Question

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Explanation:

For Part A: Paragraph 5 states that Stickeen would not follow commands, couldn't be used for hunting tasks, but Muir studied him closely to understand his traits, meaning Muir's observation skills helped him learn about Stickeen.
For Part B: The quotation about watching Stickeen keenly as a study directly supports the idea that Muir's observation skills helped him understand the dog, which is the correct inference from Part A.

Answer:

Part A

Muir believed his skills for observing nature could also help him to understand Stickeen.

Part B

"I was accustomed to looking into the faces of plants and animals, and I watched the little dog more keenly as an interesting study."