dog domestication

Canis lupus domesticus/familiaris

• canis - dog

• lupus - wolf

• familaris - familiar of a household or domestic animal

how did it domesticate

wolves domesticated itself

• knew humans were a food source, human left food scraps

• friendly wolf = human will accept wolf, giving food to it

• wolves adapted to that behaviour, leading to domestication

• over 15000 years ago

• first domesticated in Eurasia, no exact location

• help humans hunt, especially when more difficult

related animals

• canidae family

  • canis lantras

  • canis aureus

  • vulpes vulpes Linn

  • canis lantrans

coyotes vs. dogs

• behavioural:

  • diet: coyotes rely heavily on meat vs. dogs rely on what humans give them

  • temperament: dogs are playful and create bonds with humans vs. coyotes are cautious and create bonds with pack

  • habitat: coyotes are wild (live in grasslands to blend in and hunt) vs. dogs live in shelter

• structural

  • size: coyotes are smaller than dogs

    • slender legs, weigh less

  • teeth: coyotes have fangs that expand pass the structure of the jaw

  • breed: coyotes have 19 subspecies vs. dogs have 360 breeds

adaptation to captivity

• dogs adapted well - owner care for them

• dogs rely on humans for care

• structural: adapted digestive system to better digest human food

• behavioural: create strong bonds with humans, reliant on them

• benefit from captivity as they have shelter, food, water, etc.

continuous variation

• body shape

• leg length

• head shape

• coat length

• coat thickness

• tail length

• body feature

• weight

discrete variation

• breed

• sex (male or female)

• blood type (DEA 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 4, 5, 7)

• eye color

• coat color

chromosomes

offspring

• 78

embryo

• 78

zygote

• 78

gametes

• male - 39

• female - 39

parents

• female - 78

• male - 78

symbiotic relationship

• currently commensalism

  • dogs get taken care of

  • humans are unaffected

• used to be mutualism

  • dogs: were taken care of (fed, water, shelter)

  • humans: helped with hunting and protection

reproductive strategy

• sexually reproduce

• female and male gamete must fuse

• female has more than one egg

• selective breeding: ensure offspring has desirable trait

Dogs and coyotes offspring

• can create a fertile offspring

  • closely related

  • many genetic similarities

  • offspring will have same number chromosomes

characteristics from parents

• intermediate between both parents

• selective breeding proves traits inherited from parents

• affect coat color, eye color, skin color

• copy of each gene from both parents

• genetic variation: each dog has different traits due to a mix of genes from parents

dominant traits

• black allele: black coat

• brown eyes

• wire hair

• red hair

• solid coat color

recessive

• brown allele: brown coat

• blue eyes

• smooth coat

• yellow hair

• liver coat color

• white spotting on coat

artificial selection

• prevents offspring from getting undesirable traits

• alter dogs to an extreme level

• many different breeds based on desired traits

• can vey in size, change behaviour

• humans pick breeding pairs to produce offsprings with desirable traits for profit

  • ex: same breed, certain coat color, size, etc.

heritable

• trainability

• stranger-directed

• aggression

• chasing

• attachment

• attention seeking

• temperament

• coat color

• metabolism

Non-heritable

• taught behaviours - training

• personality - founded by environment

• their structural condition - ex: dieting = smaller dog

• social skills

• preferred

• preferences

controversies

• none because it is normalized

• some people concerned about domestication as it may have led to harmful genetic changes