Lifestyle Dogs: A Response to Becky

Becky asks the question: Because animals give us so many health benifits does that give us a reason to breed dogs so that there is at a right dog for everyone's lifestlye? That is to say, different dogs are specifically designed for a certain lifestyle.

We've discussed in class how purebred dogs have health problems because of inbreeding. Bad genes are passed along as well as the desired genes, causing many problems like hip dysplasia in larger dogs and breathing and upper respiratory problems in the brachycephalic dogs like pugs. In the beginning, dogs were bred to fit certain lifestyles. One small dog breed were kept in the sleeves of Chinese nobles to warm hands. Dogs like border collies and shelties were bred for hunting. Dachsunds were bred to go into burrows made by animals to hunt them out while bulldogs were bred to fight bears. Nowadays, there are dogs suited for certain lifestyles. Small, low-maintenence dogs are best suited for people living in apartments while an energetic dog like a border collie or a greyhound does best in places where they can run around and get a lot of exercise.

Long story short, dogs have already been bred to suit our needs and now it is a matter of choosing a dog that bests fit our lifestyles. If someone wants to get a dog for their health, a calm and friendly dog such as a labrador or a golden retreiver might be best.

My question now is: Why are animals such as cats and dogs the ones highlighted when it comes to having animals for health reasons when there are so many other wonderful and calm animals that can be kept as well? In this regard, I mean keeping a ferret, a rabbit, or a bird, to name a few examples.

Cats and Dogs

I have had three cats and one dog in my lifetime, and I am a fan of both. Curious, I looked up how long cats and dogs have been domesticated and I found that dogs have been domesticated for about 15,000 years and cats have been domesticated for about 9,500 years. With all of the talks about pets in class, I thought this would be a good topic to discuss. As has been noted in our various discussions, dogs are more dependent than cats. If a dog were to try and survive in the wild, it would have a harder time on its own than a cat. Cats have more of an independent streak and would be able to fend for themselves better in the wild than a dog. It is possible that a part of cats' independence is because they have not been domesticated for as long as dogs, but it is hard to say for sure.

My question now is this: What makes dogs so different from cats that they need to depend on us, while cats do not?