SIGHT AND SOUND

Every domestic dog in the world, whether it is a Pekingese or a Great Dane, has inherited the eyes and ears of its ancestor, the wolf. All its senses have evolved for being a social hunter of large prey, but these senses have been adapted and developed in different breeds of dog by “artificial selection”. This means, for example, that in sight hounds, such as greyhounds, those puppies with particularly good sight have been chosen over the centuries as future breeders, so that in the course of time all greyhounds have developed even better sight than the wolf. One change that has been brought about in nearly all domestic dogs is that the eyes look forward rather than to the side, as in the wolf. Wolves and domestic dogs cannot hear as well as some other carnivores, because they usually hunt at dusk when sight is more important than hearing. Foxes, however, hunt at night and it is thought that their senses of hearing is more acute than a wolf’s.