Re: I felt dogs are unnatural By: H2OfanRikki / Novice
Post # 3 Nov 30, 2015
The gradual tranformation from wolves into dogs is just an example of one species that has undergone human alteration, selective breeding has been used on every farm animal you can imagine as well as most pets.
It isn't unnatural, as has been said, the choice for certain genes, or selective breeding is natural (to a degree), and has been done for thousands of years, there is no "transmutation" involved, it is simply a shift in the genes.
Re: I felt dogs are unnatural By: Lark Moderator / Adept
Post # 5 Nov 30, 2015
It is a perfectly normal change both in physical characteristics and behaviors. There have been scientific experiments done in Russia that show that when raised in captivity wolves take on a dog-like appearance and attitude within two generations.
It is also theorized now that humans didn't domesticate wolves, certainly not in order to have dominence over them. Rather, the evidence suggests that wolves came to live with men because men were a source of steady food and shelter. So it might be more correct to say that wolves domesticated humans.
Saying dogs are unnatural is like saying cats,deer etc are as well. Every life form on earth goes through a form of evolution or mutation. Dogs are as normal as wolves. I'd rather have a dog for a pet than a wild animal.
Re: I felt dogs are unnatural By: Brysing Moderator / Adept
Post # 8 Dec 01, 2015
Yi, first of all, dogs were not all bred from one type of wolf. Breeding a wolf with a wolf gets a wolf! To imagine that all dogs were bred from wolves is ridiculous. Humans would choose a pair of wolves with different characteristics, and the result would be cubs unlike either parent. Such selective breeding over a few thousand years has resulted in the enormous variety of dog.
But make no mistake; every dog is a wolf! All the instincts of a wolf are still there.
You ask, why are they so submissive? Because they are pack animals; and pack animals follow a leader, usually an Alpha male.
The owner of a dog becomes the Alpha male of the pack.
Dogs can be very friendly, and seem to be submissive. But beware! A dog can revert back to a savage wolf in seconds!
As a matter of fact on the eastern seaboard those few wolves left are mating with coyotes creating a new hybrid. perfectly natural. And there is a fad in Russia currently to domesticate foxes. In fifty years shall a domesticated fox be a fox or should it be given another name?
Re: I felt dogs are unnatural By: .StarPower. / Novice
Post # 11 Dec 01, 2015
I know of that fox thing. When they pick two calm ones to mate, the pups are calm. When they picked two mean ones, the pups were mean. Interesting is that the physical traits also change as more breeding goes on. The calm, more domestic ones actually have tails that stand up and wag, while the mean ones snarl and the facial expressions are more vicious looking. Oh yes, dogs are domestic wolves by breeding them as so. My opinion of the current day Sheppard is that it looks malformed to me. And some of the other breeds come with their own weaknesses, as in medical problems. Just saying..