Woof!

This dog

Higgins, my roommate's dog

Has a genetic makeup that is 99.8% identical to this guy

The Gray Wolf

Logically I know this to be true.  I still find it so hard to believe.  Their temperaments are drastically different.  Their weight and size are completely opposite.  They eat different foods.  One has the potential to rip my flesh into shreds and gnaw on my bones, the other might lick me to death if I let him.

 I watched a fascinating documentary called “Dogs Decoded” this weekend.  If you’re a dog lover you should definitely check it out.  Here are a couple of interesting tidbits from the film:

• In Siberia there is an experiment that’s been going on for over 50 years.  They are breeding silver foxes for tameness.  They continue to breed the tamest foxes with each other generation after generation.  An unexpected result: the tame foxes actually look more like dogs than their aggressive counterparts.  They have curlier tails, floppier ears, and shorter limbs.  Weird.  This might explain why domestic dogs look so drastically different from the wolf.
• Dogs actually look at human faces differently than they look at other creatures.  When presented with a photo of a human face, the dogs’ gazes track left to look at the right side of our faces first.  Why does this matter?  The right side of the human face is generally more emotionally expressive than the left.  Dogs are actually trying to get a read on our emotions!  They do not do this when looking at faces of other dogs.
• There is a dog named Betsy who can distinguish over 300 different items.  Say “paper” and she’ll go and pickup the toy shaped like a newspaper.  Say rope and she’ll bring you the rope.  Not only that, she can also use reasoning on the same level as a two year old child.  Show her a photograph of the rope and she’ll bring you an actual rope.  Amazing!

 Man’s Best Friend continues to amaze me.