21–30 of 122 posts
In my experience, the dogs ive been around dont generally look sad. The totality of their facial expressions show their emotion. Ive a one year old pup, border collie/labrador mix. I can take a quick glance at his face and know exactly how he's feeling. Probably 80% of the time, its pure joy. Happy to run around, chew on toys, jump on the furniture and try and play (unrequitedly) with our cats. About another 10%, he'…
It could be the other way around: when that kind of ability appeared humans have very selectively decided to prefer dogs that had that trait. Dogs are pretty much a human creation (through centuries of selective breeding) so it's not really evolution rather selection when it comes to this particular example.
I wouldn't be surprised if humans haven't changed too since dogs befriended them. I imagine it's really a symbiotic relationship in the wild. Both are social animals. Dogs have the speed and the teeth. Humans have the brain power, stone throwing and cooking. Dogs can mind the human young to a large extent and humans can feed the baby dogs cooked food. It's win win and a fearsome combination.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's because chihuahuas and great danes have all the same bits, just with different scales/shapes. Where as entirely new muscles take a lot more work to evolve.
I'd be very surprised if Chihuahuas and Great Danes literally have all the same bits. Canines are the most morphologically diverse animal, surpassing even humans. If there aren’t dog breeds that all have or lack a particular muscle, type of hair or bone I’ll be very surprised. Poodles have webbed feet for one, or just consider how some breeds have floppy and others pointed ears. It’s reasonably likely the muscles tha…
While there are many differences between breeds and individual dogs, there are also common factors that link them together. For example, all breeds have an excellent sense of smell and hearing and have the same number of bones which are tied together by the same number of muscles, tendons and ligaments.
https://breedingbetterdogs.com/article/structure-and-movemen...
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.
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. If you show them a cute mobile picture of a baby, they'll see a lot of flickering. As well, did you know lights have a flicker? If you think it's bad, it's even worse for dogs which can lead to stress.
More:
https://www.dogwalkersmelbourne.com.au/articles-dog-walking-...
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.
(But it's typical and common human hubris to not call nature nature when it includes us.)
Is it not fairer to suggest that this is not evolution/natural selection at work here, but rather just selective breeding? I can't think of another species of animal that has been so widely twisted and manipulated in appearance by human's selective breeding than dogs.
Seems odd to suggest that this part of a dogs' body was due to evolution, but that rest of the crazy variety in dogs' body is not? A trait like this that humans like seems like is an obvious thing to get selected surely?
Or is there some strong evidence to suggest that this was really was nothing to do with selective breeding?
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.…
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.…
And yet, he contantly amazes me by the range and precision of his vision. Downwards pointing with my left arm means come here at once, which he will reliably register at a distance more than a hundred meters. Other dogs he will recognize at distances further than that, and he will unerringly home in on thrown stick bobbing on the water, as long as it's on the right, where his good eye can see.
Clearly, there's more to it than just they are short sighted.