Anyone who is connected to the world of dogs and loves to learn new facts on the topic is pretty likely to know the term ‘domestication’. The word itself originates from the Latin word ‘domesticus’, which means ‘belonging to the house’.
The process of domestication does not refer exclusively to dogs; moreover it also involves plants besides animals. The explanation behind why the human race invited other species to ‘belong to the house’ was very likely to be about making human life easier. Some thousands of years ago human society and man’s everyday routine looked totally different to nowadays. Hunting animals and collecting plants was a major task for survival. It was a really good idea to try different things and experiment with bringing prey into the household instead of going out all the time, taking a chance on luck and facing risk.
To keep food at home this way—whether animal or plant—had many advantages. In those days nature dominated the globe and humanity had not yet conquered our planet. Domestication saved our ancestors time, energy and not least, their own lives as they did not need to go out hunting and collecting as often, which took all the jeopardy out of being themselves hunted by predators or just simply returning home without sufficient food for the whole colony. Probably that was the motive behind the intention of bringing wildlife into the households instead of going ‘out’ all the time. We still breed and keep these domesticated farm animals and grow domesticated plants for everyday consumption. Even though not everyone is a farmer, but we can pop into the stores, malls or a restaurants or even order online to fulfil our most basic need to eat. Moreover, it is very likely that this is the co-relation between ancient people beginning to settle down and giving up the nomad lifestyle: domestication.
Domestication involves a very important attribute concerning the domesticated species, which is their stable presence in the human environment. It means that these animals can adapt precisely and their nature—including many of their distinctive characteristics—make it possible for them to be permanently in the human world. Domesticated animals can feel and act naturally alongside humans, just think about chickens, cows or horses: how smoothly they fit in as part of a farm and how they can be part of our everyday life. It is sort of guaranteed if you start to keep any of them, provided you have farming skills and understand their basic needs, it is going to be an easy ride.
The same cannot be claimed about wild animals. Wolves, foxes, lions, elephants and so on. They might be tamed yet the end result remains really uncertain. You can tame individual wild animals, they can adapt well but it does not mean evidentially that the species as a whole has the proper gene-set and attributes to live in the human habitat without severe problems. When we talk about domestication, we mean the whole species is able to be part of human society in a natural way, and not only one tame individual. For domesticated animals the human environment is their primary and typical habitat. However even in their case there are some breeds still living in the wild, for example, wild horses and dogs, and they would probably never be able to fit smoothly into human households like those socialised from birth.
Dogs are special
The origin of dogs is still a mystery and the subject of many scientific debates. From one aspect, it covers the evolution of the species itself: where it comes from, how the species developed and whether it really originates from the wolf. The other area of investigation is about how and when dogs became an integral part of human life.
It has been estimated that dogs have been our companions for some thousands of years. Based on fossils and DNA tests many scientists believe that dogs were present as part of the human way of life as much as 33,000 years ago, when the world was still in the grip of the Ice Age. Not everyone agrees with this, and many other scientists believe that based on all the incontrovertible evidence and technology they possess, we can only be sure that dogs were by our side a ‘mere’ 14-15,000 years ago. Whichever view is right, each interpretation shows an extremely long period of shared domestic life. One of the most interesting elements of this result is based on archaeological finds proving that dogs were ceremonially buried together with men a minimum of 14-15,000 years ago.
It means by that time dogs had already became a part of the migrating human population, following them, being together, sharing their lives in the camp.
Whichever theory is right, it was a really long time ago when the mutual decision was made and the agreement got sealed. Both humans and dogs agreed to let the other one into their lives for their own advantage.
Presumably dogs helped to protect the camps of the nomadic human tribes or the primitive households from wild animals and maybe from other, hostile tribes. Moreover, they might have been hunting companions as well, making the hunt more effective. Do not forget at those times finding food was a question of death or life. In return dogs also gained a steadier way of life. More security and certainly more food, and a warm fireside for everyday living.
How it really happened we may never know. But it was the start of something serious, reforming human society for good. Not only in ancient times but nowadays as well, we still have the benefit of living alongside our canine companions.
