In most parts of the world the dog has been more or less domesticated from very early times, though it is not until we begin to study the records of such highly civilized peoples as the ancient Assyrians and Egyptians that we find dogs which we can recognize as belonging to distinct breeds.

The Assyrians had at least two. the greyhound and the mastiff, the former much like our coursing dogs, the latter a large, heavy-built, powerful beast, but evidently much more active than the mastiffs seen in modern kennels and at the bench show?.

In the Nimrod Gallery of the British Museum may be seen a bas-relief tablet showing Assur-bani-pal and his attendants with Assyrian mastiffs straining at the leash, and another showing similar mastiffs hunting wild horses.

The ancient Egyptians seem to have been at least as familiar with dogs as we are, and on the Egyptian monuments of 5,000 years ago are figured several widely differing breeds, showing that even in those days dogs were used not only in the chase, but as companions and household pets.

Among the ruins of Nineveh have been found marble slabs upon which are carved such scenes as this, which shows attendants with nets holding the leashes of the hunting dogs of Assur-bani-pal, the grand monarque of Assyria, magnificent patron of art and literature and creator of the great library of Nineveh. This panel proves that the hunting dogs of twenty-five centuries ago were much the same as those of today.

At The Dog Show: The Smallest And The Largest Exhibits.

Photograph by Paul Thompson.

The astonishing differences in the various species of the dog family are strikingly depicted in this picture. Wonderful Tiny, the Yorkshire terrier, in his mistress' hands, weighs only 10 ounces, while Boy Blue, the great St. Bernard, weighs 250 pounds.

Some of the Egyptian greyhounds bore a striking resemblance to modern English greyhounds. Others had fringed tails and had doubtless been introduced from Persia, where this breed, unchanged in form, is used today (see page 22). Another hound kept by the Egyptians was not unlike our great Dane, and there was a short-legged toy clog which carried its tail curled over its back. It is interesting to note that one kind of hunting dog kept by the ancient Egyptians was called "unsu," or "unsau," meaning "wolves," perhaps indicating a knowledge of its descent from the wild form.