9781422274996

human “parent,” it was probably not long before people decided to keep some puppies around for amusement or as playmates for their children. Eventually those pups grew up thinking of their human family as their pack and were allowed to go along on the human hunts. Ultimately, although the humans were using the animals as trackers because of their heightened senses of smell, vision, and hearing, the canines too perhaps came to realize the potential for partnership—

they could live off the spoils of the humans, who had tools that helped with the kill. That early alliance has changed, of course, but humans and dogs still need each other. Dogs no longer roam in the wild in great numbers, and most depend on people for food and shelter. Humans no longer require dogs’ senses to stalk dinner but still depend on them—as watchdogs, as companions, as help- mates, and as friends.

This English bulldog puppy played itself out by the time it got to the pumpkin patch. Bulldog puppies have big heads, making delivery at birth difficult.

Sometimes people attribute to dogs human characteristics; most of the time, however, what they perceive as intelligence is in fact instinct, or canine rituals. Lhasa apsos, from Tibet, were known to perform tasks around monasteries, acting as watchdogs.

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