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CHAP. V - SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF ANIMALS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2010

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Summary

The dog.—I have already described (figs. 5 and 7) the appearance of a dog approaching another dog with hostile intentions, namely, with erected ears, eyes intently directed forwards, hair on the neck and back bristling, gait remarkably stiff, with the tail upright and rigid. So familiar is this appearance to us, that an angry man is sometimes said “to have his back “up.” Of the above points, the stiff gait and upright tail alone require further discussion. Sir C. Bell remarks that, when a tiger or wolf is struck by its keeper and is suddenly roused to ferocity, “every “muscle is in tension, and the limbs are in an attitude “of strained exertion, prepared to spring.” This tension of the muscles and consequent stiff gait may be accounted for on the principle of associated habit, for anger has continually led to fierce struggles, and consequently to all the muscles of the body having been violently exerted. There is also reason to suspect that the muscular system requires some short preparation, or some degree of innervation, before being brought into strong action. My own sensations lead me to this inference; but I cannot discover that it is a conclusion admitted by physiologists. Sir J. Paget, however, informs me that when muscles are suddenly contracted with the greatest force, without any preparation, they are liable to be ruptured, as when a man slips unexpectedly; but that this rarely occurs when an action, however violent, is deliberately performed.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009
First published in: 1890

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