The Domestication of Cats and Dogs
In our lives today, dogs and cats are exceedingly valuable. They help calm people with anxiety, assist the sick and disordered, and aid the depressed. Although, thousands of years ago, dogs were domesticated by humans and put to useful tasks, such as, hunting, herding and guarding. Cats, however, were tamed for only one thing and that was to catch rodents. There might not be a lot about how they came to be, but hopefully that will change. Without cats and dogs in our lives things would be more challenging for most.
The history of domestication of cats and dogs is an intriguing one. Strangely, there is little data on how cats became domesticated. The article “Earliest Evidence for Commensal Processes of Cat Domestication” states, “Despite the importance of cats in the modern world and their long history with humans, there is remarkably little archaeological evidence on their domestication” (Yaowu, 116). In other words, the scientific world remains unsure as to how cats became domesticated. Dogs, however, have a bit more information on their domestication history than cats do. Authors Richard Pell and Lauren Allen claim, “Although the exact nature and timing of the initial
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Owning a dog can help your health tremendously. A report taken in Beijing by Bruce Headey, Fu Na, and Richard Zheng declares, “Results are given from a survey of women aged 25–40 in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou (N = 3031). Half the respondents owned dogs and half did not. Owners reported better health-related outcomes. They exercised more frequently, slept better, had higher self-reported fitness and health, took fewer days off sick from work and were seen less by doctors” (Headly, Na, and Zheng, 481). The women that owned dogs experienced a better lifestyle than the ones that did not. Overall, being the owner of a dog can help you keep fit and live a healthier
When the word “domestication” is used when talking about dogs, most people have the misconception that humans brought dogs into their homes on purpose, and that is was something they did consciously. However, after reading about Hare’s research it is easy to understand that this
Dogs make better pets then cats, because they are nice, loving, protective and playful. Cats on the other hand are mean, lazy, and not so playful with any other animals or humans. When it comes to dogs they do not like to be alone and they like to play with other animals and humans. When a dogs comes to love its owner they begin to make sure that it is safe at all times when the dog is around the human it will protect them. A dog will run and play with you for hours while a cat will just lay around and play with a ball of yarn or sleep. A dog would be a better pet, because they like to be more active then cats.
Several studies have examined the effects of dog ownership on people's physical and mental health. Dog ownership produces considerable health benefit and provides social support that encourages dog owners to walk (Cutt et al.2007 ). Pet owners appear to have lower systolic blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels(Anderson et al 1992). Pet owners with serious mental illness living in the community demonstrate higher social community integration(Zimalog and Krupa 2009). Socially excluded participants who performed in the presence of a dog report higher mental well-being compared with socially excluded participants who did not work in the presence of a dog (Nilüfer et al 2012). Although there is evidence suggesting that dog ownership can improve people's physical and mental health, there is little research documenting the psychological and behavioral effects of dog-assisted therapy, especially on elderly patients with dementia, who have dif...
Background and rationale: Dogs as a man’s best friend has been a prevalent view point among modern day humans, and some even accept it as fact. However, the genetics behind what makes dogs so compatible with mankind, and the history of domestication are not well known to most. The time of divergence, and geographic origin of dog domestication has been greatly debated, though many firmly believe they are of Asian origin (research article). Many researchers have studied the effects of breeding programs on genetics (pure breed), however the genetics behind initial domestication of dogs from wild wolves has not been well studied. The three following publications focus on these areas, and most show similar findings.
...tion, including their initial evolution, their domestication, and the roles they played in human society throughout the ages. It is a relatively new book being published in 2010. Darcy Morey, the author of this book is a zooarchaeologist and focuses his research on the relationship between dogs and humans throughout time. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee. This book is based on the authors own research and also refers to the information gathered by many other scientists, all of which are listed in the reference section of the book. As mentioned this book contains the results of research from many scientists and is beneficial for learning both general and more scientific knowledge on the subject. I would recommend it to anybody who is conduction a research on the topic. This book was found using I-Share using the search term the domestication of dogs.
