It was the opinion of Buffon that the breeds of dogs, which were
already numerous in his time, were all derived from a single type,
which, according to him, was the shepherd's dog. Other scientists have
insisted that the dog descended from the wolf, and others from the
jackal. At the present time, it is rightly admitted that several
species of wild dogs have concurred in the formation of the different
breeds of dogs as we now have them.
In the lacustrine habitations of the stone age in Sweden, and in the
_kjoekkenmoedding_ (kitchen remains) of Denmark, of the same epoch, we
find the remains of a dog, which, according to Rutymeyer, belongs to a
breed which is constant up to its least details, and which is of a
light and elegant conformation, of medium size, with a spacious and
rounded cranium and a short, blunt muzzle, and a medium sized jaw, the
teeth of which form a regular series.
This dog, which has been named by geologists _Canis palustris_, fully
resembles in size, slenderness of the limbs, and weakness of the
muscular insertions, the spaniel, the brach hound, or the griffon.
This dog of the stone age is entirely distinct from the wolf and
jackal, of which some regard the domestic dog as a descendant, and as
it has appeared in Denmark as well as in Sweden, there is no doubt
that this species, peculiar to Europe, was subjugated by man and used
by him, in the first place, for hunting, and later on for guarding
houses and cattle.
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