Have you ever imagined what life would be like if there were no guide dogs for the blind, no assistance dogs for the differently-abled, no rescue dogs, dogs on security duties including prevention, protection and detection of explosives and other chemicals?
Why does it really matter to us how dogs as a species evolved throughout the millenniums and get involved with human society? Why is it essential to understand this joint history of canines and humans?
First of all, we humans are keen to know more about our history, and eager to understand the world we live in. Additionally, a knowledge of history is always important to understand the current era we live in, to see what is relevant and how things are connected to each other.
It is unambiguous that there is a very strong, and ancient, continuous link between our two different species. This symbiosis causes a really complex situation where the canine society forms a steady and inseparable group within the human one with many different aspects, interactions and problems.
All we gained
Compared to other animals that have become domesticated pets—and forgetting for a moment about farm animals—dogs are in a very special position due to all the unique features they possess and therefore all the various functions they can carry out.
Different rodents like hamsters, squirrels, or guinea pigs can be very cute and cuddly. Keeping cats is real fun and sometimes a pain in the neck as it is well known they are really stubborn creatures with their independent universe and rules set—and followed—only by themselves. Various birds can make your day with their singing and it is really amusing when parrots learn to copycat human speech.
But dogs are different, totally different. When they are properly socialised, well cared for and trained, they are genetically capable of learning all the necessary behaviour needed for the complex system of rules of the human environment, and easily adapt to the habits of the particular household where they live. This is a really unique symbiosis no other species has ever been able to accomplish.
Dogs can interact. Interaction means that they are able to react based on the stimulus coming from the human, and they can learn from this and change their own attitude, knowledge and behaviour. They can learn the rules. They can also cooperate well with other species. This feature is broadly true of all dogs if they are well-trained and do not suffer mental illnesses, and providing we are able to really understand how they work.
This conformity which is the base of a really deep and effective partnership between the human and the dog additionally possesses another aspect that makes dogs much more valuable.
Varying in different breeds, dogs have skill sets that humans do not now have or will never have again even though we used to have these in our ancient past. With their senses, instincts and capabilities, dogs are absolutely able to complete really important tasks by the human’s side and for the human’s gratification. Their dedication to satisfying the human by completing tasks for positive feedback and emotional reward—and for food of course—has made dogs a very important asset for humankind ever since they became a part of our society.
If we accept the thesis that dogs became linked to us because of the skills they could offer, guarding and protecting us, and in addition, being a good hunting companion, we can see that this feature still remains today.
Dogs can perceive the territory of the human they belong to and they do their very best to protect this territory. And not only the man’s territory, but all the valuables belonging to the dog’s human comes under the dog’s protection. If you keep cats alongside your dog, your dog knows exactly which cat belongs to the territory he protects, otherwise you can often see your dog ranging and barking madly at the fence at ‘foreign’ cats passing through in front of your gate.
Protection is still a current issue. In rural areas where wild animals like wolves, bears or other predators can be a threat to flocks and herds, and even for the human himself or herself, many breeds are still effectively ‘on duty’. Canine herding breeds can conduct a different sort of protection as well, keeping flocks under control and making it easy to complete farm chores.
The main objective of hunting has altered throughout the centuries. Once upon a time it was one of the most important activities, essential to stay alive. Much later, though still some centuries ago, hunting was a hobby for the upper classes. A really important one. Think of all the paintings, statues representing hunting. And in many of these works of art, dogs have a really strong presence with positive reputation, proving their status in society.
For the different aspects of hunting, different breeds were intentionally bred to fulfil different tasks. Amongst the gun dogs there are ones which are good for chasing, others were good for catching and gently carrying the kill without damaging it—or eating it. It really confirms that the gene-set of dogs is absolutely flexible and can adapt to suit different activities with differing requirements and demands.
Besides the ancient instinct-based protection and hunting, there are many characteristics in all dogs or in specific breeds that make it possible to assist in the everyday life of humans in numerous ways.