It turned out that dogs could also guard sheep, and help to herd the sheep when you were moving them from one pasture to another. Some people ate dogs, especially in China. You might think of those dogs as a great way to turn garbage into food. Even in places where people usually didn't eat dogs, like Europe, dogs provided an emergency source of food when there was a famine. If you were starving, you had to kill and eat the village's dogs before they decided to eat you (and then there would be a lot more rats than usual, without the dogs to eat them, and you would live on the rats for a
There are many theories’ that dog got evolved by the grey wolf but current resources say that dogs. The PLoS (is an open access peer-reviewed academic journal published monthly by PLOS Genetics) say that dogs may have not evolved by the grey wolf or least not the grey wolfs that we have living up in our northern forest. One possibility is there may have been other wolf lineages that these dogs diverged from that, then went extinct. But there
Cats exist all around the world in millions of homes, but arguments still exist on the domestication of cats. Cats serve a different position and abilities than a dog which complicates the answer to the domestication of the cat. Both cats and dogs start the process of domestication there is still an argument of when cats became a truly domestic animal. Cats existed in a mutually beneficial relationship with humans, even before Egypt, during Neolithic times. Complicated domestication process that challenges modern conventions of the term domestication provides a rich history of the ongoing domestication of cats.
A dogs behavior is significantly more desirable than a cats. A dog is loving and friendly most of the time and enjoys a good belly rub as a reward. If you try and scratch a cats belly, the cat will try to scratch and bite you. A dog is incomparably easier to train than a cat. You can teach a dog to do anything from bringing you your newspaper to the simplest command, sit. As a result of being able to train a dog, a dog goes to the bathroom outside, leaving no stench behind in your house. Whereas, a cat uses a litter box to go to the bathroom, there is always a stench in your house. Dogs are also far better with children. Dogs form a far greater bond with newborn babies, and often times do not leave the child’s crib side. Also, a trained dog will not cause destruction to your house, while you cannot train a cat to not use their sharp little claws to tear at the side of your couches, and rip and shred all the way down your curtains. Dogs also do not jump places where most cats jump, such as in your lap on your laptop, or on your dinner table at dinner. A dog won’t be a surprise first thing in the morning laying in your bathroom sink either. A dog will lay nex...
Dogs are extremely lovable and the only thing in life that they want is to be loved by their owners. With dogs, everything in life revolves around love and affection. The only thing that is on a cats mind is food and what they
... and faithfulness that cannot be found from any other source. Even the most hardened of hearts can be touched by a cold wet nose or a comforting snuggle. Pets seem to be able to recognize and adapt to many of the conditions placed on them in our human environment. They can provide the sense of companionship, and love that is lacking in regular human relationships.
Both dogs and cats are good for companionship, because they are both very sweet, loveable. However dogs have a much more need for attention, dogs constantly want to be played with, and sometime aggravate their owner until they get what they want. On the other hand, cats pretty much like to stay to themselves. Some cats may stay away during the day time and only come out at night. Dogs sleep pretty much at night while some cats are up all night.
Over 71 million American households (62%) have a pet, and most people think of their pets as members of the family. Some research studies have found that people who have a pet have healthier hearts, stay home sick less often, make fewer visits to the doctor, get more exercise, and are less depressed. Pets may also have a significant impact on allergies, asthma, social support, and social interactions with other people (Casciotti) .
Two Ways of Viewing Cats and Dogs Cats and dogs share several similarities, but they are very different. These two animals are two of the most popular pets today. Some people prefer the company of a cat while others are deemed dog lovers. Through the various aspects of each animal, we will look at the similarities and differences each one holds, and get a better insight as to why these animals express such love.
Nowadays, people are busy in their daily life and having a lot of stress from their working area. Most of them would like to have a pet to accompany them in their daily life and also can release the stress that they received. For example, having a dog is a good choice for most people who want to have a pet. Dog not only a very good companions and also having deep emotional tie between people. Dogs will protect the people with literally lay down their lives.