardent in their amours, it does not prevent their duration, for they continue to propagate during life, which is usually limited to fourteen or fifteen years, though some have been known to live till twenty. Length of life in dogs is, like that of other animals, proportioned to the time of his growth: for as they are about two years in coming to maturity, so they live to twice seven. The dog’s age may be known by his teeth, which, when he is young, are white, sharp, and pointed; and which, in proportion as he advances in age, become black, blunt, and unequal; it is also to be known by the hair, for it turns grey about the nose, forehead, and round the eyes. These animals, though naturally vigilant, active, and formed for exercise, become, by being over-fed in our houses, so heavy and idle, that they pass their lives in sleeping and eating. This sleep, which is almost continual, is accompanied by dreams, which is perhaps a mild manner of existing; and notwithstanding they are naturally voracious, yet they can subsist without eating a considerable time. In the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, there is an account of a bitch, who having been accidentally left in a country-house, subsisted 40 days without any other nourishment than the stuff on the wool of a mattress, which she had torn to pieces. Water seems to be more necessary for them than food, for they drink frequently and very abundantly; and it is even a vulgar opinion that if they want water for a length of time they become mad. It is a circumstance peculiar to them that they seem to make great efforts, and suffer pain in voiding their excrements. This is not occasioned, as Aristotle alleges, from their intestines becoming narrower in approaching the anus; for, on the contrary, it is certain, that in the dog, as in other animals, the great intestines grow bigger as they proceed downwards, and that the rectum is larger than the colon: the dryness of the temperament of this animal is sufficient of itself to produce this effect.
To give a clearer idea of the different kinds of dogs, of their propagation in different climates, and of the mixture of their breeds, I subjoin a kind of genealogical tree, in which all the different varieties may easily be distinguished. The shepherd’s dog is the stock or body of the tree. This dog, when transported into the rigorous climates of the north, such as to Lapland, becomes ugly and small, but in Russia, Iceland, and Siberia, where the climate is rather less rigorous, and the people more civilized, he is not only preserved, but even brought to greater perfection. These changes are occasioned solely by the influence of those climates, which produces no great alteration in his form, for in each of them he has erect ears, long and thick hair, and a wild look; he barks also less frequently, and in a different manner from those that in more favourable regions have been brought to greater perfection. The Iceland dog is the only one that has not his ears entirely erect, but which bend or fold a little at their extremities; and Iceland is, of all the northern countries, that which has been most anciently inhabited by half-civilized men.