07/03/2025
Very relevant
Not long ago, dogs were valued primarily for the jobs they performed, such as hunting, herding livestock, and guarding property, all of which required boundless energy and a wariness of strangers. But āas more city dwellers adopt pets, and cultural shifts have led dogs and people to spend more time inside, some behaviors that made dogs appealing to our ancestors have become maladaptive,ā Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods wrote in 2024. A dog wary of strangers is tough to take for a walk, for instance, and gets consigned to a fenced-in yard where it canāt spend its energy. https://theatln.tc/YWRfWeSv
āDogs have gone from working all day and sleeping outside to relaxing on the couch and sleeping in our beds,ā the authors write. āThousands of years of domestication couldnāt prepare dogs for this abrupt transition.ā
Dog owners have attempted to correct for this by picking a hypoallergenic breed, a smart breed, a breed that is supposedly good with childrenābut the main thing a breed usually tells you is what your dog will look like.
āService dogs are the exception and the answer to the domestication puzzle,ā Hare and Woods write. āFor more than a century, service dogs have had to sit quietly in a cafĆ©, calmly negotiate the stress and noise of urban life, and interact gently with children. They can do this not because they are smarter than pet dogs, but because ... service dogs are uniquely friendly. Unlike most pet dogs, service dogs are attracted to strangers, even as puppies. And increasing friendliness seems to have changed these dogsā biology, just as it did thousands of years ago.ā
āWe believe these changes are the early signs of a third wave in dog domestication,ā the authors continue. āIf dog lovers shift their demand from a dogās hair color and tail length to their comfort with strangers and new places, this friendliness could quickly ripple through the population and become amplified with each successive generation ā¦ A breeding program that prioritizes a friendly temperament could show results within just a few decades.ā
In the meantime, as the third wave of domestication gets under way, humans must continue caring for the pets they have now.
šØ: Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty
Goodwood Private Dog Park, rural fenced Park 15mins from Wellington City Centre, near Tawa. No other dogs, no other people.
