All I can say is that a lifetime of experience seems to back it up.
In all seriousness, despite my snark about cats – and I know there are many cat lovers here – I’ve owned cats myself in my youth, loved them dearly, and was heartbroken when anything happened to them. But I maintain that dogs are a different and much deeper experience entirely. I’ve cited this book before.
Just FYI. Read the article, maybe even read the book. Dogs are a treasure on this earth.
Well sure, we only take care of cats to keep them from killing us. It’s not surprising that dogs are friendly for genetic reasons, we did breed them that way, but it looks like we reinforced existing mutations. The bit about coyotes not having the mutation is interesting, there was a case of a sick coyote came up to a person in New York who thought it was a sick dog, it acted tame and it was brought to a vet where it was properly identified. However, many eastern coyotes have interbred with domestic dogs so perhaps that makes a difference.
Dogs are like four-year-olds – still needing help, wanting to learn and seek approval. Can be left alone for short moments.
Cats are like teenagers – independent, moody, wanting food and if you don’t have it their choices are creative.
Except when one eats the PB&J sandwich I left on the coffee table for a minute when I went to the fridge for a soda. Or when one destroys a classy inherited sofa. Yes, some canines can be admirable. A friend was abused by her creepy BF. Her Chihuahua ran outside, jumped through the guy’s open car window, and shat mightily on his upholstery. Good dog!
Don’t know if it’s true, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Vaya has a ridge of dark fur right above her eyes, and she can seemingly make them go any direction she wants, giving plenty of different expressions.
Yes, I know she’s not human and doesn’t have human expressions. I’ve spent way too much time around dogs to understand their actual expressions (usually). But when she flops over and looks up (or to the side, that’s the BEST), I don’t really care.
I wonder if they’ve ever done a genetics study on those Siberian foxes that have been domesticated? It’d be interesting to see if they have the same sort of mutation that dogs have (and that coyotes lack) - or if there’s a different mutation that allows the foxes to be friendly.
