Wisconsin School of the Air; Afield with Ranger Mac; 12

The Wisconsin School of the air invites you to go afield with Ranger MK Today's program is about the dog and his relatives. Now here's your guide for today's imaginary trip down the nature trail Ranger Mack. Hello boys and girls. A boy and a dog are a glorious pair and no better friendship is found anywhere. When I passed by a school or a country school and see a dog lying at the entrance. Waiting patiently as only a dog can then I know that the dog's young master is with the man and the dog is waiting for him when school is out. The dog will greet his young friend with violent Whiting's of the tail while looking up into his face with his appealing brown eyes. Soon the two will try Joc together toward home. Abaya has a friend who thinks and who feels who walks down the road with the dog at his heels the

most companionable affectionate loyal understanding friend that a boy can have among all four footed animals is a dog. Have you ever wondered what there is in the end Sestriere of the dog that makes it possible for him for me and the dog to strike up such a close friendship. In every part of the globe inhabited by man there is a dog of some kind living with him almost from pole to pole on every continent in circumstances of luck jury and that of extreme poverty. Dogs are found living with human beings in close relationship long before man extended the hand of friendship to any other wild creature. It was extended to the dog. Dogs are so common about us that we take them for granted as a part of our lives never stopping to

wonder what there is in the nature of the dog that makes all this possible. No one knows when and how this friendship of dog and man started a friendship that has persisted. From the early days when man was somewhat of a savage himself. We do know that in every part of the globe. Where the graves of early man have been uncovered the bones of dogs are found buried nearby in some of the caves which were the homes of these early peoples. I found drawings of dogs in the stone in most in more recent times after civilization got a start. The art of it. Egypt and Assyria show pictures of hunting dogs that were built like our greyhounds and were used no doubt to pursue the antelope and gazelle over the desert lands. So you can see

that even in this early day a man. Had learned to breed dogs for different purposes for his own use. The Assyrians had developed a dog that resembles our mastiff large and strong. And which was used to guard army camps and even to engage in battle. There are drawings to show that lap dogs were popular with Egyptian ladies. So back in the days when history was beginning to be recorded there were dogs of various kinds and dogs now range in size from the rat terrier to the Great Dane and inform from the bulldog bred for fighting. To the Greyhound bred for speed and because they could be bred for so many purposes and usefulness and have such social natures dogs have been the most popular power footed demand throughout all history.

There are now about 200 distinct breeds of dogs. It is good for us traders to know more about the dog for he is everywhere about Madison has an estimate of 15000 dogs. That's one for every six people. If that same ratio holds true throughout our country. Then there are 25 million dogs in USA. According to the best estimates available it costs five hundred million dollars each year to take care of our dogs. I read in the paper yesterday one printer all the dog costing over a thousand dollars. Maybe it is worth all that it costs for the influence of the dog acting on the lives of humans all down the ages has helped to make human beings as kindly as they

are. What makes the dog such a social animal such a loyal companionable friend to man. Let's try to find out if the dog belongs to an order of animals called the flesh eating animals. Car never ca r and i b r a car never is the scientific name and the word means flesh eating the members of the dog family are the world's coyotes and all the different kinds of pox. They are called Canine is also far from the long sharp teeth that are located beside the four cutting teeth in front. These canine teeth are used to grass prey and to tear the prey into pieces. The dog gets its prey by running it down and seizing it. They can trail dogs can

trail their prey mile after mile hour after hour. Dogs have been known to trail their prey for 24 hours straight. Their legs are long. Their hearts are strong their paws are wide spread and their claws are coarse and large to contact the ground. They have a wonderful sense of smell and they trail their prey wholly by the sense of smell and not by sight mile after mile without ever seeing the pursued animal. The nodes are on the muzzle of the nose is long and the widespread nostrils are covered with a damp skin that carries the scent to the nostrils. When that nose becomes dry and warm then the dog is sick. Now this is true about wolves also. The world is supposed to be the end sister of dogs or at least one of

