THE DOG AND THE WOLF.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 127, 30 April 1937, Page 2

THE DOG AND THE WOLF.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —In reply to “Canis Lupus” who states that he is at a loss to understand my object in writing on the evolution of the dog, I can forgive him this lack of knowledge, as my letter was not presented as written but the main object deleted, namely, that of taking the Education Board to task for broadcasting certain writings as accepted scientific facts. I was pleased to see “A Mother” voice her protest at the same lecture. lam very much afraid that “Canis Lupus” relies upon the same class of literature for his knowledge, and I would advise him to give these fairy tales a place on the back shelf, and buy himself something a little more realistic if lie wishes to improve his knowledge of the dog-wolf position. “Canis Lupus” points out that it is well-known that tlie wild wolf is the ancestor of the larger prick-eared dogs. We have the German shepherd (Alsatian), the kelpie, and the Australian cattle dog, all of which come under this classification, but, alas, “Canis Lupus,” the breeding of these three dogs can he proved to be free of any wolf blood in their veins. The German shepherd (Alsatian) was bred from shepherd dogs from Thuringia and Wurteinlmrg. Tlie kelpie is in reality a Scotch collie, the first to he known as kelpies being bred from a dog called Caesar which was a son of Brutus and Jennie imported from Scotland by a Mr Robertson, of New South Wales, the dam being a black and tan collie called kelpie, the property, of a Mr Glecson. The original Australian cattle dogs were bred from blue merle collies, the proofs of which I also have. If “Canis Lupus” knows of a case of a successful mating of a wolfdog mule, I think I can do him a really good service. I advise him to write without delay to the Canine Research Association of Germany, who have quite a decent fortune awaiting tho first person to achieve this remarkable thing. “Canis Lupus” takes me to task for the statement that anatomical formation of the dog and wolf are very different, but lie is only able to point- out one instance of a resemblance, and that in the matter of gait. I would remind “Cams Lupus” that some horses have the very same gait, but no one would believe him if he claimed that the pacer belonged to the wolf family. As for the greyhound and the bulldog, they, I agree, are both dogs and repeat that they differ very much indeed from the wolf, right from the tins of their noses to the end of their tails. Regarding the difference in the number of teeth, my anatomy charts show four more teeth in the skull of the wolf than in tho dog, the chart of the wolf being by Herr Rudolph Knapp, a man who has spent a lifetime experimenting with wolves and dogs. “Canis Lupus” says that the habits of wolves and dogs are extraordinarily similar, in that the wolf wags its tail when pleased, growls, howls, yelps, and snarls just as a dog does, and then

contradicts this series of statements by telling us that the chief difference between the dog and the wolf is that the wolf does not bark.—l am, etc.,

Deletions were made from the original letter of “J.J.” as they were personal references to the lecturer. They did not refer to the Education Board, as stated by the writer.