Early Canid Domestication Summary

The question of why civilization has evolved to it's present form is a complicated one. It is an area of study that is fraught with pitfalls and easy-to-make assumptions about cultures, specifically why some have advanced far enough to control the majority of the world while others have never managed to advance beyond simple hunting and gathering. In his book “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies”, author Jared Diamond attempts to explain the factors at play in our history that led to the modern world. In Chapter 9, titled “Zebras, Unhappy Marriages, and the Anna Karenina Principle”, Diamond explores the patterns of domestication in ancient cultures. He examines the types of animals that humans domesticated, as well as the distribution of domesticated animals and the effect on human society that this uneven distribution would bring. Ultimately he will argue that environment, not culture, is what drove the domestication of animals in the ancient world.

Humans and dogs have long shared a bond that was based on function. Early dogs that were the least valuable and useful did not make it into today’s time. On the other hand, the most valuable and helpful of dogs remained and created others like them. Ultimately, breed predecessors were produced by breeding the best hunters to the best hunters and the best guards to the best

This article describes the black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys Ludovocianus) and their coteries (polygynous social groups). In these groups, the one adult male reproducing genetically similar females. Its main purpose that the author (John L. Hoogland) is trying to convey and support his earlier work on prairie dogs. Therefore, there will be several references, in this summary, to his earlier work, called Analysis of the Mating System in the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (AMSBTPD), to full interpret what he describing in the article at hand. The authors research has expanded over time frame of nine years from 1974 to 1983 during the publishing of this article. These prairie dogs exist where some females and pups (yearlings) within the “town” usually don’t breed. However, they behave parentally towards non-offspring. In addition, the Hoogland classified these black-tailed prairie dogs as cooperative breeders, although "do not assist breeders to the same degree as most bird cooperative breeding groups” (Hoogland 1981, pg. 285), in 1983, 2 year after his 1981 publication.

Firstly, it is important for owners to socialize their pets with other pets and humans at a youthful age. For example, Ariana Huemer, Author of Scapegoats and Underdogs shares a veterinarian formerly employed by HSUS, Leslie Sinclair’s, knowledge “A lot of pit bulls involved in attacks have never had the chance to be around people.” (Huemer). Thus, social isolation has devastating effects upon an animals behavior. Secondly, how the owner himself socializes with others will rub off on the dog.

There are animals that just can not be domesticated because they are they are the opposite of that. Sheep,goat,cow and pigs came from Southwest Asia. Cow also came from India and North America. Also Horse came from Ukraine. All of the domesticated animals came from different places so that made some civilizations work easier because it depends where they live and they may have that animal.

Domestication is a very useful skill that has remained the same for many years. Animals can be used for meat, milk, wool, etc. They are also used as farming tools and transportation. Certain animals much better suited to domestication than others; Jared Diamond calls this the “anna Karenina principle’ (Class Lecture).

To begin, animals have been a part of human society for thousands of years. According to the article “Assistance Dogs: Learning New Tricks for Centuries”, man began taming wolves as far back

I previously believed that humans had domesticated dogs by taking wolf pups and raising them with their families. Over time I had thought that wolves naturally became friendly and evolved into dogs down the line. However, this process would not even be domestication, in fact this would be known as taming. As Hare states domestication is a process in which “genetic modifications resulting in behavioral, morphological and physical changes” occur, these changes need to be “passed down to the next generation.” When looking at Hare’s experiment with foxes, the foxes he worked with had the traits of dogs but were tamed not

How did it all began? The relationship between dogs and humans have changed over time. Dogs were the first animals that have been domesticated by humans. Dogs have been with Humans from the beginning. They have been evolving with humans for almost 32,000 years.

pregnancy the second or third time around, as they already know what to expect, their

Dogs reacted the same way an infant or a chimpanzee would react without their mother and for a dog was its owner. By doing the experiment on dogs and their owners, experimenters were able to conclude that dogs were emotionally attached to their owners. Therefore, we can conclude since the results are of those like infants, babies form an emotional bond with their caretaker which eventually turns into an attachment bond with their loved one. Babies tend to cry while dogs scratch the door and whine wanting their loved one or owner. Identifying dog behavior helps us identify our own abilities and experiences that affect our behavior. We can utilize the test done upon the dogs to advance the transition of an emotional bond to an attachment bond as the infant grows. The test however concluded that it was separation anxiety that caused the whining and the scratching on the door. What about the baby? The information and results that came from the experiment can help us advance upon the baby and their feelings towards the mother. Dogs tend to act like people but do they think and act like a human? They have the characteristics of acting like a human because their owners have instilled their values into their upbringing. Just like an infant, the early stages are the most important to lay the foundation that will pave the way for the rest of their lives. As for a dog, the way we treat and teach them, they will act, there is no breed that is born aggressive, the dog is dependant on the upbringing of the owner. Infants still have the capability of saying no and not tend to respect their parents as would a

Instead of waiting for good hunting seasons the domestication of animals was more convenient for humans, so many started to raise their own animals and manipulated their traits to their liking. Most domesticated animals were used as a food source but they also provided people with useful goods, such as wool, milk, arrows and needle (Domesticating Animals 2). Animals

Dogs were the first animal, and the only large carnivore, to be domesticated. in both appearance and in both Dogs are not tame wolves, but how they became these unique companions to people is still being debated.

The question we need to think about now as a society is not “How will we make this possible?”, but instead “Should we make this possible?” In order to understand this question, an understanding of why domestication first came about is needed. In the article Opinion: We Didn’t Domesticate Dogs. They Domesticated Us. by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods, describes how initially humans did not actively seek to domesticate animals. It was first brought on by wolves that began to live on the outskirts of human encampments. Normally wolves and humans were rivals due to overlapping needs for resources. Over time, people began to accept the more friendly wolves in, while killing off the more aggressive. Humans then started to exploit the gentler wolves in order to have an

The reason dogs have become domesticated was the synergy between humans and the wolves who were the ancestors of modern dogs. Dogs were attracted to humans by scavenging their left over food and the humans liked the dogs protecting the human settlements with their warning barks and fending off other predators with their constant presence. This meant the dogs natural diet of raw food was changed over the years and adapted to include cooked food left over from human consumption. This means that dogs who were essentially carnivores were eating the same food as humans, who were essentially omnivores. It is only since the late 1800′s that commercial dog food has been available, and not until the 1950′s did it become popular. It is also in the same