dogs decoded

[queenlives]

saw this wonderful program last night on pbs. it appears as though you can watch it in its entirety online... whataworld!

for anyone who cares for animals and is curious about the relationship between dogs and humans, this is a pretty informative update on the results of some of the latest research. (wait until you see what happens with the silver foxes in the 50 year russian breeding program - who knew!)

our family has always had a dog member (usually 2) and this program raised some interesting points that we've discussed over the years.

 

[Miner]

It was interesting. I seem to remember another PBS show several years ago where they looked at dogs, esp the lineage from wild animals to today's pet.
Miner

 

[ChopsJazz]

I'll wait til I'm home from work before I watch it, but the dog/human relationship reminds me of how to tell if your dog is really your "best friend": Lock your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car and, after an hour, see which one is happy to see you when you let them out.

Can't wait to see the program.

 

[gdae]

I've seen other documentaries about dogs, but this is the first one that came up with so many facts that I hadn't heard before. Very illuminating.

 

[Vega$ NSX]

Absolutely fascinating video clip. Thanks for sharing!

As a non-dog owner, I’ve ironically done an absurd amount of research on dogs and dog ownership. Dogs are truly a unique animal as a pet and this video does a pretty good job in bringing a lot of research and facts together in a very visually appealing and accessible format.

A long while ago, I did a lot of reading up on the Siberian Fox studies and one thing I’m really surprised they did not mention and overlooked was another remarkable evolutionary change in the gentler bred foxes. One of the major breakthroughs they found was that wild foxes were traditionally dependent on themselves or the pack for food and survival. However, in the process of selective breeding, a new breed stood out in that they relied primarily on humans to provide for their food source. In other words, their genetic encoding made them instinctually turn to humans to provide for their food and sustenance. It is one of the primary factors in distinguishing dogs from most other animals; this instinctual dependence on humans for survival. Fascinating!

 

[queenlives]

glad you guys liked it... we thought it was pretty interesting. wasn't the facial scanning trait and dogs' ability to know what pointing to an object is for (compared to the chimp in this example) interesting?

their example of the border collie who knows her 300 toys BY NAME and who was able to view a photo of an object, then go to another room and retrieve that particular object was pretty cool. our border collie mix knows the name of about 5 of her toys and will (usually) retrieve them as named.

vegas, good point about that element of their research... i'm guessing they simply ran out of time to adequately cover that - and other - findings.

 

[fallen86]

if you guys like that you will probably like this one too:

NATGEO's and Man Created Dog

 

[queenlives]

if you guys like that you will probably like this one too:

NATGEO's and Man Created Dog

Thx for that!

 

[Vega$ NSX]

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[Dtrigg]

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That's gut wrenching.

 

[robbiedawg]

dogs are like that.this is my favorite story of dog devotion,about a famous little terrier in scotland who stayed by his person's grave for many,many years.some of the dates are misprinted,but it's a true story
http://www.findoutaboutdogs.com/Greyfriars_Bobby.html
this View attachment 72508 is a pic of the pub that was named after bobby,with his statue

 

[queenlives]

That's gut wrenching.

+1

in 96 our youngest son wanted a cat, and we ended up selecting a maine coon. maine's are often referred to as the "dogs of the cat world - very human oriented and loyal. pandora would see him off to school each morning and greet him eac day after school; the nights he went to orchestra, she would wait the entire evening by her window perch, waiting for him to return... when he pulled into the drive, she would sprint to the front door to greet him. she loved scott like no other creature i'd ever seen toward their human.


when Scott graduated h.s. in '00, he left home... and pan rarely moved from her perch for the first six months... she was waiting for scott to return. she eventually bonded to me - i was around the house most of the time - but i was just a substitute for her "dad".

pan passed away this past march and i still see her waiting by her window for scott to return....

 

[Vega$ NSX]

Wow, here's another cool dog story I just came across.

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[queenlives]

Wow, here's another cool dog story I just came across.

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great story, thx for posting.