When a dog is on the point of springing on his antagonist, he utters a savage growl; the ears are pressed closely backwards, and the upper lip (fig. 14) is retracted out of the way of his teeth, especially of his canines. These movements may be observed with dogs and puppies in their play. But if a dog gets really savage in his play, his expression immediately changes. This, however, is simply due to the lips and ears being drawn back with much greater energy. If a dog only snarls at another, the lip is generally retracted on one side alone, namely towards his enemy. Head of Snarling Dog. Fig 14 {illust. caption = FIG. 14.—Head of snarling Dog. From life, by Mr. Wood. The movements of a dog whilst exhibiting affection towards his master were described (figs. 6 and 8) in our second chapter. These consist in the head and whole body being lowered and thrown into flexuous movements, with the tail extended and wagged from side to side. The ears fall down and are drawn somewhat backwards, which causes the eyelids to be elongated, and alters the whole appearance of the face. The lips hang loosely, and the hair remains smooth. All these movements or gestures are explicable, as I believe, from their standing in complete antithesis to those naturally assumed by a savage dog under a directly opposite state of mind. When a man merely speaks to, or just notices, his dog, we see the last vestige of these movements in a slight wag of the tail, without any other movement of the body, and without even the ears being lowered. Dogs also exhibit their affection by desiring to rub against their masters, and to be rubbed or patted by them. Gratiolet explains the above gestures of affection in the following manner: and the reader can judge whether the explanation appears satisfactory. Speaking of animals in general, including the dog, he says,[502] “C’est toujours la partie la plus sensible de leurs corps qui recherche les caresses ou les donne. Lorsque toute la longueur des flancs et du corps est sensible, l’animal serpente et rampe sous les caresses; et ces ondulations se propageant le long des muscles analogues des segments jusqu’aux extrémités de la colonne vertébrale, la queue se ploie et s’agite.” Further on, he adds, that dogs, when feeling affectionate, lower their ears in order to exclude all sounds, so that their whole attention may be concentrated on the caresses of their master!