Excerpt from Dogs: Their Origin and Varieties, Directions as to Their General Management, and Simple Instructions as to Their Treatment Under DiseaseIt would appear that for some time, I know not why, (un. Less it be explained on the same principle that caused the ostracizing of Aristides, for being called The Just) there has been a strange infatuation among natural historians for withholding from the dog his claims to originality of creation, - for, in Short, an attainder of his lineage, nearly all who of late have written upon this subject, having zealously endeavored to trace his descent to the treacherous, cowardly, and rapacious wolf, that skulking, scavenger-like marauder, the jackal, or the crafty and plotting fox some even referring for his primitive type to the surly hyaena, with that animal's unsocial and indomitable congeners.Some writers, on the other hand, go so far as to admit, that a true and genuine dog was, indeed, originally created among the other tribes of animals, but they, at the same time, maintain him to have been formed with a Wild, un social, and savage disposition, and to owe his present posi tion as the faithful and valued friend of man, to the reclaim ing power of human reason, and to a train of adventitious circumstances long subsequent to the creation of the animal world, and consequently to the era of his primitive existence. These are the persons who love to descant upon, as they are pleased to call it, the glorious, never-to-be-forgotten con quest of reason over instinct.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.