Anyone ever found it weird?...

[Cartoons90]

Anyone ever find it ridiculous that dogs are "man's best friend," yet man then turns around and hates on wolves constantly, considering them vicious, evil, etc., even though dogs are directly descended from wolves? Just some strange food for thought...

[Michael24]

Can't save I've ever thought of that, but I personally love wolves and have occasionally collected wolf-related things, like wood carvings and posters. I think they can be quite beautiful animals, actually. :) (I just wouldn't want to really encounter one. :D )

[The Wolverine]

Wolves are beautiful animals, moreso than domesticated dogs.

And contrary to news reports, can be quite tame as well.

Same with coyotes, another canine.

[Jedigreedo]

I think it stems from the fact that a dog can be content with just licking your face once in awhile. Whereas a wolf would be content to devour your warm, meaty tissue to it's leisure. Quite a significant contrast there... Granted, wolves are fascinating creatures and can be quite admirable in their own ways, but you could easily say the same about other "evil" predators - such as sharks - but it doesn't really mean they're misrepresented when defined as dangerous.

Out of the wild canid, however, I prefer foxes. Less cliche.

[Anyone00]

Let see here a domesticated animal that has essentially been shaped by man for thousands of years to be beneficial to him vs. a wild predatory pack animal that has been known to prey on flocks of domesticated animals and generally been in competition with man for food...
...I don't find weird at all.

[Romanesque]

And contrary to news reports, can be quite tame as well. Same with coyotes, another canine.Key word being "can". Wild animals are still wild animals, and as such, should be treated with both respect and caution. Being able to freely interbreed, wolves may technically belong to the same species as domestic dogs, but you shouldn't forget there are very significant biological (and consequently behavioral) differences.

--Romey

[PRdude]

Can't save I've ever thought of that, but I personally love wolves and have occasionally collected wolf-related things, like wood carvings and posters.

I have a friend who does the same thing. She claims it's her "totem animal".

[Yusuke Urameshi]

Yeh, but thats like saying a "cat" is like a "tiger"


Cats are small and harmless, tigers are firouccious and can bite your leg off.

[Temple Fugate]

Anyone ever find it ridiculous that dogs are "man's best friend," yet man then turns around and hates on wolves constantly, considering them vicious, evil, etc., even though dogs are directly descended from wolves? Just some strange food for thought...
Wolves were domesticated into dogs thousands of years ago. There is a huge difference between the two. Besides, there are many documented incidents of domestic dogs viciously attacking people. The "Man's Best Friend" thing has many exceptions.

Personally I don't like canines of any sort. Cats FTW.

[Sparticus]

Yeh, but thats like saying a "cat" is like a "tiger"


Cats are small and harmless, tigers are firouccious and can bite your leg off.

Actually, cats ARE like tigers. :p There's very little difference between the behavior of a house cat and a tame tiger. The issue is size. If your house cat decides to ambush you (all in good fun), when you walk out of the bathroom it'll hurt a little. If your pet tiger tries it, you'll probably die.

It's kinda the same for dogs, if you think about it. People tolerate - even encourage - aggression in tiny dogs - but if a big dog does it, they're deemed dangerous. Chihuahua's are actually one of the most aggressive breeds of dogs around, but you never hear anything about "viscous chihuahua attacks" simply because they're too small to cause any serious damage.

[Dr.Pepper]

I noticed this along time ago. I think its because dogs are pets while wolves eat live-stock.

[Anyone00]

I have a friend who does the same thing. She claims it's her "totem animal".

Let me guess: she's also a vegetarian.

[Romanesque]

It's kinda the same for dogs, if you think about it. People tolerate - even encourage - aggression in tiny dogs - but if a big dog does it, they're deemed dangerous. Chihuahua's are actually one of the most aggressive breeds of dogs around, but you never hear anything about "viscous chihuahua attacks" simply because they're too small to cause any serious damage.I have heard of vicious Chihuahua bites on the news now and then, actually. It just usually doesn't warrant coverage until they take a chunk out of your face. Try taking food out of the mouth of a defensive Miniature Pinscher or Mini Dachshund if you don't believe a small dog can do serious damage. The only real difference is that they're not really big enough to kill you.

It's still not the same for dogs and wolves. The differences in hormones (adrenaline, oxytocin, etc.) are quite significant. Domestic dogs behave much more like juvenile wolves. Adult wolves are wild animals with their own set of behaviors.

--Romey

[Cartoonlover]

Never thought of it, but it is intriguing.

[Sparticus]

I have heard of vicious Chihuahua bites on the news now and then, actually. It just usually doesn't warrant coverage until they take a chunk out of your face. Try taking food out of the mouth of a defensive Miniature Pinscher or Mini Dachshund if you don't believe a small dog can do serious damage. The only real difference is that they're not really big enough to kill you.

It's still not the same for dogs and wolves. The differences in hormones (adrenaline, oxytocin, etc.) are quite significant. Domestic dogs behave much more like juvenile wolves. Adult wolves are wild animals with their own set of behaviors.

--Romey

Yep.

