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Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

theatlantic.com

61–70 of 122 posts

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#61
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn, I cannot wait to have a dog.

Getting a dog should not be an emotional decision. I have a dog and sometimes it's a lot of work. Feeding, pooping, pissing, neverending fur in the house and on my clothes, vet, constant attention seeking etc. Just to mention a few things. And if you need to travel you need a babysitter for your dog. It's easier if you have a backyard where the dog can chill.

I've often equated proper dogcare to childcare-lite.

Want to go out after work? Gotta go home and tend to the dogs first

Weekend getaway? The cost just increased by however much it's going to cost you to board the dogs or hire a sitter.

Surprise! One of your dogs has developed a thyroid condition and will require daily medication for the rest of its life.

Time for that annual teeth cleaning ($$$$$)

That said, next to fatherhood, it's one of the more rewarding things in my life.

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LEDs can be very bad, depending on the circuitry, to the extent that it's uncomfortable for peoples. Incandescent bulbs won't flicker.

Incandescent bulbs flicker at the rate of the AC current, but the flickering is brighter/dimmer rather than on/off because they stay radiant while hot and cool slowly.

Yes but I guess the amplitude of the flicker must be very low? I'd have thought that if it was at all significant it would be very visually obvious at 50-60Hz

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#63
post #26

This is a good opportunity to educate the general [HN] community about dogs: 1. They can only see blue/yellow. Not like humans' RGB. 2. They are short sighted. For far away objects, their sight is like a T-Rex, they can see moving objects, not stationary objects. Remain still, and they can't see you. Then again, they can smell you, especially if it's downwind. 3. Their flicker fusion threshold is higher than humans.…

My 12 year old labrador is in excellent shape, but his hearing is no longer quite up to scratch, and to avoid embarrassing levels of shouting when we are out and about, I increasingly use pointing and other signs at my end of our communication. Also, his left eye has been problematic for many years, and apparently only registers the haziest of outlines these days. And yet, he contantly amazes me by the range and prec…

I have noticed my dog scans people visually at a great distance. (Looking for people he might know, I imagine.)

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#64
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can confirm. I am sitting here with a 9 week old puppy that I've had since Friday. It's relentless at first.

It gets better, but the first weeks are hell. I'm so glad my dog is not a puppy anymore, even though he was really cute.

For me it was the first 3 months. Still a handful and i got more than i bargained for, but one of the better decisions ive made in life.

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#65
post #10

One of my favorite factoids is that the human-dog symbiosis evolved twice , in two unrelated corners of the world, at around the same time. It was meant to be.

Got a source on that? Seems like an interesting read.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6290/1228

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#66

Dogs' eyes don't generally look sad, especially if they're quizzically raising one eyebrow. Why change the title from the much more interesting, and accurate original? "Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them" I was actually expecting a dire clickbait sort of article, when it actually turns out to be substantive and interesting.

[poster here]: Interesting find - my phone showed the title as 'Why Do Dogs Look So Sad?', where the actual article's title is different. Looking at the page's source code under the tag shows these are different. I chose the shorter version (nevermind dropping the 'so' in 'so sad' cause that's really click-bait-y). My assumption was that readers would know that the source (the Atlantic) is a reputable publication and assume the article is of substance. It's interesting that even the Atlantic needs to resort to changing the title to get those coveted clicks. In the future, i'll strictly post the _actual title_ over to HN submission.

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#67
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Title changed from "Why do dogs look sad", thanks.

thanks for leaving a comment that includes the old title. it's always confusing when the title gets silently changed, and then there's comments complaining about a title that's no longer the title.

agreed, see my comment above to the initial and justified complaint.

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#68

Isn't this better described as selective breeding, rather than evolution? Maybe we haven't consciously bred the trait into dogs, but we might have selected such dogs for breeding, over litter mates that never made eye contact.

Selective breeding is still evolution.

Re: Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn, I cannot wait to have a dog.

Think about a cat instead ;) Seriously, dogs are a shitload of work and especially, no matter how fucked the weather outside is, you gotta take the dog to walks so that the dog can take a dump. In addition, many of the larger breeds are working dogs which means that they require massive amounts of attention and daily exercise so they don't literally go mad. Please do proper research upon the characteristics of your d…

This meme of not getting rescue dogs is so harmful and needs to stop. Good adoption agencies will foster the dogs for a while and let you know if the dog actually has behavioral issues. Plenty of them don't. I'm convinced my rescue's previous owner was a little old lady who died or something. He has no issues at all.

Every time I look at my amazing rescue dog (my first dog ever) and think about how he was almost put to death in a kill shelter it brings me to tears and I'm so happy that I have him.

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