The Domestication of the Dog.
All dogs living today are genetic descendants of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus).
It may seem hard to believe, considering how different dogs can look. Yet, their DNA proves them to be a subspecies of the wolf.
All Dogs, no matter the breed, are known as (Cannis lupus familiaris). Some classification systems list different breeds as different sub-sub species, however in the end, all dogs are Wolves.
Wolves, as you probably know, live in complex social groups called packs.
Packs usually consist of 2-4 families of wolves. The basic family unit consists of one male, one female, and their various offspring. The average pack size is usually about 5-10 wolves, though during times of severe environmental pressure, some packs have been recorded to contain up to 40 wolves at once.
Wolves, like humans, are ruthlessly efficient pack hunters.
If a single wolf can bring down a weakened animal on its own in broad daylight, imagine how easily a group can do it to a healthy one? Wolves sit at the top of the food chain for this reason. It can be argued that bears and felines also sit at the top, however bears are solitary foragers, and cats usually fly solo themselves. Therefore, a pack of wolves is arguably the mightiest force in the animal kingdom. So mighty, that they just walk around during the day, fearing nothing. Cats usually have to hunt under cover of night to compete.
What makes the wolf so deadly, in addition to its intelligence, is its teeth and strength.
That is a mouth full of NOPE. Your dog has retained the same set of teeth evolution gave them, though domestication has made them smaller in proportion. Check them out!
Wolves can exert up to 1500 pounds of pressure per square inch in one bite.
When a wolf or dog is baring its teeth, stay the hell back. It's their version of the Maori war dance, or "Come at me, bro."
The oral osteology of wolves allows them to grab hold of their prey, crush their leg bones, and then drag them down in one bite.
Canids have a very long, strong snout, filled with thousands of scent receptors, and deadly teeth. Their huge canines easily sink into skin, muscle, and veins. Then once the animal is dragged down, the rest of the pack just rips apart the animal until its life ends in a painful, bloody, agonizing death. Additionally, their premolars/molars are also called, carnassials, which are designed for crushing bone. That's why your dog chews bones way in the back of his/her mouth. So when your dog sinks its teeth into his/her squeaky new toy, and vigorously shakes it about, you may think it's cute. Yet really, your dog is using his/her instinct to ruthlessly murder an animal. Plus, the squeaks make it even more morbid if you think about it.
Not so cute anymore, right? Much more awesome.
This is their deep-seated killing instinct. We encourage this. And it's awesome.
"It deserved to die. Would you like to share in the feast?"
This is why dogs like to rip things apart. They need to. It's in their DNA. Think about this. Since we are primates, and have a distant arboreal heritage; even if we walk, as children, we loved climbing trees, jungle gyms, and traversing monkey bars. Were you taught how to do that? Or did it just come naturally? Or a little of both? Don't blame your puppy, blame evolution. That precious puppy is natures perfect killing machine. Extra Fun Fact: Though Foxes (Vulpes) and wolves (Canis) may look very related, they are not in the same genus. They are however, from the same family (Canidae). Likewise, humans (Homo) and chimpanzees (Pan) are not in the same genus, but they are in the same family (Hominidae) and even the same sub-family (Homininae). So that means you are equally, if not more related to chimpanzees than wolves/dogs are to foxes. Evolution is amazing.
Notice how feline oral osteology gives cats a much shorter snout, and a larger sized canine to molar ratio.
I could go on about this forever on another thread. To put it simply, felines are evolved to silently stalk, lunge, pounce, and kill an animal with one quick bite to the throat. They also have scissor-like teeth in the back that can cut through a spinal cord like butter. This is why your cat brings in dead animals. We domesticated them to keep rodents out of our granaries. We bred them to murder. Don't be grossed out when they bring in the neighbor's rabbit.
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