I think the biggest issue with dogs and wolves isn't so much the age mentality thing, but how we expect to be treated by other animals. A lot of humans don't seem to have the behavioral codes to cope with being confronted by an intelligent being that is NOT human. It just doesn't compute.

Hell, we have trouble accepting people who don't look exactly like us, so issues with a completely different species is practically a given. X)

[Romanesque]

I think the biggest issue with dogs and wolves isn't so much the age mentality thing, but how we expect to be treated by other animals. A lot of humans don't seem to have the behavioral codes to cope with being confronted by an intelligent being that is NOT human. It just doesn't compute.Lots of animals don't have the behavioral codes to cope with other animals. Dogs know less about shark behavior than humans, and we can both suffer for it. There are tons of species, and no one's going to know everything about all of them. You can't really expect to ever fully understand another species' intellect.

Hell, we have trouble accepting people who don't look exactly like us, so issues with a completely different species is practically a given. X)True, but that's probably too complicated a tangent to go off on. :p

--Romey

[Yash]

Is it really that strange? A dog is less likely to attack a human than a wild wolf.

[Sparticus]

Lots of animals don't have the behavioral codes to cope with other animals. Dogs know less about shark behavior than humans, and we can both suffer for it. There are tons of species, and no one's going to know everything about all of them. You can't really expect to ever fully understand another species' intellect.--Romey

Of course not, but being able to figure out something that's standing right in front of you isn't particularly difficult for most social animals. Wolves and ravens get along quite well; despite most logic, I've watched my ducks adopt semi-feral cats; coyote's and badgers will occasionally join forces; various species of herding animals will run in one mixed bunch for the benefit of both - all of these interactions require some level of communication.

Arguably humans are the best at it, considering how many different animals we interact with, but we're also the worst at it 'cause for the most part, we see them as little more than living tools.

And, anyway I was thinking more along the lines of people don't often like intelligent animals. Dogs can be very smart, but they're also fairly subservient. Wolves are even smarter but they're independent - when they approach a human - as far as they're concerned - it's on equal terms.

[Romanesque]

Of course not, but being able to figure out something that's standing right in front of you isn't particularly difficult for most social animals.Upon closer investigation, however, I believe you'd find that these examples often have special circumstances, whether it be enough time spent living amongst each other, co-opting existing behavior, or developing while at least one animal is still young and socially flexible. They're not quite analogous to random human / cattle / wolf encounters.

To make another comparison, consider the range of results than can occur when someone from our culture encounters some remote tribe in, say, South America or Africa. It doesn't always matter how accepting either culture is of people who "look different" or how well they can judge each others' immediate behavior, things can go well or things can go horribly, horribly wrong. It's easy to make mistakes or misjudge.

Arguably humans are the best at it, considering how many different animals we interact with, but we're also the worst at it 'cause for the most part, we see them as little more than living tools.There are at least a couple documented cases of humans being raised by wolves, so yeah, we're quite adaptable, and our young are even more so. Like wolves and other social creatures, we can be more set in our ways when we get older. ;)

And, anyway I was thinking more along the lines of people don't often like intelligent animals. Dogs can be very smart, but they're also fairly subservient. Wolves are even smarter but they're independent - when they approach a human - as far as they're concerned - it's on equal terms.I don't think it's that we don't like intelligent animals. We just like to have our own way. Intelligent or not, some species get in our way, and we make them pay the price. That price can sometimes be absurd and brutal.

Wolves are often seen as strongly independent, but they're not necessarily any less subservient. Wolves are merely less subservient to us. They have their own social hierarchy. There's a long essay that could be given about survival and reproductive advantages here, but I assume you know all that, so I'll skip over it. Point is, some wolves will be subordinate to others. It's that sort of social capability which was co-opted into the domestication of dogs.

But yeah, in general, wolves can approach us on equal terms, in the sense that they may approach us as they'd approach a lone member of their own species. The outcomes will vary. Thankfully for us, most wolves nowadays will avoid humans. They've good reason for adopting that behavior. Unfortunately for us, that isn't always so. The relationship between humans and a given pack of wolves may vary. People packing guns encourage wolves to keep their distance. People foolish enough to feed the wildlife (intentionally or not) encourage the wolves to stick around.

--Romey

[PRdude]

Let me guess: she's also a vegetarian.

Then you've guessed wrong.

[Anyone00]

Then you've guessed wrong.

O.K.; it's just that the last few people I knew or heard/read from after they were done talking about how they identified with wolves or wolves was their spirit animal or the like would immediately go into how they were vegans.

Yes, facepalm worthy.

[PRdude]

O.K.; it's just that the last few people I knew or heard/read from after they were done talking about how they identified with wolves or wolves was their spirit animal or the like would immediately go into how they were vegans.

Yes, facepalm worthy.

Yet wolves are carnivores.

[Racattack!Force]

I think it stems from the fact that a dog can be content with just licking your face once in awhile. Whereas a wolf would be content to devour your warm, meaty tissue to it's leisure.I've meet dogs who would like to forever destroy my reproductive system...and it was my friend's dog. :sweat: Then again, I've always been a cat person.