# What dogs or cats are so highly bred they require human attention to survive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2005, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232 "2005-10-14T16:04:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/1 "2005-10-14T16:04:23Z")
I’ve seen some odd dog and cat breeds over the years and some look like they would have a tough go of it if forced to fend for themselves in the wild. Assuming you released 5 males and 5 females of a specific breed into a verdant North American (say State of Georgia) woodland and came back in 50 years. Assuming there were no other domesticated dog or cat breeds (other than naturally occuring ones (ie coyotes, wolves, bobcats, pumas etc.) in the woods, which breeds would make a go of it, and which would not? Breeds I can’t see surviving Bulldogs Persian cats Daushaunds Ragdoll cats Saint Bernards Any others that wouldn’t make it? ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/2 "2005-10-14T16:08:08Z")
A lot of domestic cats wouldn’t make it. Unless a kitten is taught to hunt by its mother, many of them never learn how to hunt successfully enough to survive. Most feral cats rely on dumpster, garbage cans or kind people to survive. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/3 "2005-10-14T16:08:24Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Any others that wouldn’t make it? Chihuahuas. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/4 "2005-10-14T16:10:36Z")
Goldfish, betta’s, hampsters, my cat. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/5 "2005-10-14T16:11:51Z")
D’oh! You said cats & dogs. Then just my cat. ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/6 "2005-10-14T16:14:59Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I’ve seen some odd dog and cat breeds over the years and some look like they would have a tough go of it if forced to fend for themselves in the wild. > > Assuming you released 5 males and 5 females of a specific breed into a verdant North American (say State of Georgia) woodland and came back in 50 years. Assuming there were no other domesticated dog or cat breeds (other than naturally occuring ones (ie coyotes, wolves, bobcats, pumas etc.) in the woods, which breeds would make a go of it, and which would not? > > Breeds I can’t see surviving > > Bulldogs > Persian cats > Daushaunds > Ragdoll cats > Saint Bernards > > Any others that wouldn’t make it? Pugs, Pekenese and any other toy breeds. Just curious, How hot does it get in Georgia? I would imagine the Siberian Husky, collies and Samoyed would not survive in the summer. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/7 "2005-10-14T16:22:24Z")
I’m fairly certain my pugs wouldn’t survive a night outside on my deck, with their kennels, soft deck chairs to sit on, and a bowl of food and water. They seem to think that a couch is necessary for survival. ---
**Author:** ![Foaming\_Cleanser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Foaming\_Cleanser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foaming_Cleanser)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/8 "2005-10-14T16:22:26Z")
Any dog, I think, bred to have a flat face, a trait that does not lend itself to survival in the wild. It precludes rooting, effective fighting and the successfully competitive tearing of flesh. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/9 "2005-10-14T16:24:51Z")
(I forgot) And I mean a summer night. The winter? They’ve almost convinced me that they can’t possibly survive going outside in the snow long enough to do their business. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/10 "2005-10-14T16:27:27Z")
Gotta disagree about dachshunds (sp?). As comical as they look, those are hunting dogs who can dash into foxholes. They are vicious. They’d do okay in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/11 "2005-10-14T16:36:32Z")
'Round here, any small domestic dog released into the hills\* is likely to be killed and eaten by coyotes. The OP seems to be assuming no predators. \*We only have “woods” in the hills. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/12 "2005-10-14T16:36:58Z")
any of the long haired dogs, the ones that just keep growing hair. can you imagine a wild poodle at age 3 or 4? I think most normal cats (those without ultra flat faces or extra long hair) would probably do ok for the most part, as long as they knew how to hunt. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/13 "2005-10-14T17:48:14Z")
> [@Foaming Cleanser](#): > > Any dog, I think, bred to have a flat face, a trait that does not lend itself to survival in the wild. It precludes rooting, effective fighting and the successfully competitive tearing of flesh. I thought some (many?) of those flatfaced dogs were that way to allow them to fight better. Cecil had a column about why bulldogs look the way they do and part of it was so they could breath when they were chewing on some unfortunate bull or dog or whatever. I’d have a hard time imagining them hunting though. They don’t seem capable of taking a rabbit or squirrel by stealth or speed and, as you said, they’re not made to root for smaller rodents. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/14 "2005-10-14T17:53:08Z")
I was told by a breeder many years ago that English bulldogs usually require assistance to copulate and are usually delivered by C-section. Seems like a recipe for extinction in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/15 "2005-10-14T18:05:30Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > A lot of domestic cats wouldn’t make it. Unless a kitten is taught to hunt by its mother, many of them never learn how to hunt successfully enough to survive. Most feral cats rely on dumpster, garbage cans or kind people to survive. I guess…but every cat I’ve ever known has pretty much pieced the “learn how to hunt” thing together pretty well. I certainly never taught either of my first two cats how to hunt and they were amazingly successful hunters. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/16 "2005-10-14T18:37:24Z")
By not being able to hunt, I meant not being able to hunt successfully enough to survive - i.e. getting enough to eat. Many cats can bring down the odd chipmunk or stupid bird, but being able to do it on a regular basis is a different story. I’m sure mine wouldn’t survive. " Raw meat? What do you think we are - savages?" ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/17 "2005-10-14T18:46:41Z")
My spoiled kitties would starve in a week. Although one of them did manage to turn on the bread machine last night! I support the “toy” anything would quickly be snacks for anything bigger than a squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/18 "2005-10-14T18:50:34Z")
I used to own a cat that was born in my house and its mother was gone a few weeks later (story not worth getting into). He wasn’t taught to hunt by his mother but surely learned it well enough to bring home mice and birds (and on one occassion a fully grown rabbit) on a near nightly basis. I’ll accept that he may not have been the norm but I’d give domesticated cats as a whole an overall benefit of the doubt when it comes to survival of the species in the wild. I’m sure there’s individual breeds though that would suffer and die off and I’d wonder about their ability to survive a northern winter without the benefit of human shelter and heat sources. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/19 "2005-10-14T18:54:11Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > A lot of domestic cats wouldn’t make it. Unless a kitten is taught to hunt by its mother, many of them never learn how to hunt successfully enough to survive. Most feral cats rely on dumpster, garbage cans or kind people to survive. I think we’re talking about **BREEDS** , though, not individuals. Obviously, most cat breeds do include individuals with considerable hunting ability. I owned a Maine Coon once that could kill a dozen animals on a good day. In the case of Maine Coons, or American tabbies, or Russian blues, or Siamese, or what hve you, presumably some individuals could hunt successfully, would breed and raise kittens that would learn to hunt. Ergo, the breeds would survive, though of course in short order they’d interbreed and the “Breeds” would mix and become unrecognizable… but their genetic code would live on all the same. Persians, maybe not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/20 "2005-10-14T18:55:33Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > Just curious, How hot does it get in Georgia? I would imagine the Siberian Husky, collies and Samoyed would not survive in the summer. Anecdotally, I had a friend in Georgia with a Siberian Husky. She was an outside dog her entire life. This leads me to reckon that if a feral Husky found shade and a solid water supply he or she could survive. - Peter Wiggen [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232.md?page=2)