as sole progenitor of the house-dog is valid doubt-freely the wolf (Canis lupus) today.
Before is entered on the particular characteristics of the house-dog, that originated through Haustierwerdung (Domestikation), should be shown shortly in the following one, how one could imagine the way of the wolf of the game-animal to the today confessed high-breeding-races.
From the wolf to the dog The dog is not the eldest pet, is worth sheep or goat as such, however it reached into the pet-stand very early, namely more than 10 000 years ago through at that time living hunter-people. Possibly, tamed wolves were these hunters at the hunt of benefits at first. Since wolves are very socially living animals, the group-life is a need for them, and young wolves can connect narrowly to the people if they are pulled open by this lovingly. Above all children and young women were supposed to have found fun in rearing wolf-puppies. Some of these wolves grown up in human-care like more tamely and more trustful than other has been and with its "Zieheltern" has remained. Such animals could then pass on its installations to its descendants.
Domestikationsmerkmale In the following one, it should be expounded, as and through what itself pets of game-animals distinguishes. Numerous examinations at virtually all pet-groups showed that the same characteristics always occur with the overpass of a game-animal into the household as well as. determining same changes at the pets is quite immediately to which type of animal they belong. So, we can transfer the implementations also on all other pets without further over the house-dog. In the framework this lexicon can be entered only on the most important changes of course.
The changes, that an animal finds out, if it is transferred into the "household", stretches on virtually all sections of the zoology. Especially interesting, since verifiably also from each interested layman, the behavioral changes are. The deviations are in the reproductive-biology beside it and some realizations from the area of the anatomy and physiology of particular meaning.
Let's begin with the finally named areas, we appear relatively with all pets, d. h. from the height independent, more inferior brain-weight as with the wild trunk-forms. This now doesn't mean that pets are "stupider" than its wild relatives but that they adapted household themselves optimally to the new habitat and all the qualities and abilities, that are for it no more of importance anyway, lost merely. Beside the decrease of the brain-weight, also a decrease of the heart-weight is to be determined.
These two characteristics alone already are so pet-typical that one, without to expose themselves to the reproach of the criminal simplification, can exclude a game-animal as progenitor of a pet-type if the game-animal has a more inferior brain-weight and heart-weight than the pet standing in question at its disposal. All house-dogs possess a relatively bigger brain-weight than each jackal, for example! Pets remain smaller than its game-form normally also in its measurements and gain their size approximately only in exceptions. This is mainly applicable to original pet-breedings. In younger time and particularly with small game-animals, however, also so-called "giants", who surpass its game-type in the size, then are bred in changed proportions appears.
Under the category of the changed proportions, also changes of the skeleton belong, that always occur again and again as special races with all pet-types: The pug dog-headed-ness and the Dackelbeine, that no survival-chance would have with the game-forms, in the household however again and again its lovers finds, it is dogs, pigs, horses or goats.
Reproduction How already mentions, the changes especially interesting for the layman are to be sought in the areas of the reproductive-biology and the behavior. Instead of a heat occurring in the year once, female pets becomes be even the entire year at least twice per year combination-ready and male over deck-willing. In the household, the worry about the boys is relieved of the dams largely, so that only simplifies the behavioral-elements for the preparation of the birth and the preparation of the birth-camp very much is available or even is missing. So that the largely lacking brood-care-instinct of the males, to whom the boys don't matter at best, stands in the context if they even don't turn into a danger for the descendants.
Even the process of the birth is no more the by itself running out natural process by far but requires the helpful intervention of the human being, that is enough until the emperor-cut. And finally many pet-mothers don't produce enough milk, in order to nourish the boys, so that the human being also must help out helpfully with artificial Aufzucht here.
Behavioral changes In its behavior, the pets also adapt themselves optimally to the household and the human being. Herd-animals reduce its individual-distance so that very much more animals can live on a surface-unit, as that would be possible with game-animals. The pets fit the human being for its social-behavior and its social-structure. they accept it as alpha-animal, rankings are not fought constantly again but settles in singularly in very young age, in which the human being is normally superior for the animal. The animals try on its life and food-habits at those of the human being. The tone-remarks and the gesture-language got the bearings by the human-world controlled by acoustic signals.
Finally, the pets are neotenisch, d, as it were. h., they are to be judged by its behavior, sexually mature become youth-stages of the corresponding game-forms: they preserve yourself its youthful game-behavior and its devotion to the parents-substitute human being for life.
Breeds However, this are not all characteristics, that a pet distinguishes from the game-animal, by far the most important and most evident. So, this results in no more so foreign natures of the house-dog for us for itself now from all said. His qualities out-bred in centuries are as hidden potential already in the wolf, whose severe variability offered a good prerequisite for the formation of the hardly clear variety with reference to body-form, size and color at breeds.
So, also the knowledge of the behavior of the wolf, and here particularly the Jugendverhaltens, offers best prerequisites for the understanding of our dogs, whose races admittedly drift apart in its züchterischen goal, whose behavior however, only a section of the Wolfs-Verhaltens, according to the ideas, which the respective race-dog-clubs led at the preparation of the breeding-standard, reflects in each case.
House-dogs primarily are social animals, who suffer from an einzelgängerischen existence, like its wild trunk-form. One observes, so one determines freely living, neglected house-dogs, like approximately the Australian Dingos (Dingo), that these live in even-such social herds like the wolves and that there similar herd-rites guarantee (wolf) for a regular together-life.
Habitat, household In the household, the dog normally lacks homogeneous social-partners, and it therefore is dependent on joining the human being as also Dingos, that one removes from the herd as young, do this. Since house-dogs go through its socialization-phase, in which they establish also its ranking within its "family-herd", in the first life-weeks is crucial for the further living together between human being and dog these weeks. What was not taught a dog in this phase or was made stop, is later to manage only with very much effort and energy. The dog expects the observance of certain rules in living together with the human being through its little "man. If this is not the case, it is made unsure and finally behaves unnormal and becomes neurotic.
Therefore, a dog-holder must find above all consequence; because everything, which was taught the dog once, is penalty with itself for this of now at "brazen law" to hurt this brings.
Since each house-dog is a "disguised" wolf in the end, it possesses also its "Gerechtigkeitsempfinden." That is but nothing else, than that the penalty of the alpha-animal on a forbidden action - d. h. the "Herrchens" or "Frauchens" - must follow. If this penalty doesn't take place in the household on the other hand, this brings the dog more strongly than a moderate physical castigation from the balance. If a dog is educated artgemäß in such a way and is held, it will to be extremely instinct-certainly and reliably prove and will also never turn into the neurotic Angstbeißer, for example, but will always possess an innate Beißhemmung.
Race-high-breeding and crossing Albeit also race-dog-breeding is older than the noble-cat-breeding surely, so however the high-performance-breeding is a rather up-to-date achievement also with dogs. One admittedly knows already from prehistoric excavations, however house-dogs of certain figure-categories, as the post-construction-top of the Palustris-Gruppe, quite are not always these groups the direct predecessors of our present-day high-races. To describe these in the individual one, we leave the compartment and hobby-literature and restrict us to some few basic remarks here.
Beside pure use-breeds, we find more today and more so-called hobby-races, that don't correspond to any more particular use-goal, besides which to please the human being. There are still transitions beside it between both groups. The present-day hobby-dogs emerged from use-dogs many times.
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