They sure weren't doing too good at feeding them poor dogs ! They look too poor to eat ...... if the folks had to. Slim pickins' in them parts, I recon. Or ... poor trappers/hunters.
lol took a bit to remember were I had seen that photo but it was part of a display of early American photographers and a set of several by Helio Herrera who took photos of subjects that most didn’t which is why I remember it