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Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882

"The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals"

4)
and keep it doubled up, as if to make a slow and stealthy approach.
A dog under extreme terror will throw himself down, howl, and void
his excretions; but the hair, I believe, does not become erect
unless some anger is felt. I have seen a dog much terrified
at a band of musicians who were playing loudly outside the house,
with every muscle of his body trembling, with his heart
palpitating so quickly that the beats could hardly be counted,
and panting for breath with widely open mouth, in the same manner
as a terrified man does. Yet this dog had not exerted himself;
he had only wandered slowly and restlessly about the room,
and the day was cold. Even a very slight degree of fear is
invariably shown by the tail being tucked in between the legs.
This tucking in of the fail is accompanied by the ears being
drawn backwards; but they are not pressed closely to the head,as
in snarling, and they are not lowered, as when a dog is pleased
or affectionate. When two young dogs chase each other in play,
the one that runs away always keeps his tail tucked inwards.
So it is when a dog, in the highest spirits, careers like a mad
creature round and round his master in circles, or in figures
of eight.


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