Dog
a digitigrade, carnivorous animal, forming the type of the genus Canis, which includes also the wolf, the jackal, and, as a sub-genus, the fox. The origin of the dog is a much debated question, some considering the breed derived from the wolf, an opinion which is based on resemblances of structure, the fact of the two animals breeding together and producing fertile young, and the equality in the period of gestation. It is generally agreed that no trace of the dog is to be found in a primitive state, the dhole of India, and dingo of Australia being believed to be wild descendants from domesticated ancestors. Several attempts to make a systematic classification of the varieties of dogs have been made, but without much success. Hamilton Smith divides dogs into six groups, as follows: (1) Wolf-dogs, including the Newfoundland, Eskimo, St. Bernard, shepherd's dog, etc.; (2) Watch-dogs and cattle-dogs, including the German boarhound, the Danish dog, the matin dog, etc.; (3) Greyhounds, the lurcher, Irish hound, etc.; (4) Hounds, the bloodhound, staghound, staghound, fox foxhound, setter, pointer, po spaniel, cocker, poodle, etc.: (5) Curdogs, including the terrier and its allies; (6) Mastiffs, including the different kinds of mastiffs, bull-dog, pug-dog, etc.
Dogs have in the upper jaw six incisors, two strong, curved canines, and six molars on each side, the first three, which are small and have cutting edges, being called false molars; in the lower jaw are six incisors, two canines, and on each side seven molars. The female has six to ten mammæ; she goes with young nine weeks as a rule. The young are born blind, their eyes opening in 10 to 12 days; their growth ceases at two years of age. The dog commonly lives about 10 or 12 years. By English law it is prohibited to use dogs for purposes of draught.
DODONA (dō-dō'nä), a town of Thesprotia in Epirus (or Thessaly), in the midst of vast forests. It was the sanctuary of the Pelagic worship, and possessed an oracle of Jupiter, one of the most celebrated and most ancient of Greece. The oracles were given by an oak, called the prophetic tree; the priestess interpreted sometimes the rustling of the branches, sometimes the sound given out by copper vases suspended to the sacred tree; and, at others, the singing of doves hidden in its foliage or the murmur of a neighboring spring.