Next time you want a dog

[featherlite]

I really like boxers too, but what a handful they are. They have a ton of energy and are very high strung dogs. They are so expressive and have such great personalities though! I love their adorable and expressive faces!

They've been badly over bred too. Short nose, can't breathe, can't control their body temp. Sad dogs.

Exactly, some breeds have serious breathing problems now. Others have skin issues. Pure breds arent "wrong", its the breeders who want the "best in show" ... best for greedy humans, not the animals.

 

[Ambery]

love dogs so much. My favorite breed of dog is the dogo argentino. I really want a puppy of this breed. They are excellent companions, a wonderful family dog and will protect their family.

 

[Pogo]

love dogs so much. My favorite breed of dog is the dogo argentino. I really want a puppy of this breed. They are excellent companions, a wonderful family dog and will protect their family.

I bet that one needs a lot of exercise.

 

[ChrisL]

love dogs so much. My favorite breed of dog is the dogo argentino. I really want a puppy of this breed. They are excellent companions, a wonderful family dog and will protect their family.

Looks a lot like a boxer.

 

[ChrisL]

I like all dogs. In fact, I would say that I like all animals except for the human ones.

 

[PredFan]

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the issue of over breeding. There are many more examples - pit bulls, retrievers, King Charles spaniels but here are a few.

It used to be that cats were strong and healthy because they were not bred for deformities like dogs are. Not anymore. I have rescued two Maine coon cats. My first died at age 4 of a congenital heart defect that is common in that breed.

IMO, we should stop breeding "pure breeds". It almost never "improves the breed" and "registered AKC" is basically nothing more than having the dog's name, and yours, written in a book.

Adopt from a shelter. And if you think you want a "pure breed", check for breed rescues and check at your local shelter. fully 25% of all animals taken to shelters are pure breeds and more than 80% are younger than 3 years old. IOW, we're killing young healthy animals because more are born than there are homes for. Adopting from a shelter makes you part of the answer instead of part of the cause of the inexcusable tragedy of dog and cat overpopulation.

Wow! That's kind of creepy.

 

[Compost]

Whatever, ladies. I prefer this thread's topic. Here's a picture of a Great Pyrenees. This is the breed that protects my ducks.

 

[featherlite]

Whatever, ladies. I prefer this thread's topic. Here's a picture of a Great Pyrenees. This is the breed that protects my ducks.

I love ducks.

 

[ChrisL]

Anyhow, moving along (and ignoring the weirdos - lol).

A friend of mine got the cutest little Westy recently. I love those cute little things. She puts a little barrette in her hair. Her name is Elvira. If I was to get a dog, I would give consideration to a Westy because of this dog. SOOOO adorable. Getting a dog right now is just not feasible for me though, I'm too busy to be there for it.

 

[Compost]

Anyhow, moving along (and ignoring the weirdos - lol).

A friend of mine got the cutest little Westy recently. I love those cute little things. She puts a little barrette in her hair. Her name is Elvira. If I was to get a dog, I would give consideration to a Westy because of this dog. SOOOO adorable. Getting a dog right now is just not feasible for me though, I'm too busy to be there for it.

Westies are spunky! It's a terrier thing. I've heard from Westie owners that they are very demanding about attention. They will not be ignored!

 

[ChrisL]

Anyhow, moving along (and ignoring the weirdos - lol).

A friend of mine got the cutest little Westy recently. I love those cute little things. She puts a little barrette in her hair. Her name is Elvira. If I was to get a dog, I would give consideration to a Westy because of this dog. SOOOO adorable. Getting a dog right now is just not feasible for me though, I'm too busy to be there for it.

Westies are spunky! It's a terrier thing. I've heard from Westie owners that they are very demanding about attention. They will not be ignored!

My friend's Westy is really energetic and gets into everything, but she is just a puppy still. I love her outgoing personality though. She has a really cute personality and is very friendly and affectionate.