them. The jack all of the old where old being the other. You have read stories of how wolves hunt. These wild dogs or these wolves do not hunt as individuals but in packs each standing by the other when danger threatened. They have a rather bloodcurdling how that calls the pack together. And when that are many together in a pack. They get rather courageous. You boys who have done any hunting know that the dog on the scent of a rabbit or Fox will bark. This seems at first stop like a foolish thing to do but you must remember that dogs are descended from wells and wolves hunted in packs and by following this sound the pack was kept together. Their success in hunting

and getting food depended upon working together upon teamwork animals that work together in the wild are the animals that can be most easily tamed domesticated. It is not difficult to make a pet of a crow for instance crows are easily tamed because they do work together in the wild. All of our domestic animals horses cattle sheep reindeer camels were done live together in the wild and so teamwork is natural for them. If you have a dog you have noticed time and time again how he might be lying peacefully at your feet. When a dog somewhere maybe many blocks away will bond your friend will jump to his feet answer the call and pass on the message to the rest of the imaginary pack. You might scold him for doing it but such

behavior is as natural for him as thirst. And you have heard of dog bay at the moon or howl when music is played. Maybe the dog got a scolding producing this. The moon not or the music away come in the wake of the while ancestral traits in the dog's breast that of calling together the members of the pack are in answer to the music of the pack. Dogs are very loyal stories about their loyalty can be told without this loyalty is a part of their nature because of the manner in which their ancestral wild dogs lived and worked together when animals were together in packs in groups. There must be leadership and the other members of the pack must be faithful followers. This means being loyal.

So as a wild animal the dog had a sense of loyalty. So when the dog made the acquaintance of man it was easy for him to become the friend to become loyal to the man easier than that of any other animal. Loyalty and teamwork are a part of the nature of wild dogs and so they learn to fit quite naturally in the family life of man where loyalty and teamwork must be practiced. One can imagine many ways in which these this companionship of man and dog may have begun. One time out West I saw some children playing with pet coyotes which which they had captured wild pups. Perhaps the early man found a litter of cubs and just as these children did and maybe he brought home one of them to amuse his children.

It was they had been provided shelter and soon it began to feel that its rightful home was where it was being fed sheltered and protected and soon it would follow on the heels of that strange being that walked on two legs and provided these comforts. It would go on the hunt to receive a portion of the carcass and the entrails gradually the wild dog became most strongly approached and this attachment made him a useful and a protector of the home and gradually the wild dog became a part of the family life. One can imagine that just such a thing took place way back in the uncivilized days of mankind. Probably it took place in many families in different parts of the globe where early man lived. Then as these tribes of ancient peoples grew

larger they spread out taking their dogs with them. And these dogs mingled and mated and even mated with their kind that lived in the forests. And I understand that Eskimos today still meet their sled dogs with wolves to get dogs with Sapir your strength and courage. And the dog is almost human in expressing his emotions. Certainly prettier than most humans he can express delight by body movements of the body and his expressive eyes. He expresses friendliness by smelling of us to make sure he has met us before and then WHY exist pale as an expression of faith. He expresses affection by jumping up on us and licking our hands and face. He expresses displeasure by a stiffening of the tail and growls and showing off his teeth. He expresses fear by lying flat on his belly. He

expresses shame by hanging his head and dropping Hugh's tail between his legs. People who make intelligent tests of animals do not place the dog first. But when it comes to an ability to live with people there is no creature with better social habits than the dog. So if the dog liked likes so much that we enjoy has come to us out of the gray mists of the deep past where his manner of living in the wild has made it possible for him to be a good friend to man and may the Great Spirit put sunshine in your heart to day and for evermore heap much the familiar Indian farewell brings us to the end of another trip afield with Ranger MK but he'll be back again next week to take you on another trip down the nature trail.

This is the Wisconsin School of their.