Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution
By Raymond Coppinger and Lorna Coppinger
Description from Goodreads: Marking the first time that dogs have been explained in such detail by eminent researchers, Dogs is a work of wide appeal, as absorbing as it is enlightening. Drawing on insight gleaned from forty-five years of raising, training, and studying the behaviors of dogs worldwide, Lorna and Raymond Coppinger explore the fascinating processes by which dog breeds have evolved into their unique shapes and behaviors. Concentrating on five types of dogs – modern household dogs, village dogs, livestock-guarding dogs, sled dogs, and herding dogs – the Coppingers, internationally-recognized canine ethologists and consummate dog lovers, examine our canine companions from a unique biological viewpoint. Dogs clearly points the way for dog lovers, dog therapists, veterinarians, and all others who deal with dogs to understand their animals from a fresh perspective.
How did the domestic dog become a distinct species from the wolf? Why do different breeds behave differently? Most important, how can we improve the relationship between humans and dogs?
The authors show how dogs’ different abilities depend upon the confluence of their nature and nurture – that both genetics and the environment play equally key roles. They also reveal that many people inadvertently harm their canine companions because they fail to understand dogs’ biological needs and dispositions.
Dogs is a highly readable biological approach by noted researchers that provides a wealth of new information about the interaction of nature and nurture, and demonstrates how unique dog behavior is in the animal world.
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Chrissy, rescued dog. Photograph by My Dog’s Best Friend.
As biologists, we would characterize the species domestic dog – Canis familiaris – as successful. Biologically speaking, they are incredibly successful. What this means is they have made the transformation from their ancestral form, the wolf, and exist today as domestic dogs in hugely significant numbers. Dogs as a species are most likely less than fifteen thousand years old, which is the barest instant of evolutionary time. Wolves as a species are maybe five million years old, and they need protection from extinction.
Four hundred million dogs in the world – that is a thousand times more dogs than there are wolves. If wolves are the ancient ancestors of dogs, that means dogs have achieved a biological coup, successfully outpopulating their ancestors by a lot. When a species evolves into another, often the evolving species is better adapted to the changing niche than is the old. The new species thrives and the old species passes into fossil land. Areas previously occupied by wolves are now occupied by dogs, living in changed habitats. Dogs now have a greater distribution worldwide than the wolf ever did.
RAY COPPINGER AND LORNA COPPINGER
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