Random musings

[stlouie_lipp]

This weather is nuts. It's coldish today. warming up the next two days. Heavy rain forecasted, then ice, then snow, then 50s next week.

Yeah, they are calling for the first big storm of the season Friday night into Saturday. Could be a lot of snow, or a wintry mix depending on a few degrees one way or another.

[G. Keenan]

If dogs came from wolves that humans domesticated thousands of years ago, what are wild dogs, like the ones in Africa? Are they domesticated dogs that went back to the wild? A completely different species?

[G. Keenan]

If dogs came from wolves that humans domesticated thousands of years ago, what are wild dogs, like the ones in Africa? Are they domesticated dogs that went back to the wild? A completely different species?

edit: Googled it.

They are just in the same genus as wolves, cayotes, etc. Not that exciting. I think they need a better name than "wild dog" since they aren't the same as what we think of as "dogs."

[thrill]

If dogs came from wolves that humans domesticated thousands of years ago, what are wild dogs, like the ones in Africa? Are they domesticated dogs that went back to the wild? A completely different species?

edit: Googled it.

They are just in the same genus as wolves, cayotes, etc. Not that exciting. I think they need a better name than "wild dog" since they aren't the same as what we think of as "dogs."

The coolest thing (to me) about wild dogs/dog evolutionary history is how there's actually a pretty universal appearance/traits in "primitive" dogs across geographic distances that seem to defy logic.

One of these is a dingo, which is from Australia, one of these is a canaan dog, which is from the middle east, and one of these is a carolina dog, which is native to the US/North America.

[SHOW]

Dingo.

[SHOW]

Canaan dog

[SHOW]

Carolina dog

My dog was a stray that my dad found on death's doorstep on a navajo reservation town in the middle of nowhere, Arizona. Primitive/wild dogs interbreed with pets in those remote places all the time, so my dog isn't a purebred carolina/primitive dog, but he's got a ton of their physical traits as well as personality traits. When I got his dna tested they traced 3 of his 12 largest genetic contributor "ancestors" and for 9 of 12 just a big question mark, which is absolutely not what you'll get if test a typical mixed breed dog. They usually are able to identify most if not all of the breed lineage.

The african wild dog does actually seem to be it's own thing. An evolutionary branch that split a long, long, long time ago, but it sure seems like before recent human intervention to create breed-specific traits, there was a global foundational dog that was so ubiquitous that, many untold number of years later, they still exist and even weird-ass Australia with the most unique biodiversity in the world has them. Those dogs traveled right alongside us and they're still around, but only in some of the most desolate corners of our world. Not even necessarily desolate. Just, I don't know, places that are still a bit wild. I remember the dogs of Sochi media phenomenon before the the winter olympics and a ton of those dogs were clearly very primitive strain animals.

[G. Keenan]

Very cool. What are his personality traits you think come from the primitive dog part of his genome?

[thrill]

Hard to say for sure because I've never owned or spent significant time around other wild dogs, but he's incredibly efficient/lazy the way coyotes or other wild canids are. They conserve energy whenever possible. He hoards items (socks, toys, bones) but doesn't chew them. He'll just nest with them around him. He's incredibly careful and wary. Unlike most dogs if you let him out of the car at a camp site or anywhere really, he doesn't bound out and begin sprinting around. He gets out, sniffs around, checks things out, and then investigates for strangers or other animals before he relaxes. He's very stubborn and hard to teach, but he learns by observing me. He's always watching me to see if I'm relaxed or nervous or on the move. Follows my lead. He doesn't bark when he's scared of a stranger. He does a creepy thing where he'll charge them silently and will only start barking if I try to herd him away. I definitely have to watch him around other dogs, people he doesn't know/trust, and especially kids. He's 12 so he's pretty mellow these days, but when he was young he was very aggressive. He's had ZERO health issues since I got him fixed up from when we found him malnourished, hairless, and too weak to get up. He's gotten neutered and all his regular shots, but other than that, zero vet visits. He doesn't overeat unless there are other dogs around and then he gets very competitive for food. He's always been my only dog, so he's been 48 pounds since he stopped growing with incredible consistency and no intervention from me in terms of changing food type/amount or exercise.

He's also the smartest, most loyal and loving dog I've ever owned.

[Freed Roger]

Man, I've loved Canines my whole damn life. 8 dogs since I was born that were my dogs, including the pair of chi-terrier siblings that are in our pack now. So reading these posts are a treat.

I think these gratuitous stories are wild dog related: we had a sweet beaut of a mutt named Margie that was wild as could be. Looked like cross between a wolf, a malamute and lab retriever. She did some of the odd things Thrill described about his dog. she cached food. When we moved, and she had been dead for a year or so, we found a bag of hamburger buns stashed deep into a couch. Also she had this look when jazzed where her fur would stand straight up on her spine (we called it the mohawk) it scared other dogs, and thus their owners which would escalate. I miss that girl.

Also had a lhasa apso rescue dog that joined the Big Galoot in our pack for several years. He was a hoot and cute little fart. We kept him groomed , not that long haired. Anyways, i've read that lhasa's are one of the closest related to wolves and never understood.
Several times i took Lhasa - Brock out with Big Galoot in the woods or the snow. Galoot (lab) was superior out there in every way to the lhasa...just fly thru brush, water, snow and come out unscathed. Meanwhile Brock loved to go, but would come back full of burrs and snowballs that would cake up on the little bastard to where he couldnt walk, yet he seemed happily oblivious to his potential torturous death but for being rescued.

Big Galoot, I know he could have thrived as a feral pack leader. Yet he was a good family dog.
His hunting and foraging skills were supreme. He just knew where the rabbits were, and could catch them until at least 8 or 9. The foraging though, I'd let him off leash in park woods and he'd be chomping on some bones of an animal. City life was cake for him, he came back out of the woods one time with a whole, fairly fresh sub sandwich. I let him eat it.

The chi-terrier mixes, I caught them howling a few times. Now they howl with us all the time. The ancient calling.

[Jocephus]

can a fart show up in cold weather?

[sighyoung]

can a fart show up in cold weather?

Who would the fart be showing up, and why?

[CardsofSTL]

This weekend went by too fast