GlaD1 Posted October 7, 2023 Posted October 7, 2023 Domestic dog: essential facts about man's best friend Humans and dogs have been sharing life for millennia, it is not clear how this alliance was forged, but there is no doubt that they have formed a good society. The dog was probably the first animal to be domesticated. And it has accompanied human beings for about 10,000 years. Some scientists claim that all dogs, both domestic and wild, have a common ancestor in the small wolf of Southeast Asia, but there is no scientific consensus on their ancestors or exactly how an ancient alliance between humans and canids occurred. Today, men have crossed hundreds of breeds of domestic dogs, some of which could never survive in the wild. Despite the great diversity of breeds, shapes and sizes, all domestic dogs, whether Labradors, German Shepherds, Poodles or Chihuahuas, are members of the same species: Canis lupus familiaris. Although their way of life is domestic, they are related to wolves, jackals - with which they can have fertile offspring - and foxes, whose interbreeding is rarer. Domestic dogs still share many behavioral patterns with their wild relatives. Both defend their territories and mark them by urinating on trees, stones, fences and other appropriate places. These signals inform other dogs that that territory is occupied by another animal. Many dogs also bury bones or favorite toys with the intention of saving them for the future, just as their wild relatives sometimes bury their dead prey to ensure a feast later. Dogs communicate with each other in different ways. One of them is leaving traces of smell, another is physical gestures. Body posture, the way you move, and facial expression often express direct messages. Many of these signals are recognizable even to humans, who know that a dog is happy when he wags his tail happily in circles or that he is angry or feels threatened when he shows his teeth. Vocally, dogs communicate through a cacophony of sounds that includes barking, growling, and howling. Furthermore, many studies have shown that dogs can understand humans even without having been trained to do so. Furthermore, they have adapted their language to communicate things to us, even with their own interests. It is this capacity for two-way communication - they send us messages that we understand and vice versa - is one of the keys to such a long and prosperous evolution between humans and dogs. https://www.nationalgeographic.es/animales/perro-domestico
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