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Overview of dog domestication
History of domestication in dogs
Overview of dog domestication
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Over thousands of years, humans have domesticated animals for various reasons. Among these domesticated species companion animals hold multiple questions, from why do humans have companion animals to how certain desired behavioral traits developed. When observing closely related species or species with a common ancestor one can clearly see the difference along with similarities among a variety of traits. Behavior, just like any other trait, can also be observed and related to closely related species or species with common ancestors. The main focus of this research is to understand these similarities and differences among closely related species or species with a common ancestor at a genetic level. The connection between genetics and behavior …show more content…
Now let's think about when an animal is truly considered domesticated. There is no concrete definition for domestication due to the fact that domestication is a continuous transition, attributes differ by species as well as genes and environment that interact to produce selectable characters that may vary with circumstance. However there is an interconnective and characteristic suite of modifiable traits involving physiology, morphology and behavior that is often associated with domesticated animals. Critically all domesticated animals manifest a remarkable tolerance of proximity to, or even an outright lack of fear for humans. Domestication behaviorally is not a single trait but a suite of traits so praising elements affecting: mood, emotion, agonistic and affiliative behavior, and social communication that is all modified in some way. It is important to understand the distinction between taming and domestication. Taming is conditioned behavioral modifications of an individual, whereas domestication is permanent genetic modification of a bred lineage that leads to, among other, a heritable predisposition toward human association. Trade marks of tameness is a decrease in flight behavior and in increase in social …show more content…
New technology, techniques and tools also make it easier to study the genetics of behavior, morphology and complex disease in domesticated animals that could easily be related to humans. Some of these tools include readily available information on gnomes, not only for different species but for different breeds within a species. Some technique using the genomes involves looking at the entire genome and locating the “causative” haplotype block, followed by fine-mapping focusing on a specific region across different breeds, therefore providing a better knowledge on the genotypic information. The next step would be to measure and classify behaviors such as herding, pointing and that “indefinable character” so treasured by
Wong, R.Y., and Hofmann H.A. 2010. Behavioral Genomics: An Organismic Perspective. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, in press.
When the word “domestication” is used when talking about dogs, most people have the misconception that humans brought dogs into their homes on purpose, and that is was something they did consciously. However, after reading about Hare’s research it is easy to understand that this
Every year an estimated 4.5 million dog bites occur in the U.S. BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) is a law that suggests that certain breeds are more prone to aggression than others. By banning or restricting the breeds in question, it is believed to help reduce the number of attacks. BSL determines which breeds are dangerous using statistics. These statistics cannot be relied on for two reasons. One, there is no concrete method to determine a dog’s pedigree. Thus, a victim, animal control officer, or owner is trusted with identifying the dog through appearance. According to Scott and Fuller, authors of Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog, “It has been known for decades that the cross-bred offspring of purebred dogs of different breeds often bear little or no resemblance to either their sires or dams (1965).” Visual assessments are questionable. Two, population is not accounted for. Population is important, in that it provides context to percentages. Because a dog’s breed is impossible to pinpoint, we cannot provide numbers. BSL’s cause is rendered useless when we consider these points.
Deborah L. Duffy, Yuying Hsu, James A. Serpell ,Applied Animal Behavior Science - 1 December 2008 (Vol. 114, Issue 3, Pages 441-460, DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2008.04.006)
...tion, including their initial evolution, their domestication, and the roles they played in human society throughout the ages. It is a relatively new book being published in 2010. Darcy Morey, the author of this book is a zooarchaeologist and focuses his research on the relationship between dogs and humans throughout time. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee. This book is based on the authors own research and also refers to the information gathered by many other scientists, all of which are listed in the reference section of the book. As mentioned this book contains the results of research from many scientists and is beneficial for learning both general and more scientific knowledge on the subject. I would recommend it to anybody who is conduction a research on the topic. This book was found using I-Share using the search term the domestication of dogs.
8.5 Billion chickens are killed every year, and 300 million are kept in cages for egg production.
People have been domesticating animals for thousands of years. In that time people have probably already tried to domesticate animals that are not domesticated now, so they probably cannot be domesticated today. I do find this convincing.
Domestication is the taming of an organism to convert it to domestic use. Domestication however differs from taming in a sense that with domestication, both the behaviour and the physical characteristics of an organism can change. Domesticated organisms live in close contact with humans, mainly because they are beneficial to them. This means that some organisms are better equipped to survive than others and those with the favourable traits survive to reproduce and a population of organisms with favourable traits is apparent.
Exotic animals in captivity as pets are capable of causing danger to society and the environment. For instance, they may be uncertain that could lead to the attacks with probable death. Do You Really Want A Baby Tiger? states that exotic animals have “unpredictable potential for serious or even deadly attacks..” Therefore, dangers become present when exotic animals are kept to attempt domestication.In addition, “these
The reduction in the brain size relates to the adaptive domestic behaviors such as temperament and reduced reactivity, which are paramount for domestication (Zeder 2012). These changes are significant and permanent. While a feral cat can live wild, they still have domestic cat traits such as a generalized diet obtained near human settlements (Zeder 2012). Cats appear to be wild and independent, but they have physically changed through domestication.
Serpell, J. (1995). The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People. Cambridge University Press.
How have native animals and non-native animals adapted to life in Australia? Australia was isolated from the rest of the world for quite a long period of time at the beginning of creation, allowing its native animals to adapt and develop separately to its environment alone. The cane toad, the wombat, and the koala all show their own examples of different adaptations to their surroundings.
News reporters are revealing it as being equivalent to living in a bathtub. Keeping animals confined in nothing but water that is only 50 feet deep when they are used to diving 1,000 feet and swimming 100 miles a day is going to construct a multitude of tension. There have been over 100 deaths at SeaWorld and we have only heard of 2. So follow the protests, in this fight against keeping animals in captivity. Animals should not be kept in captivity because they create a dangerous and alarming environment, not only for the employees, but for the animals as well, it dangers the animal’s mental and physical health, and they can’t live a regular life as the animals should.
Research Question: How did the different breeds help develop our history, and what did they contribute?
" Society & Animals 18.2 (2010): 183-203. Academic Search Premier -. EBSCO. Web. The Web. The Web.