 

[Coyote]

33 derailing and off topic posts have been removed. Community threads like Pets are places to have fun - and a dog thread is not the place for a cat fight. Take it to the Flame Zone.

 

[Uncensored2008]

The AKC and the show rings have done catastrophic damage to dogs.

Human hubris, fucking up Nature as usual.

DERP

There are no "natural" dogs, fucktard. Dogs are a creation of man.

 

[Coyote]

Anyhow, moving along (and ignoring the weirdos - lol).

A friend of mine got the cutest little Westy recently. I love those cute little things. She puts a little barrette in her hair. Her name is Elvira. If I was to get a dog, I would give consideration to a Westy because of this dog. SOOOO adorable. Getting a dog right now is just not feasible for me though, I'm too busy to be there for it.

Westies are spunky! It's a terrier thing. I've heard from Westie owners that they are very demanding about attention. They will not be ignored!

I'm kind of a hard core herding dog enthusiast, but currently have two "oddball" dogs I never thought I'd have. One is an Akita mix, the other is a terrier (maybe rat terrier?) - border collie type mix. And damn...that terrier side, it's the dark force He critters so intensely NOTHING can break the concentration!

 

[Coyote]

The AKC and the show rings have done catastrophic damage to dogs.

Human hubris, fucking up Nature as usual.

DERP

There are no "natural" dogs, fucktard. Dogs are a creation of man.

Yes and no....dogs co-evolved with humanity. If you want to look at "natural" dogs - look at what are commonly called "village dogs" or "pariah dogs" or "street dogs". The whole purebred dog thing is actually a creation of the Victorian era.

 

[Uncensored2008]

The AKC and the show rings have done catastrophic damage to dogs.

Human hubris, fucking up Nature as usual.

DERP

There are no "natural" dogs, fucktard. Dogs are a creation of man.

Yes and no....dogs co-evolved with humanity. If you want to look at "natural" dogs - look at what are commonly called "village dogs" or "pariah dogs" or "street dogs". The whole purebred dog thing is actually a creation of the Victorian era.

Nope.

Dogs were bred from wolves. Camp wolves were domesticated and using selective breeding ALL of the dogs that exist now were created.

{
Dogs were just a loose category of wolves until around 15,000 years ago, when our ancestors tamed and began to manage them. We fed them, bred them, and spread them from continent to continent. While other wolf descendants died out, dogs grew into a new species. We invented the dog.

We didn't pick just any wolves for this project. We picked the ones that could help us and get along with us. Dogs are dumber than monkeys and other mammals in many ways, but they excel at one thing: interpreting human behavior. Three years ago, scientists tested this talent in wolves, adult dogs, puppies raised in households, and puppies raised in kennels. The wolves couldn't read humans well, but the puppies could—even the puppies raised in kennels. Through selection, we've hardwired human compatibility into dogs. We've made a species in our image.
}
Our creepiest genetic invention: the dog.

Now Slate is a Nazi hate site that spews the kind of shit that Pillowbite does, but they are right on the science part.

 

[Coyote]

The AKC and the show rings have done catastrophic damage to dogs.

Human hubris, fucking up Nature as usual.

DERP

There are no "natural" dogs, fucktard. Dogs are a creation of man.

Yes and no....dogs co-evolved with humanity. If you want to look at "natural" dogs - look at what are commonly called "village dogs" or "pariah dogs" or "street dogs". The whole purebred dog thing is actually a creation of the Victorian era.

Nope.

Dogs were bred from wolves. Camp wolves were domesticated and using selective breeding ALL of the dogs that exist now were created.

{
Dogs were just a loose category of wolves until around 15,000 years ago, when our ancestors tamed and began to manage them. We fed them, bred them, and spread them from continent to continent. While other wolf descendants died out, dogs grew into a new species. We invented the dog.

