It's funny to think that 500 years ago these animals had to spend their lives hunting for food and running from predators. Now they sit on couches and pay very close attention when food is being made. My dog's the exact same.🤣Love it.
Hey, Turner here definitely is a funny dog to watch, as are pretty much all greyhounds! You might not have meant that 500 years literally, but basically, this comment sent me into a deep dive reading up on the domestication of dogs: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication_of_the_dog Today I learned that it was believed until recently that all domesticated dogs were descended from modern grey wolves, but in the last decade, this has been thoroughly rejected. Domesticated dogs and today’s wolves are actually both descended from a common, now extinct, wolf ancestor. I also remember reading that the biggest genetic differences between dogs and wolves involve both behavior and ability to digest a starch-rich diet. All this stated, I think one of the main messages is to not see dogs as wolves that came to live with us as they appeared thousands of years ago, but really a distinct species that evolved with us, being uniquely suited to human companionship. All that said, Turner here can be a ferocious predator when he sees any small rodent outside, but mostly he lays around napping, waiting for food!
@@loodog555 Huh. Super interesting! I just went and read the Wikipedia article as well. Honestly the same question came to mind when I was writing the original comment but I decided to just arbitrarily throw in 500 years and not investigate further; I’m glad that you did! My dog - Jules - is the same. “Squirrel!” is one of her favorite words, so much that if anyone makes an “S” sound she runs to the back door. I may have misunderstood the article but I do find it particularly interesting that being comfortable around humans was evolutionary favorable whereas the opposite for most domesticated animals nowadays. It seems like it was more of a natural process as opposed to something that was forced by humans (like selective breeding). I’d be interested in knowing how long it was until humans began to use them as farm helpers, or even if that was one of the major factors contributing to their original divergence from their ancestors and modern wolves. Also, though, your comment about a starch-rich diet could explain this, assuming humans at the time were primarily growing grain.
It's funny to think that 500 years ago these animals had to spend their lives hunting for food and running from predators. Now they sit on couches and pay very close attention when food is being made. My dog's the exact same.🤣Love it.
Hey, Turner here definitely is a funny dog to watch, as are pretty much all greyhounds!
You might not have meant that 500 years literally, but basically, this comment sent me into a deep dive reading up on the domestication of dogs: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication_of_the_dog
Today I learned that it was believed until recently that all domesticated dogs were descended from modern grey wolves, but in the last decade, this has been thoroughly rejected. Domesticated dogs and today’s wolves are actually both descended from a common, now extinct, wolf ancestor. I also remember reading that the biggest genetic differences between dogs and wolves involve both behavior and ability to digest a starch-rich diet.
All this stated, I think one of the main messages is to not see dogs as wolves that came to live with us as they appeared thousands of years ago, but really a distinct species that evolved with us, being uniquely suited to human companionship.
All that said, Turner here can be a ferocious predator when he sees any small rodent outside, but mostly he lays around napping, waiting for food!
@@loodog555 Huh. Super interesting! I just went and read the Wikipedia article as well. Honestly the same question came to mind when I was writing the original comment but I decided to just arbitrarily throw in 500 years and not investigate further; I’m glad that you did! My dog - Jules - is the same. “Squirrel!” is one of her favorite words, so much that if anyone makes an “S” sound she runs to the back door.
I may have misunderstood the article but I do find it particularly interesting that being comfortable around humans was evolutionary favorable whereas the opposite for most domesticated animals nowadays. It seems like it was more of a natural process as opposed to something that was forced by humans (like selective breeding). I’d be interested in knowing how long it was until humans began to use them as farm helpers, or even if that was one of the major factors contributing to their original divergence from their ancestors and modern wolves. Also, though, your comment about a starch-rich diet could explain this, assuming humans at the time were primarily growing grain.