The Dog's Way

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself", To quote Josh Billings, 19th century humourist & lecturer. A dog can instantly make a burnt out person feel loved, wanted, & looked-forward-to! Someone said, "There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face".

Many animals have a society system, for example, elephants, meercats, insects like bees & ants; but certain animals, attached themselves to the human society, so much so, that it is difficult to visualize a human society without them. The most conspicuous of this characteristic is dogs. There are dogs on the streets, strays & "pariah" dogs. & then there are highly trained dogs, which offer true service to humans, guide dogs & bomb sniffers. Even those, which are domestic pets, or neighbourhood puppies, are a source of unadulterated trust & love. "Dogs love their friends & bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love, & always have to mix love & hate" was said by none other than Sigmund Freud.

For decades, abandoned cubs of tiger & lion species born to captive mothers, who for some reason become alienated to their new-born offspring, have been kept alive by nursing bitches brought to the rescue by the zoo authorities. Of course, for this, the bitches are convinced by the human caretakers that these are her own offspring.

"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person", the famous humorist Andy Rooney once said.

How did dogs evolve to be such endearing animals?

Anthrozoology is the study of human-animal interaction (animal referring to all non-human animals), also described as the science focusing on all aspects of the human-animal bond, & a bridge between the natural & social sciences.
Dogs are close relatives of wolves, & somewhere around the time of human settlement, their lines separated. Studies have been conducted with wolves bred & raised in captivity, for generations. It is possible to raise wolves which are, at best, not hostile. It has been found that wolves never become completely comfortable in human company, & it is almost impossible to train them.

It is the popularly held view that unusual looking pups were adopted by prehistoric people, & these started living in the prehistoric human society. While in the wild, unusual coat color, body structure would have meant becoming marked for predators, as nature’s freaks, & definite early death, these individuals, through artificial selection, got a chance to start their own lines.

Both natural & artificial selection led to the evolution of the modern dog. Since people selected the traits that would be, in nature, selected against, these might not be beneficial for the animal, especially in the wild.

Which were the traits selected by people? Depending on their individual needs, behaviours as well as physical appearances were chosen. Animals which warned if an intruder was approaching. Animals which helped to track down prey, owing to their superior sense of smell. Animals which were more friendly towards people, who bred & "owned" it, its artificial "pack".

However, there is a gap in the conventional theory.

The evolution in the dogs is extremely varied & rapid, considering the period of evolution. It is unlikely that random mutations were selected to this wide a range of manifestations. In fact, the physical diversity seen in dogs, as a species, is unmatched by that in any other mammalian species. An astonishing amount of behavioural diversity is also found in the more than 350 breeds of dogs recognized worldwide. Natural or artificial selection fails to explain the introduction of so much diversity.

What is now believed to have happened during the prehistoric selection is that, alongwith behavioural patterns, certain linked genes, (& thus seemingly unrelated physical traits) were unknowingly also selected.

"Domestication" is both the process & condition of genetic & environmentally-induced developmental, adaptation, to humans & captivity. The behaviour of dogs has been observed over time & in many studies, & breed-specific behaviour persists, even in absence of motivation. Thus, these behaviours (herding, pointing, tracking, hunting, & so forth) are controlled, at least in part, at the genetic level. The emotional range that dogs display, to which humans respond, including loyalty & affection are also postulated to have strong genetic basis.

This theory is supported by the studies of Dmitri Konstantinovich Blyaev (Russian geneticist) & team in the 1950s. They spent many years breeding silver foxes (precious for their fur) & selecting only those individuals that showed the least fear of humans. After about ten generations of selective breeding, the foxes showed no fear of humans, & often wagged their tails & licked their human caretakers, to show affection. However, they also started to have spotted coats, floppy ears, & curled tails.

Despite rigorous selection based solely on behaviour, the foxes started to show several physical traits, which typically distinguish dogs from wolves!
Similar changes would have been showing on the wild wolves which wandered close to human habitation, when the pups started to be taken in by the prehistoric people. These animals showed more puppy-like behaviour, which was treasured by people, but in the process of this change, other behavioural & morphological patterns simultaneously emerged.

Dogs are less evolved than humans. They, despite being in constant company of their owners, do not become what their owners are. The evermore competitive human society consciously practices Survival-of-the-fittest (Or is it survival-of-the-loudest?). while it leaves the "virtues" of compassion & care to a handful of "social workers", canines can be trusted to look after the wounded & the sick, human beings! We’d never know what a dog thinks of himself or herself. But, there’s a lot to thank, that dogs are dogs. If not for these, where would we see such generous examples of all that is venerated as "humanity", sans the follies of human?