We didn't pick just any wolves for this project. We picked the ones that could help us and get along with us. Dogs are dumber than monkeys and other mammals in many ways, but they excel at one thing: interpreting human behavior. Three years ago, scientists tested this talent in wolves, adult dogs, puppies raised in households, and puppies raised in kennels. The wolves couldn't read humans well, but the puppies could—even the puppies raised in kennels. Through selection, we've hardwired human compatibility into dogs. We've made a species in our image.
}
Our creepiest genetic invention: the dog.

Now Slate is a Nazi hate site that spews the kind of shit that Pillowbite does, but they are right on the science part.

There's some dispute with that actually. Have you ever read Ray Coppinger's book on dogs? It's really well worth the read and it (among other research) takes a different path on the domestication of dogs, one which in my view makes a lot of sense. Domestication usually begins with a species that gradually evolves to live close to human habitats - the flight/fight response is suppressed. Dogs evolved from a common wolf ancester - but they evolved, they weren't selectively bred until later. They evolved as scavengers - a role they still have as ferals around the world. Their jaws are weaker than any wolf, their instincts are different - unlike wolves they have evolved to bond with humans. There are a lot of interesting experiments on the differences between wolves and dogs (your link is one). This also explains why wolves never really become like dogs. Even if you bottle raise a wolf pup from birth - it is still a wolf. It is shy, powerful, not strongly bonded to humanity - it's not useful to a primitive human as a hunting partner. It's hard to imagine primitive people starting with a wild wolf and selectively breeding - that is resource intensive and doesn't make sense in a survivalist society. But if you start the process with an animal that is already partly domesticated through close association with human habitats - it's a bit easier. To me it makes sense that they co-evolved.


Dogs, But Not Wolves, Use Humans As Tools (this one might be based on the one you linked to)

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/09/why-dogs-turn-us-help

 

[IsaacNewton]

California is considering legislation that would require all businesses that sell animals to get their stock from shelters rather than breeders. As you can imagine the breeders are freaking the hell out. I think a mix would be best, no need to put all those people out of business but certainly it would be preferable to save animals already born. This genetic degeneration that the OP points out is something I had never heard of before but it makes sense. It is the same as the few human families that used to rule Europe. They inbred with each other exclusively and they developed many genetically caused diseases among their small population.

Research has found that bears and wolves, even in a national park the size of Yellowstone, need a larger breeding population to stay genetically healthy. Biologists are finding that the breaking up of natural range of these animal populations which goes from the central US to Northern Canada, because of privately owned land, cuts off populations and they are relegated to what in essence is a genetic island. Steps are being taken to work with land owners to reestablish the normal very large range for these large animals to keep their gene pools healthy.

 

[IsaacNewton]

The AKC and the show rings have done catastrophic damage to dogs.

Human hubris, fucking up Nature as usual.

DERP

There are no "natural" dogs, fucktard. Dogs are a creation of man.

Yes and no....dogs co-evolved with humanity. If you want to look at "natural" dogs - look at what are commonly called "village dogs" or "pariah dogs" or "street dogs". The whole purebred dog thing is actually a creation of the Victorian era.

Nope.

Dogs were bred from wolves. Camp wolves were domesticated and using selective breeding ALL of the dogs that exist now were created.

{
Dogs were just a loose category of wolves until around 15,000 years ago, when our ancestors tamed and began to manage them. We fed them, bred them, and spread them from continent to continent. While other wolf descendants died out, dogs grew into a new species. We invented the dog.

We didn't pick just any wolves for this project. We picked the ones that could help us and get along with us. Dogs are dumber than monkeys and other mammals in many ways, but they excel at one thing: interpreting human behavior. Three years ago, scientists tested this talent in wolves, adult dogs, puppies raised in households, and puppies raised in kennels. The wolves couldn't read humans well, but the puppies could—even the puppies raised in kennels. Through selection, we've hardwired human compatibility into dogs. We've made a species in our image.
}
Our creepiest genetic invention: the dog.

Now Slate is a Nazi hate site that spews the kind of shit that Pillowbite does, but they are right on the science part.

