Ears, Noses and Old Wolves: teacher key

Dogs, grade 6 edition, written for 6th grade. Dogs came from wolves, and their senses still carry traces of that past. Read about how dogs smell, hear and think, and how to meet one safely.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What did Russian scientists breed with each other?
   • The fastest wolves
   • The tamest foxes (answer)
   • The oldest dogs
2. What may dogs' sharp hearing for high sounds go back to?
   • Sled dog races
   • Flat faces
   • Wolf ancestors that hunted small animals like mice (answer)
3. How much bigger is the smell part of a dog's brain than a person's?
   • About 40 times (answer)
   • About 4 times
   • About 400 times
4. What carried medicine to Nome in 1925?
   • Wolves
   • Foxes
   • Sled dog teams (answer)
5. Why would scientists say they do not know when dogs were first tamed?
   • Dogs are new
   • They do not agree on when or where it happened (answer)
   • Wolves hide
6. Which dogs may have trouble cooling off and breathing?
   • Flat-faced dogs (answer)
   • All sled dogs
   • Border collies

Words

• canids: dog family
• domesticated: tamed over time
• mushers: sled drivers
• ancestors: family long ago