Dog's evolved from wolves, yes, but because of people.

While nobody knows for absolute certain, the latest theory is that dogs evolved very quickly out of wolves when humans began living in permanent settlements. The wolves with the highest threshold of human tolerance were able to feed the easiest from the first human dump sites and very quickly evolved in to the more managable species we know as dogs today.

It would explain why ancient civilizations attached an almost magical value to the dog as a single generation of human may have seen dogs evolve out of wolves which would have seemed like pure magic to them.

It's actually a pretty interesting theory and implies that evolution in fact CAN happen at a very rapid rate, something that hasn't been thought to be true in the past.

i was actually wondering about this. i think it's fair to say that dogs are in general, bottom feeders throughout their evolutionary history. they will eat wtf-ever they come across. some of the things my guy has eaten- eeesh. hell, they can eat rotten eggs.

isn't that what dogs eat?

not when it's from china :warning

My Sister-in-law's Min Pin is Diabetic, and on Hills Food. I showed her this site http://dogfoodanalysis.com/ which shows that the first ingredient in her dog food is .. Sawdust. She struggled to maintain adequate blood sugar levels, and despite my best efforts to get her to switch to a more natural diet, she still continues to feed him this crap.

We have only ever fed our dogs HQ foods. Our Dobe used to get ground up kidney, tripe, lung etc from the local butcher. Our frenchie gets http://orijen.ca/products/adult_dog along with some Vegetables, meat scraps and fruit. Things like corn, and wheat arent natural to a dogs diet and are as such just fillers.

It was proved with foxes... they rapidly starting turning into dog like things with colorful fur, barking and wagging their tails with selective breeding for good temperament towards people.

I dropped a vet because their office would try to push Hill's dog food on me from the moment I stepped in the place, until the moment I left. It was pretty disgusting.

Most people will just listen to what their vet tells them about dog food nutrition, but they don't realize that nutrition is not a big part(or any part) of their schooling. Also, Hills runs Vet schools, or funds future Vets education, so they basically have a sales army out there, telling anyone not smart enough to do their own research that Hill's dog food is great.

Here's a good article on them..

http://www.ourdogsonline.com/content...edietscam.html

i wouldn't go so far as to say it was proved.. Considering they are almost an exact dna match for wolves (even chiauawa's) but their is definitely mixes with them at some point some breeds more than others i would say.


theres a few documentaries out there that talk about the original domestication of dogs, i don't recall the names off hand, speculating goes back to even 15 000 years ago for domestication--but it is mostly theoretical though.

No, he wasn't saying that foxes are part of the DNA mix. He was saying the same sorts of rapid evolutionary changes have been observed in foxes. :2 cents:

Here in Ontario, the premier school for veterinary Medecine is University of Guelph.. guess who is sponsoring the new wing of the Veterinary program.. Hills. A friend who is a vet is disgusted that they would allow it.

It's not the premier school, it's the only school, isn't it? Last I heard, when my sister attended Vet school, there were only two in Canada. One in Ontario for Eastern Canada and one in Saskatoon for Western Canada. It's actually harder to get in to Veterinary medicine than it is to get in to Med school. :2 cents:

That's pretty interesting.

my bad. ;)

We feed our dogs Blue Buffalo :winkwink:

sux those *domesticated* wolves are caged up like that but i wonder what they feed them.

Feed mine this:

http://i.imgur.com/X2ZqT.jpg

because she thinks she is a greyhound.

Because I've never heard of that dog food -- it's probably good stuff.

Word!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_silver_fox

my dog licks his front paws constantly like a cat, we always laugh about it. We feed him Acana Pacifica.

Sounds exactly like my dog....what can I do?

I did quite a bit of research into it last year and decided to feed our rat terrier raw from the day we got her at 8 weeks. The results have been fantastic. Luckily there is a nearby place (Surrey Meat Packers) that makes dog food mixes in frozen 1lb bricks. She's on beef-chicken-bone-veg, and then I add a bit of natural yogurt and a salmon oil capsule once a day. Once a week she gets a raw egg cracked on top.

A few times a week she'll get a lamb neck section or the trimmings off a chicken (back, organs, chestplate) for her to clean her teeth.

She's in perfect health, full of energy, and everyone comments on how shiny she is. I would never go back to kibble. Cost is about $1 a day for a 15lb dog.

That could also be boredom or understimulation. My in-laws Jack Russell does that constantly. THe cure? a kong filled with cream cheese and then frozen, to be brought out at times of boredom. Also lots of exercise.

Dogs have what is known as an "Itch threshold". What that means is several factors can contribute to to them being itchy. It could be just fleas, or just a food allergy, or just an enviromental allergy, or a combination. It might be that a mild case of fleas alone is tolerable to the dog, but combined with a mild allergic reaction it sets them off itching.

The first thing you want to do is make sure the dog has a good flea control system. I'd go ahead and use Sentinel, it's a pill given once a month. Not only does it kill adult fleas, but it also kills other parasites including many forms of common worms.

