Natural History

Posted in dog domestication | Tagged dog domstication, hunting with dogs | 8 Comments

8 Responses

1. on June 23, 2012 at 4:14 pm massugu

   I generally just pour water in my cupped hand.

   
   
2. on June 23, 2012 at 4:29 pm Jen Robinson

   Great photo.
   A German dog trainer I once worked with used spitting into the dog’s mouth as a reward. Dogs loved it. I’d guess there’s more going on in the photo than simply giving the dog water.

   
   
   • on June 23, 2012 at 4:30 pm retrieverman

     I’ve heard of trainers spitting treats into dogs mouths as a way to reinforce “watch me.”

     
     
   • on June 23, 2012 at 11:19 pm Suhail

     Yikes!

     
     
3. on June 23, 2012 at 4:59 pm Kate Williams

   I love that photo! Can I use it sometime?

   
   
   • on June 23, 2012 at 5:14 pm retrieverman

     It’s not mine. Go ahead!

     
     
4. on June 23, 2012 at 5:42 pm kittenz

   When you think about it, this really is another kind of communication with your dog. To the human, it’s just sharing water. But imagine how much sensory information about the owner that the dog must receive through taste and aroma!

   I believe that our species would not have evolved without our symbiotic relationship with dogs. Dogs gave our remote ancestors much greater efficiency in procuring food, specifically meat protein to nourish our big brains. And the domestication of the ungulates on which we depend for much of our protein today would have been much more problematic without our canine partners. I often wonder what our species would be today (or if indeed we would exist) had it not been for that fortuitous symbiosis.

   Maybe that’s why we are the only species of human remaining on earth. As far as I know, there’s no evidence that other human species domesticated animals. During periods of climate change, when large animals became more scarce, having dogs may have given our species distinct survival advantages.

   
   
5. on June 23, 2012 at 9:04 pm Central African hunter shares water with his hunting dog | Cosequin Pet Blog

   […] The Retriever, Dog, & Wildlife Blog Posted in Joint Health | Tagged African, Central, hunter, Hunting, shares, Water | Leave a comment […]

   
   

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