If we want to make a list about all the duties dogs have carried out during the last few centuries, it would be a really long one. Some of these functions has disappeared for good as the human way of life has also changed, and new doggy ‘duties’ have emerged. We either suddenly realised that dogs are capable of doing much more than we had ever thought, or new areas of occupation and new human habits arose. For example, we no longer fight rats with Yorkshire Terriers, and fire brigades nowadays use technology instead of Dalmatians.
However, dogs on duty still take a huge part in rescue, detection, guarding and guiding. Many breeds can be perfectly trained to ease or even make the life of people living with disabilities better. To aid the comfort and maintain the living standards of blind people or people confined to wheelchairs has never been so simple before.
Therapy is a modern phenomenon due to the huge leaps forward in psychological understanding and the desire to care for our own mental health and personality issues. Dogs can be used successfully in many different therapies.
Probably the most common function of dogs is that of being a companion to humans in a world where solitude and separation is very common. We do not really consider this a duty as it is so common and I guess we do not really realise that simply by being a pet full of unconditional love and mutual attention, what a huge task dogs fulfill.
Unquestionably dogs have contributed greatly to the standard of living of humanity by occupying many useful positions in our society. But they are dependent. They cannot fight for their rights, they cannot directly shape the environment they live in for their own good. Everything they face, experience or even suffer is dependent on the activity of humankind.
When, thousands of years ago, they agreed to give up the wild as their habitat to join us and started to merge into our society, they simultaneously gave us the responsibility to maintain their place in the world. Have we achieved this responsibility at all?
How did humanity adapt to dogs?
We have completed long studies and started many scientific debates to unravel the mystery of both the evolution of dogs and their joint history with the human race. But what happened meanwhile with the other side of the process? What has humanity done for the sake of dogs?
We are talking about interaction which means that each of the parties involved reacts to the actions of the other. It is not just a simple process that someone does something and it causes a response. Interaction has a two-way effect, generating and escalating events, modifying attitudes and behavioural patterns. Dogs could find their way in our society, but could we find our place in the society of dogs? Has something similar and fruitful like domestication happened to humans?
Dogs proved themselves during the process of domestication and succeeded. They perceived our needs and demands and perfectly fitted into our everyday life over thousands of years, no matter how the structure, habits and routine of our society altered. What about us? Did we do the same?
Have we become able to listen to them, taking enough time and effort to understand how dogs work and what their real needs are? Are we prepared to realise our own limitations and start to gain knowledge about their requirements? Are we able to distance ourselves from our own human-like thinking and our own selfish needs? Are we wise enough to realise the needs of dogs just as they have realised our own requirements? Are we aware at all that most of the time we exploit the unconditional love of dogs just because we want to achieve something when they complete a task or banish our solitude, for instance? Have we ever realised that we put dogs into harmful situations and they are able to seem to be happy just because we are satisfied?
And last but not least, what does human society give to dogs in return for all this?
The vast majority of dog owners call themselves dog lovers, and these questions are likely to make them either furious or just nod to gain self-reinforcement.
But if we look around the globe, no matter what country, we can see dogs suffering in almost identical, harmful situations. Besides abandoned dogs, there are a huge number of abused animals and dogs kept in unhealthy conditions. Dogs are used as tools for achieving success on shows and in competitions to gain self-esteem for the human, they save lives, or make lives comfortable, or are merely status symbols for our own prestige.
Many beloved dogs are overhumanised, denying their real needs which are substituted with the ones we erroneously consider suitable. No matter how much a dog is loved, when it is there to substitute another human being by chasing solitude away, it is still a dog. It should not be treated as if it were a human.
Dogs are adapting to the owner. If the owner does something which is against the real physical, biological and mental needs of the dog, the dog will still seem happy, unless there is an immediate threat against its life. The dog will continue to wag its tail, and jump around as long as a reward is guaranteed. Dogs initially seek the feedback of the human. And most of the time unconsciously we exploit that without even knowing we’re doing so. Only because we know too little about them. Most of the time we are incapable of being empathetic enough to understand the behaviour and motivation of each other amongst our own race. So how can we hope to do so with a completely different species? One that possesses different behavioural patterns and needs.
Is there ever going to be a time when we can say that after dogs became domesticated, humanity has started to ‘canisticate’?
Images: Dreamstime
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