If the dog is already on a good flea control system and there is no evidence of fleas, remembering that you may not even notice a mild case without careful inspection of the skin for bite marks, then chances are good it has developed an allergy to the protein in its food. Switch the dog to a protein it hasn't normally consumed like Fish or Kangaroo. Iams makes a Fish and Potato and a Kangaroo and Potato blend that works well. Keep in mind that you will not want to give the dog Rawhide or any other beef or chicken products either.

If your dog has or develops hotspots, treat them by shaving the area and washing it good with a surgical scrub or another non perfumed soap like Hibatane. Your vet will sell you a small bottle of surgical scrub very cheaply. Keep the area as dry as possible until the hotspot heals.

Finally, be sure that if you are washing your dog that you are using a pure, non scented wash because it could be something in the shampoo causing a mild reaction too.

Yes in and of its self it could be something else, but combined with scratching or biting elsewhere and especially hotspots, it's most probably a reaction to being itchy.

I already have good flea control, it's not a flea problem, boredom sounds more like it.
As I said I already feed my dog 5-star FISH based kibble, I also add an organic raw egg ones a week.
Also as it's a pug I already wash him with hypoallergenic shampoo.

What's exactly these hot spots you are talking about?

Yeah we go with Acana blend foods too, I'm not sure if they have that in the US though..

Oh I didn't understand your post then. I thought you were experiencing more than just one symptom. If you're already feeding a fish protein it's probably not allergies.

Hotspots are sores on the skin that look sort of like a rash byut weep a clear liquid and can become infected if not treated.

was having a convo w/ my mom recently about hot spots,

you do not want your guy to get those.

my guy was developing one, he got a flea or 3 from some buddies of his and since i use de for flea control it took a couple days and he was scratching at the 1 spot.

it got me wondering if wolves get hot spots. seems they would a lot and that would ultimately kill many wolves right? just wondering. my mom didn't know either.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DGmjKsBO0a...vet_banner.jpg

If anyone see's CNN reporting on a beef shortage in Bermuda it's because WarChild put his Rottweiler's on a raw beef diet.

.

Well, fleas are generally a seasonal thing, although in many climates it doesn't get cold enough to kill them off in the winter.

In general, I think wolves have a lower survival rate in general than domesticated dogs though so it wouldn't surprise me if they do die off, at least some of them, from infections on the skin.

Alas I am down to just one old boy now. He's nearly 10 and doesn't eat anywhere near the amount he used to.

I put down my last female the day I went to Bermuda, August 4th. She was a rescue that had very, very bad hip problems (her femral heads were removed at 9 months old so she could simply walk) and eventually blew out both of her cruciate ligaments (like a human ACL). She was also 10 years old, but her quality of life was very degraded because of her leg problems. It was her time to go.

thinking about it, this has to be the case for all warm-blooded wild animals. they don't sit around and gnaw on an itch

hell, 1 hot spot could be the end.

Obligatory puppy pictures because I love to share :)

Daisy at 8 weeks, then Daisy at 1 year:

http://www.ellinude.com/Personal/Daisy-1.jpg

http://www.ellinude.com/Personal/Daisy-2.jpg

As far as I understand it, and remember I am not a Vet, a hotspot is a fairly severe skin reaction. Read what I said about itch thresholds. Not all animals infested with fleas or parasites will develop hotspots. Just like not all people with food allergies will go in to anaphylactic shock. Only the worst cases that have the worst kind of reaction. :2 cents:

Sorry to hear that. Very sorry.

Years ago I had a neighbor that brought home a beautiful Rott puppy. For a few days everyone gave their 2 cents about a name. Finally after watching him eat one day his wife started calling him "Lunch-time" That was it, lol. "lunch" for short. Man he could eat.


.

I've had to put dogs down before and it was very sad. This time, though, when I saw her lay her head down and finally relax her whole body I fealt nothing but an overwhelming sense of relief. She finally looked at peace.

Yeah I miss her, but for her it was the best thing.

Switched to Canidae, never looked back. Also add in some raw bones and meat on a regular basis.

i hear ya, i read what you read about itching, no worries, that's what i was agreeing with and applying that to all warm-blooded animals in the wild. plenty of national geographic episodes with lions and wildebeasts and shit covered with parasites and no discernible concern/issues.

I recently took our dogs off Science Diet after reading about how awful and over-hyped a brand it is! They are on Wellness CORE brand. They had ear infections which have totally cleared up!

I was told by our breeder that the Raw and BARF diets raise the dogs BUN levels.. so you have to watch their kidneys. just fyi

I recently switched my dog from premium kibble (can't recall the name) to The Honest Kitchen.

Verve.

Take a second and read the first 5 or 6 ingredients in each flavor.

My dog has made such a radical improvement that I would do a free commercial for these guys. It's astounding to see how much energy and vigor she has in just 3 boxes of The Honest Kitchen's food...and it's made in San Diego!