hen you think of man’s best friend the name “Canis Lupus Familiaris” will most likely not come to mind. Canis Lupus Familiaris is the trinomial or subspecies name for the Canid species, the domestic dog (Yong, 2016). It is hard to believe that dogs such as toy or terrier breeds have derived from the grey wolf.
To start the evolution of our many dog breeds today, we go back 10,000-30,000 years ago when the grey wolf walked all over the globe. Tribes and colonies during this time era encountered packs of wolves in their everyday lives (Yong, 2016). Wolves were often times scavengers if finding prey became difficult. They ate on scraps and garbage that humans left behind. Wolves can smell carcasses from around a mile away. If the animals knew …show more content…
Canines have 3 senses: sound, smell, and visual. The main sense in dogs are their ability to smell. A dog’s brain is one-tenth the size of a human brain however 40 percent adheres to their sense of smell (Maguire). This is how they understand the world we all live in. Following smell, dogs have a limited variance of color in their vision. There are three receptor cells or cones of color that our eyes can see including blue, red and green. The intensities of these colors are interpreted by the brain. Colorblindness results in the eye not being able to pick up a specific cone of color. A canine’s vision is equivalent to red-green colorblindness in humans (Bastian, 2015). Dogs are also less sensitive to brightness and different color variations. Lastly is the capability for dogs to hear. Dogs hear four times further than humans, and can hear high pitches that human cannot (Maguire). All three senses vary from breed to breed. Puppies are born with their eyes closed as well as deaf until around 21 days after birth. In addition to dogs hearing pitch differences, they can also understand the pitches in a human’s tone of voice (Maguire). Dog’s sense energy just like humans can sense energy or emotion. They do not pay attention to energy such as fear, anxiety, anger, nervousness, and tension. This comes into play especially when they are looking for pack leaders or dominance in both the …show more content…
However, did you know that there are more obvious instincts than those previously listed? They include licking, sniffing the rear of other animals, leading, rolling in foul smelling areas, and even burying objects (Weiss-roessler, 2016). Believe it or not there is a reason behind the canine madness. These acts are all natural instincts that relate to the wild. For example, leading or trailing relates to the position they would hold in a pack. Rolling in carcasses is meant to camouflage them from scaring off their pray by hiding their own odor (Weiss-roessler, 2016). Licking and tail-wagging are one of many ways that dogs communicate (Weiss-roessler, 2016). Dogs are often bread to duplicate these skills to their offspring. Behaviors such as aggression vary in severity amongst breeds. Aggression is commonly shown when a dog is showing dominance or protecting their space, the pack, or food (Weiss-roessler, 2016). To compare the severity or aftermath of aggression you can imagine a Chihuahua will do less damage than a German Shepard
To start the evolution of our many dog breeds today, we go back 10,000-30,000 years ago when the grey wolf walked all over the globe. Tribes and colonies during this time era encountered packs of wolves in their everyday lives (Yong, 2016). Wolves were often times scavengers if finding prey became difficult. They ate on scraps and garbage that humans left behind. Wolves can smell carcasses from around a mile away. If the animals knew …show more content…
Canines have 3 senses: sound, smell, and visual. The main sense in dogs are their ability to smell. A dog’s brain is one-tenth the size of a human brain however 40 percent adheres to their sense of smell (Maguire). This is how they understand the world we all live in. Following smell, dogs have a limited variance of color in their vision. There are three receptor cells or cones of color that our eyes can see including blue, red and green. The intensities of these colors are interpreted by the brain. Colorblindness results in the eye not being able to pick up a specific cone of color. A canine’s vision is equivalent to red-green colorblindness in humans (Bastian, 2015). Dogs are also less sensitive to brightness and different color variations. Lastly is the capability for dogs to hear. Dogs hear four times further than humans, and can hear high pitches that human cannot (Maguire). All three senses vary from breed to breed. Puppies are born with their eyes closed as well as deaf until around 21 days after birth. In addition to dogs hearing pitch differences, they can also understand the pitches in a human’s tone of voice (Maguire). Dog’s sense energy just like humans can sense energy or emotion. They do not pay attention to energy such as fear, anxiety, anger, nervousness, and tension. This comes into play especially when they are looking for pack leaders or dominance in both the …show more content…
However, did you know that there are more obvious instincts than those previously listed? They include licking, sniffing the rear of other animals, leading, rolling in foul smelling areas, and even burying objects (Weiss-roessler, 2016). Believe it or not there is a reason behind the canine madness. These acts are all natural instincts that relate to the wild. For example, leading or trailing relates to the position they would hold in a pack. Rolling in carcasses is meant to camouflage them from scaring off their pray by hiding their own odor (Weiss-roessler, 2016). Licking and tail-wagging are one of many ways that dogs communicate (Weiss-roessler, 2016). Dogs are often bread to duplicate these skills to their offspring. Behaviors such as aggression vary in severity amongst breeds. Aggression is commonly shown when a dog is showing dominance or protecting their space, the pack, or food (Weiss-roessler, 2016). To compare the severity or aftermath of aggression you can imagine a Chihuahua will do less damage than a German Shepard