Posted on 05/21/2015 10:15:08 AM PDT by C19fan
Dogs have been man's best friend for up to 40,000 years, suggests new research. The study shows dogs' special relationship with humans might date back 27,000 to 40,000 years. The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, come from genomic analysis of an ancient Taimyr wolf bone.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
That’s not a myth that’s one of those cutesy Internet emails that keeps going around. Any civilization that had that as a myth is thankfully extinct.
My dog knows two words: gobyebye and canofdogfood.
:)
LOL!
What about gopoddee?
The pointing thing is interesting. Most of my dogs have been able to learn to follow my direction and look for what I am pointing at. I had one dear collie dog who just could not get it. He always just stared at the end of my finger.
Best home alarm system ever.
Mine is a silent alarm. He doesn’t bark but he will wake me up.
280,000 DOG YEARS!
Usually pointing and then tapping my toe where the item is is enough for them to catch on.
That’s interesting about the herding instinct maybe affecting that ability. My collie also had to think really hard to back up. He would get between the couch and coffee table and if something was in the way, he would have to back up. He could do it but you could tell it was a real mental effort. On the other hand my lab is Mr. Speedy and he can weave in and out and backwards and forwards and over and under with no hesitation at all.
Dogs were the first species to discover that humans are the only species with can openers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Corgi
Corgis are herding dogs, and perform their duties by nipping at the heels; the dog’s low height allows it to avoid being kicked in the process. As herding dogs, corgis work livestock differently than other breeds. Instead of gathering the cattle the way a collie would, by running around the livestock, corgis drive the herd forward by nipping at their heels and working them from behind in semicircles. Seldom giving ground, if an animal should turn and charge, the corgi will bite its nose, causing it to turn and rejoin the herd. Although they specialize in herding cattle, corgis are also used to herd sheep and Welsh ponies.
Understandable. However, it points up an interesting dichotomy that Dennis Prager has alluded to many times: Given their same situation would you save the human or the dog from disaster first? Morally, we are obligated to the human.
Difficult? You betcha.
My Jack Russell mutt is the same. She knows something is up when I point but she relies on her own nose, ears and eyes to determine what. My Black lab before her and Sheltie Terrier before him would follow my finger. Could it be a female or a breed thing?
Sorry, but I read that back before the internet existed.
Yes that would be a difficult choice but I feel sure I would rescue the human first....... then I might die trying to save the dog.
I don’t know what it is. My collie was neither an idiot nor a genius. It may have been just him. He was, however, the sweetest dog ever.
That’s interesting about the corgi breed. I didn’t know that. I played babysitter to a corgi once but that was my only exposure.
I can definitely say my female Lab (passed in 2012) was “Einstein-like”. She figured out how to....
...Run through the invisible fence without triggering it.
..Take herself and my Rottweiler to the Beach.
..Spot me trying to catch them on the Beach and disappear landward, then go back to the beach when I tried to wrangle them ashore.
... Eat “found” seafood by walking into the surf where I could not reach her.
... Open sealed containers and devour the entire contents in a matter of minutes.
... Chase and nearly catch deer that happened into the yard.
... Open sliding glass doors to let herself out onto the deck.
And likely other feats I was unable to observe.
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