# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tamryne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@Tamryne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamryne)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/41 "2005-10-15T02:22:12Z")
I dont know about long-term survival, but daschounds can survive for almost two weeks out in the wild. A friend of mine, through a long and convoluted story involving the woods, fireworks, and her boyfriend’s family, ended up losing her year-and-a-half year old daschound in the woods (woods with nice animals such as racoons, wolves, black bears, snakes, exc). She eventually found it, and brought it into her vet to see if anything bad had happened to it. Other than a scratch and losing a little weight, it was fine. Turns out, most animals won’t mess with small dogs, simply because the small dog can go between their legs and attack their belly. They think the daschound survived off of small animals such as squirrels, mice, rabbits, exc. Daschounds can be vicious little things, and are quick. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/42 "2005-10-15T02:23:07Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Toy dogs are just coyote chow as far as I’m concerned. Aren’t the true names of the breeds “lunch” ? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/43 "2005-10-15T02:42:22Z")
> [@Obsidian](#): > > I’d add greyhounds to your list. They need sweaters in my fairly temperate climate, and their skin is so thin it tears easily and they can’t lay comfortably on the floor. I’m not buying that. I have a hell of a lot of experience with greyhounds. Silly they may look but a pack of sighthounds (by which I include whippets, pharoah hounds and some others) should strip an area clean of small game fairly quickly. Then they start on the larger game such as deer and such. And I have little doubt that a pack of them could bring down deer in short order. My dogs (retired racers) have brought down in the wild norwegian rats (I swear those SOBs were 15 pounds each. They were big enough to convince me to stay in the house. Then the dogs showed up and nuked them.), groundhogs, rabbits (naturally), and other such medium-sized mammals. Remember that, due to most of them being bred for racing, this is a breed that if an individual shows any abnormalities at all, doesn’t ever get to breed. It’s Darwin at his finest in the greyhound world. I have never seen a greyhounds skin tear from sitting. Sighthounds are simply badass. I’d put a pack of 5-8 of them against almost anything. By the time something knows it’s in danger it’s already dead. Um. Admittedly, I’m partisan. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/44 "2005-10-15T02:50:48Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > 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. I hadn’t heard that they need help copulating\*, but I HAVE heard that, because bulldogs have been bred to have large heads, they often can’t be delivered normally, and C-sections are pretty standard. As you say, a breed that can’t reproduce safely on its own is doomed to extinction without human intervention. \*I HAVE been told (can’t vouch that it’s true) that nowadays, domesticated turkeys get too heavy to have sex naturally, so artificial insemination is pretty much a matter of course in the poultry business. ---
**Author:** ![Obsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@Obsidian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obsidian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/45 "2005-10-15T05:31:19Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > I’m not buying that. I have a hell of a lot of experience with greyhounds. > > \ > > Sighthounds are simply badass. I’d put a pack of 5-8 of them against almost anything. By the time something knows it’s in danger it’s already dead. > > Um. Admittedly, I’m partisan. Neat. I stand corrected. I was looking into adopting a retired greyhound a while back, but the general impression I got during the process was how fragile their skin is, their lack of body fat, etc. Maybe certain rescue groups who are paranoid about people leaving their dogs outside or in the basement are exagerating. It left me with the fear that my cats’ would do serious damaged just in play. (Yes, our cats play with the dog. Turkish Vans, as I hinted above, are odd ducks as a breed. My roommate has a rottie mix that is easily 5X their size, a fact none of them seem to notice when they get involved in a game of tag.) I wasn’t thinking past the skin/climate thing though. Any kind of hound bred for hunting should certainly be able to feed itself. Unless it’s dumb like my parents’ beagle, who doesn’t know what to do with prey if she actually does run it down. Though that might be because she’s never actually been hungry enough. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/46 "2005-10-15T08:54:12Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > 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. Yep. My Ducky(dachy) used to win fights with my G Shep. ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/47 "2005-10-15T16:10:46Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Yep. My Ducky(dachy) used to win fights with my G Shep. That is one brave dachshund :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/48 "2005-10-15T16:12:30Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > I’m not buying that. I have a hell of a lot of experience with greyhounds. Silly they may look but a pack of sighthounds (by which I include whippets, pharoah hounds and some others) should strip an area clean of small game fairly quickly. Then they start on the larger game such as deer and such. And I have little doubt that a pack of them could bring down deer in short order. > > My dogs (retired racers) have brought down in the wild norwegian rats (I swear those SOBs were 15 pounds each. They were big enough to convince me to stay in the house. Then the dogs showed up and nuked them.), groundhogs, rabbits (naturally), and other such medium-sized mammals. > > Remember that, due to most of them being bred for racing, this is a breed that if an individual shows any abnormalities at all, doesn’t ever get to breed. It’s Darwin at his finest in the greyhound world. I have never seen a greyhounds skin tear from sitting. > > Sighthounds are simply badass. I’d put a pack of 5-8 of them against almost anything. By the time something knows it’s in danger it’s already dead. > > Um. Admittedly, I’m partisan. I would love to own an Irish Wolfhound, that is a sight hound right?, but I hear they don’t live long. ---
**Author:** ![queen\_of\_thrilorka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a183cd/32.png) [@queen\_of\_thrilorka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/queen_of_thrilorka)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/49 "2005-10-15T18:04:23Z")
The SPCA statistics I have seen: average life of a homeless dog: less than one year. average life of homeless cat: about three years. where I live (coastal california), cats and dogs would be competing with coyotes, bobcats, cougars, feral pigs, racoons, and possums. Cats and smaller dogs would be prey for some of these animals too. Dogs have been altered for human uses for at least 10,000 and maybe 30,000 years. All of those alterations have been away from survival alone. Cats are in a little better shape. I wouldn’t give any dog, even a husky, much of a chance to survive to reproduce. queen of thrilorka ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/50 "2005-10-15T19:09:50Z")
Obviously, a lot depends on terrain and prey base, but the competition matters a lot. Turn a tabby loose in farmland, and it will find rodents galore with few large predators for competition. Turn a tabby loose in the mountains around here, and it is a long way down the food chain. Cats and small dogs around here are meals for foxes, coyotes, bobcats, lynxes, owls, badgers, and wolverines. They’re just a snack for the big predators like wolves, mountain lions, and grizzlies. A raccoon is perfectly capable of killing a cat. Big prey animals like moose, elk, and bison even kill wolves from time to time. It’s a very competitive world out there, and hunting skills alone won’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/51 "2005-10-16T01:00:34Z")
> [@Obsidian](#): > > Neat. I stand corrected. I was looking into adopting a retired greyhound a while back, but the general impression I got during the process was how fragile their skin is, their lack of body fat, etc. Maybe certain rescue groups who are paranoid about people leaving their dogs outside or in the basement are exagerating. It left me with the fear that my cats’ would do serious damaged just in play. (Yes, our cats play with the dog. Turkish Vans, as I hinted above, are odd ducks as a breed. My roommate has a rottie mix that is easily 5X their size, a fact none of them seem to notice when they get involved in a game of tag.) > > I wasn’t thinking past the skin/climate thing though. Any kind of hound bred for hunting should certainly be able to feed itself. Unless it’s dumb like my parents’ beagle, who doesn’t know what to do with prey if she actually does run it down. Though that might be because she’s never actually been hungry enough. I apologize if I came across too strongly there. Yes, greyhounds can be susceptible to cold. They were originally a saharan dog (no fooling) with a short wirehair coat. About 200 years ago or so boxers were added to the mix to bring about the smooth coat that’s typical of the breed today. Note, though, that some Irish and Scottish greyhounds retain a wiry ruff. Yes, as a greyhound rescue volunteer I find some of my colleagues a bit, shall we say, overzealous in how they present the care of the dogs. They’re partisan and it shows. We have had greyhounds with up to six indoor and three outdoor (semi-feral) cats. One of them once went for our oldest female. She reached down, _took the cats head in her mouth_, lifted him about two feet off the ground and dropped him on the floor. Remarkable restraint and the cat went away asking if he was in Oz or something. I fully encourage anyone interested in a dog to seriously consider adopting a retired racing greyhound. They’re polite, well-trained and behaved, and generally good tempered with children and other animals. **BluePitBull** - Irish Wolfhounds are indeed sighthounds. Almost certainly descended from wirehair greyhounds at some point (most sighthound breeds descend from proto-greyhounds at some point). I couldn’t speak to how good they are as pets as I’ve never had one. But they look cool. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232/52 "2005-10-16T06:15:48Z")
I had a Saluki for a while (Rescue). Remarkable dogs. They think more like humans than other dogs do as they SEE more than Smell or hear. They act dainty and they are very clean animals. But she was “faster than a speeding bullet”. I have no doubt whatsoever that she’d be able to catch all the rabbits she’d want to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dogs-or-cats-are-so-highly-bred-they-require-human-attention-to-survive/326232.md?page=2)