There's some dispute with that actually. Have you ever read Ray Coppinger's book on dogs? It's really well worth the read and it (among other research) takes a different path on the domestication of dogs, one which in my view makes a lot of sense. Domestication usually begins with a species that gradually evolves to live close to human habitats - the flight/fight response is suppressed. Dogs evolved from a common wolf ancester - but they evolved, they weren't selectively bred until later. They evolved as scavengers - a role they still have as ferals around the world. Their jaws are weaker than any wolf, their instincts are different - unlike wolves they have evolved to bond with humans. There are a lot of interesting experiments on the differences between wolves and dogs (your link is one). This also explains why wolves never really become like dogs. Even if you bottle raise a wolf pup from birth - it is still a wolf. It is shy, powerful, not strongly bonded to humanity - it's not useful to a primitive human as a hunting partner. It's hard to imagine primitive people starting with a wild wolf and selectively breeding - that is resource intensive and doesn't make sense in a survivalist society. But if you start the process with an animal that is already partly domesticated through close association with human habitats - it's a bit easier. To me it makes sense that they co-evolved.


Dogs, But Not Wolves, Use Humans As Tools (this one might be based on the one you linked to)

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/09/why-dogs-turn-us-help

There is a documentary somewhere where the Russians did a long experiment with caged wolves. Some of them almost never came to trust or work with humans, while others VERY quickly trusted humans and easily became domesticated. It has to do with the genetics of the wolves themselves, humans didn't breed anything into wolves 10,000 years ago. Some wolves were predisposed to form a symbiotic relationship with humans which was beneficial to both.

 

[Coyote]

Human hubris, fucking up Nature as usual.

DERP

There are no "natural" dogs, fucktard. Dogs are a creation of man.

Yes and no....dogs co-evolved with humanity. If you want to look at "natural" dogs - look at what are commonly called "village dogs" or "pariah dogs" or "street dogs". The whole purebred dog thing is actually a creation of the Victorian era.

Nope.

Dogs were bred from wolves. Camp wolves were domesticated and using selective breeding ALL of the dogs that exist now were created.

{
Dogs were just a loose category of wolves until around 15,000 years ago, when our ancestors tamed and began to manage them. We fed them, bred them, and spread them from continent to continent. While other wolf descendants died out, dogs grew into a new species. We invented the dog.

We didn't pick just any wolves for this project. We picked the ones that could help us and get along with us. Dogs are dumber than monkeys and other mammals in many ways, but they excel at one thing: interpreting human behavior. Three years ago, scientists tested this talent in wolves, adult dogs, puppies raised in households, and puppies raised in kennels. The wolves couldn't read humans well, but the puppies could—even the puppies raised in kennels. Through selection, we've hardwired human compatibility into dogs. We've made a species in our image.
}
Our creepiest genetic invention: the dog.

Now Slate is a Nazi hate site that spews the kind of shit that Pillowbite does, but they are right on the science part.

There's some dispute with that actually. Have you ever read Ray Coppinger's book on dogs? It's really well worth the read and it (among other research) takes a different path on the domestication of dogs, one which in my view makes a lot of sense. Domestication usually begins with a species that gradually evolves to live close to human habitats - the flight/fight response is suppressed. Dogs evolved from a common wolf ancester - but they evolved, they weren't selectively bred until later. They evolved as scavengers - a role they still have as ferals around the world. Their jaws are weaker than any wolf, their instincts are different - unlike wolves they have evolved to bond with humans. There are a lot of interesting experiments on the differences between wolves and dogs (your link is one). This also explains why wolves never really become like dogs. Even if you bottle raise a wolf pup from birth - it is still a wolf. It is shy, powerful, not strongly bonded to humanity - it's not useful to a primitive human as a hunting partner. It's hard to imagine primitive people starting with a wild wolf and selectively breeding - that is resource intensive and doesn't make sense in a survivalist society. But if you start the process with an animal that is already partly domesticated through close association with human habitats - it's a bit easier. To me it makes sense that they co-evolved.


