Page 16 - Dog

Sight and sound

Every domestic dog in the world,
whether it is a Pekingese (pp. 58–59) or a
Great Dane (pp. 56–57), has inherited the eyes
and ears of its wild ancestor, the wolf. All its senses
have evolved for being a social hunter of large prey, but HUNTING HORN
these senses have been adapted and developed in follow the sound of a horn as
Hunting dogs are trained to
different breeds of dog by “artificial selection.” This well as the human voice.
means, for example, that in sight hounds (pp. 48–49),
such as greyhounds, puppies with particularly good
sight have been chosen over the centuries as future
breeders. These breeders then pass on the trait of good
sight to their puppies. So in the course of time,
greyhounds have developed even better sight than the
wolf. Wolves and domestic dogs cannot hear as well as DOG’S WHISTLE
some other carnivores, because they usually hunt at Most dogs will
respond to the
dusk when sight is more important than hearing. Foxes, sound of a whistle.
however, hunt at night, and it is thought that their
sense of hearing is more acute than a wolf’s.

Dense fur FENNEC FOX
keeps the The fennec is the smallest member
fennec warm of the fox family. It lives in the
on cold nights Sahara and Arabian deserts and
in the desert is well adapted for keeping
cool and finding any
LISTENING DOG food it can in the
The large erect hot, dry sand.
ears are turned
this way and that
as this dog works
out where the
sounds it is
listening to are
coming from.
The fennec’s huge
ears allow body
heat to escape,
which helps to keep
The fennec’s the animal cool in
light-colored fur the hot desert
is pale to reflect
the heat of the Outer
desert during ear
the day Furry
Ear outside
muscle of ear

Brain
Ear canal
Bones of the
inner ear
Glands
Ear cavity
of skull
THE EAR
The belly fur All wild members of the
is even paler, dog family have erect
to reflect the ears which help them to
heat from the tell where a sound has
ground come from.

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