Dogs Essay: The Domestication Of Cats And Dogs

The Domestication of Cats and Dogs

In our lives today, dogs and cats are exceedingly valuable. They help calm people with anxiety, assist the sick and disordered, and aid the depressed. Although, thousands of years ago, dogs were domesticated by humans and put to useful tasks, such as, hunting, herding and guarding. Cats, however, were tamed for only one thing and that was to catch rodents. There might not be a lot about how they came to be, but hopefully that will change. Without cats and dogs in our lives things would be more challenging for most.

The history of domestication of cats and dogs is an intriguing one. Strangely, there is little data on how cats became domesticated. The article “Earliest Evidence for Commensal Processes of Cat Domestication” states, “Despite the importance of cats in the modern world and their long history with humans, there is remarkably little archaeological evidence on their domestication” (Yaowu, 116). In other words, the scientific world remains unsure as to how cats became domesticated. Dogs, however, have a bit more information on their domestication history than cats do. Authors Richard Pell and Lauren Allen claim, “Although the exact nature and timing of the initial

Owning a dog can help your health tremendously. A report taken in Beijing by Bruce Headey, Fu Na, and Richard Zheng declares, “Results are given from a survey of women aged 25–40 in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou (N = 3031). Half the respondents owned dogs and half did not. Owners reported better health-related outcomes. They exercised more frequently, slept better, had higher self-reported fitness and health, took fewer days off sick from work and were seen less by doctors” (Headly, Na, and Zheng, 481). The women that owned dogs experienced a better lifestyle than the ones that did not. Overall, being the owner of a dog can help you keep fit and live a healthier