Dogs, But Not Wolves, Use Humans As Tools (this one might be based on the one you linked to)

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/09/why-dogs-turn-us-help

There is a documentary somewhere where the Russians did a long experiment with caged wolves. Some of them almost never came to trust or work with humans, while others VERY quickly trusted humans and easily became domesticated. It has to do with the genetics of the wolves themselves, humans didn't breed anything into wolves 10,000 years ago. Some wolves were predisposed to form a symbiotic relationship with humans which was beneficial to both.

They did something like that with foxes as well and that was interesting - they selected for the "tamest", most easily handled, least frightened. The other side of that selection process was that they also started to see altered morphology. The animals showed white markings, more "infantile" characteristics (in many ways, selecting for tameness is also selecting for traits that occur in the very young) - they were seeing more domed heads, dropped ears for example.

 

[Coyote]

Human hubris, fucking up Nature as usual.

DERP

There are no "natural" dogs, fucktard. Dogs are a creation of man.

Yes and no....dogs co-evolved with humanity. If you want to look at "natural" dogs - look at what are commonly called "village dogs" or "pariah dogs" or "street dogs". The whole purebred dog thing is actually a creation of the Victorian era.

Nope.

Dogs were bred from wolves. Camp wolves were domesticated and using selective breeding ALL of the dogs that exist now were created.

{
Dogs were just a loose category of wolves until around 15,000 years ago, when our ancestors tamed and began to manage them. We fed them, bred them, and spread them from continent to continent. While other wolf descendants died out, dogs grew into a new species. We invented the dog.

We didn't pick just any wolves for this project. We picked the ones that could help us and get along with us. Dogs are dumber than monkeys and other mammals in many ways, but they excel at one thing: interpreting human behavior. Three years ago, scientists tested this talent in wolves, adult dogs, puppies raised in households, and puppies raised in kennels. The wolves couldn't read humans well, but the puppies could—even the puppies raised in kennels. Through selection, we've hardwired human compatibility into dogs. We've made a species in our image.
}
Our creepiest genetic invention: the dog.

Now Slate is a Nazi hate site that spews the kind of shit that Pillowbite does, but they are right on the science part.

There's some dispute with that actually. Have you ever read Ray Coppinger's book on dogs? It's really well worth the read and it (among other research) takes a different path on the domestication of dogs, one which in my view makes a lot of sense. Domestication usually begins with a species that gradually evolves to live close to human habitats - the flight/fight response is suppressed. Dogs evolved from a common wolf ancester - but they evolved, they weren't selectively bred until later. They evolved as scavengers - a role they still have as ferals around the world. Their jaws are weaker than any wolf, their instincts are different - unlike wolves they have evolved to bond with humans. There are a lot of interesting experiments on the differences between wolves and dogs (your link is one). This also explains why wolves never really become like dogs. Even if you bottle raise a wolf pup from birth - it is still a wolf. It is shy, powerful, not strongly bonded to humanity - it's not useful to a primitive human as a hunting partner. It's hard to imagine primitive people starting with a wild wolf and selectively breeding - that is resource intensive and doesn't make sense in a survivalist society. But if you start the process with an animal that is already partly domesticated through close association with human habitats - it's a bit easier. To me it makes sense that they co-evolved.


Dogs, But Not Wolves, Use Humans As Tools (this one might be based on the one you linked to)

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/09/why-dogs-turn-us-help

There is a documentary somewhere where the Russians did a long experiment with caged wolves. Some of them almost never came to trust or work with humans, while others VERY quickly trusted humans and easily became domesticated. It has to do with the genetics of the wolves themselves, humans didn't breed anything into wolves 10,000 years ago. Some wolves were predisposed to form a symbiotic relationship with humans which was beneficial to both.

They did something like that with foxes as well and that was interesting - they selected for the "tamest", most easily handled, least frightened. The other side of that selection process was that they also started to see altered morphology. The animals showed white markings, more "infantile" characteristics (in many ways, selecting for tameness is also selecting for traits that occur in the very young) - they were seeing more domed heads, dropped ears for example.