Reddit mentions of Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You A Better Friend to Your Pet

It seems that the wolves of 15,000 yrs ago participated with humans in domesticating themselves. I suggest Dog Sense by John Bradshaw https://smile.amazon.com/Dog-Sense-Science-Behavior-Better/dp/B0064X82SY?sa-no-redirect=1 as it has a lot on the theories of dog domestication.

Wolves are more social amongst themselves than foxes and their family groups are more like ours. The real leap that made an ancient wolf into a dog was the ability to see understand, communicate and bond with another species, humans. It's quite rare and amazing when you think about it.

Those ancient wolves are not the same as the wolves today. They were probably less fearful of people and the ones least fearful evolved into dogs. In The fox experiment this trait was selected for those that would live and breed.

On the other hand over time humans became a much greater threat to the wild wolves which became selected for by their fear and avoidance of humans. The bold ones most likely to get killed and in the modern age shot from a distance. So Today's wolves are not the ancestors of dogs but their distant cousins. One reason that dog trainers who suggest we treat a dog according to their limited understanding of how modern wolves behave is bunk.

A thing about foxes is that they hunt small game individually and while they may have wanted to have a go at the scraps of human hunts they are far too small to take on ancient wolves who wanted to do so and also lack the pack fighting skills so they kept to themselves.

The dog is so commonplace that we overlook how magnificent they are. When I walk my dog off leash in the country she explores territory at an amazing rate while frequently glancing at me for signs of my interest and intentions. We communicate silently by watching for body language and the what our eyes and her nose is directed at.

In the home she can read my mood and intentions and will look at then glance at a door she wants open then back at me. Those are far more amazing things than we give them credit for being! To say nothing of reading our moods and knowing when we are sick, even being able to predict seizures and the like when trained.

People want a pet fox because it is novel and pretty but that has more to do with getting attention from other people. Owning a fox will lead to many unexpected experiences which is also either fun or infuriating.

What is the purpose of a pet?

For me it is companionship and a connection to a being who is different from me, yet the same. The commonplace boring dog is a far more fascinating animal and friend than these foxes in my opinion.

This book devotes a few chapters to it and is an interesting read in general regarding dog evolution and behavioral modification.

This one is a hell of page turner and while it makes certain assumptions it's well sourced and you can spend the time looking into the research yourself if you have trouble grasping the threads.

As others have mentioned there are plenty of peer review articles but when it comes to this field I like reading the books for the inspiration. We live in symbiosis with dogs, we ascended one another to a higher evolutionary plateau.

I read this book called Cat Sense by John Bradshaw, who also published best seller Dog Sense (sorry couldn't find a wiki entry for this one)... and according to the studies on his book a young cat has a window of opportunity to be socialized, by other cats/animals, humans, or all of them. If socialization doesn't happen after the window is over, the kitty goes back to feral mode and basically follow his/her instincts on avoiding human contact (and maybe other cats too!).

Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You A Better Friend to Your Pet