The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-01-26
THE MOsr 1NTEILIaEEr ANIMAL.

Every once in a while l see a
comment somewhere or hear it spoken
about the horse being the most intel
ligent of animals" said a man con-
nected with the Smithsonian Institu
ton to Washington Star reporter,
'and am at lost to understand
how such sentiment should even be
slightly entertained.
The horse, from scientific stand
point, possesses certain amount of
well-developed instinct and memory,
but not intelligence, as the word is
understood as applies to the animal
kingdom. The most intelligent of
animals is the dog. Mans most
faithful friend not only possesses in
telligence as contradistinguished froru
mere instinct, but his reasoning facul
ties are better developed than any of
the other dumb animals.
"The dog has been longer and more
constantly at the side of man than
any other animal, having been. in
fact, mans closest companion for
many centuries, and this attachment
and affinity will be greater as the
centuries roll on. A fine looking
horse appears intelligent, and thus
the word has stuck to him, but as
matter of scientific fact the horse
takes on the characteristics of all
hoof animals, and, aside from his
faculty of memory-and even that is
not especially developed-he may be
said to be dull. He is taught a few
things in life by man, and he remem-
bers them. However, the horse is
another story it is the dog now.
ITO the average person the bark
of dog is simply his bark, and
nothing more. The dogs first in
stinct is the preservation of his mas
ter and the latter's household, and in
the fulfilment of this fine devotional
trait he is willing and at times ap-
pears by design to be anxious to
surrender his life. Injuries and
wounds, even though he later expires
therefrom, Go not diminish this splen
did characteristic. And to other
people a dogs growl is simply his
'growl' but there is a difference. as
in his bark.
Dogs have an interrogatory growl,
a warning growl, menacing growl
and fighting growl, which are just
as dissimilar to the discriminating
student OF dogs habits as are the
tones of human being in their vari
GUS pitches, indicating the state of
the temper. Their bark possesses
the same variations, indicating very
clearly to the observant student the
exact condition Of the dogs mind,
while their bark of happiness is indi-
vidual and distinct from their other
tones.
'The emotions of dog may be
appealed to in precisely the same
manner as those of the human being.
In fact, your own dog is more seusi-
tive to the change in your own emo
tions and feelings very otter than the
members of your own fauiiy, aiia
will often sympathize with you by a
peculiar sympathetic light in his eyes,
BY coming very close to you, placing
his head against your hand or licking
it long before any other member of
the human kind in the family has
caught on that there is something
wrong with you.
"The dog manifests and clearly
delineates the emotions of joy, indif-
ference, sorrow, grief, injury and
slight, and for each of these emotions
he has a different attitude and ex-
preston. When he stands between
his master and a possible adversary
or enemy, his attitude Of alertness
and willingness to fight for the for
mer upon the word of command is as
clear to the dog student as is the op-
posite one of grief, or self conscious
shame, when he has been reproved
by the hand, voice or even the eye
of the one whom he is anxious to de-
fend SO readily when asked.
''Their faculty of reasoning might
be shown in many ways did space af-
ford, but a single illustration will
suffice, and l will take the setter,
whose intelligence has been shown
to be very marked. His master will
send him into field to flush the
game. The dog every few minutes
looks back at him. If his master
waves his hand to the right the dog
never goes to the left, and vice versa.
If he throws the palm of his hand
forward outwardly the dog again
changes his position, and never makes
mistake by responding to the back
ward call. But sometimes the mas
ter is mistaken as to the whereabouts
of the birds, but the dog knows, SO
he has been known to run back. to
his master and by dog talk IN bark
ing tell his master this. The master
at once understands this talk, and
allows the dog tc proceed without
further direction. Some specimens
of this fine breed are too intelligent
to hunt with a man who can not
hunt, so they tell him Of their disgust
by making scornfully for home by
the nearest route. The hunters in
telligent horse would remain until
he starved if he were not driven