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When did dogs become our best friends?

atlasobscura.com

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Re: When did dogs become our best friends?

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... So my six year old daughter needs a license?

I love that attitude - we have a safety issue, so let's victim blame and ignore the infrastructure issues, poorly trained HEAVY MACHINERY OPERATORS, safety-hostile vehicle design, and generally enormous subsidies for using cars everywhere.

It also leads to restrictions on walking "for safety". For instance, note attempts in Ireland to make it illegal to walk at night without high visibility gear.

Re: When did dogs become our best friends?

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The UK has gone from high to low in a generation. People no longer (for instance) leave their children (or even their dogs) outside shops whilst they go inside.

So you're saying that in the 70/80s people trusted each other much more? I'm not sure specifically about kids and dogs but I'm not quite sure that was the case then, given the extremely huge heterogeneous society that was already back then. What do you think?

It's a complete mystery.

Re: When did dogs become our best friends?

#234

It's a bit of a fringe theory but there's a suggestion that the human 'alliance' with wolves gave us the edge over Neanderthals and other predators and ensured that it was us who ultimately survived as a species. It's a nice thought for a dog lover.

Why wouldn't neanderthals form an alliance with wolves too? Especially considering Neanderthals had a multi-hundred-thousand year head start in wolf range compared to homo sapiens.

Again we are in the realms of speculation upon speculation, but Neanderthals didn't have sclera (whites of the eyes) which according to the co-operative eye hypothesis as regards to domesticated hunting dogs allows them to follow our gaze. It does seem odd that Neanderthals didn't try to domesticate them too - surely the first reaction on seeing humans and dogs bring down a mammoth or corral large deer would be 'got to get us some of that', but as sibling comments say we don't know much about them really.

Re: When did dogs become our best friends?

#236
post #212

Dogs are little more than farm animals, in the sense that we're farming them for companionship. They might be our friends now that we have killed all the ones that would defy our commands. Look at any wild animal, do they want to be owned, do they want to be put on a leash? Of course not. Animals want to be free like any other living being, but just like cows, dogs would not survive on their own because we have artif…

Thank you for saying that, it's a bitter pill for a lot of people to swallow. I suspect most folks who struggle with squaring the facts just haven't spent much time around livestock.

Re: When did dogs become our best friends?

#237

First, I know a lot of people are very nice to their dogs, but... I live in a large city, and based on the number of dogs locked away in apartments all day barking and bored to death with almost no stimulation, I figure dogs are certainly not the best friends of a lot of people. Instead, they are more like prisoners that illustrate the cruelness of humanity in general: these people use them as entertainment and care…

They are pets and not friends

They are neither. They are living beings that we just happened to have modified through artificial selection to be our slaves.

Re: When did dogs become our best friends?

#238
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Concrete and asphalt don't need fertilizer.

Most dogs are extremely particular about where they poop and don't poop on concrete and asphalt if they have any other choice.

I guess we walk through different alleyways.

Re: When did dogs become our best friends?

#239

Likely twice as old as written language. https://www.livescience.com/stone-age-dog-burial.html Abuse of a dog or cat is a crime against civilization itself.

I've made this argument many times and it always raises eyebrows and induces shrugs. We as a species co-evolved with some animals and not others. Our partnership with extends deep into the mists of pre-history. We and they have co-evolved to an extent to be better companions. Eating a dog is a profound betrayal unlike that of eating a horse. Come at me

Rats and cockroaches also co-evolved with humans. Is that a partnership that evokes similar sentimental feelings for you?

Re: When did dogs become our best friends?

#240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently, dog poop is not an effective fertilizer and is considered harmful for grass? Was news to me as a dog owner who allows our dog to do her business in the back yard (but would never allow it on a public walkway/area). https://lawnlove.com/blog/is-dog-poop-bad-for-grass/

Using an A.I. article from lawnlove.com as a source....okayyyy This country has really gone downhill with education My teachers would have yelled at me for having a source like that.

Fair point. Was my first Google hit on "is dog poop bad for a lawn" which was probably lazy on my part.
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