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Understanding A Dogs Pack Behavior
from:Many of the things dogs carry over from wolf society are useful to their new role; many are not. The most clearly useful, though only up to a point, is the wolf's innate sense of social
rank, and the system of communication that supports this rank structure. Social rank is a consequence of adaptations that many group dwelling animals have made to the inherent
contradictions of living in a group. Being part of a group gives an individual advantages and access to resources he could never commandeer on his own. It also puts him in immediate and constant conflict with members of his own species for those limited resources.
Competition with one's fellows for limited resources is a nearly universal fact of nature. In species in which individuals can forage and defend themselves successfully as loners, it is generally the case that individuals seek to maximize their distance from one another. Males, or females, or mating pairs, set up and furiously defend exclusive territories and keep out all other comers. Whoever is best at seizing and holding ground whoever manages to keep the
other, competing members of his own species the farthest away from him is the most likely to reproduce and raise viable offspring who will in turn pass on their parents' genes.
The relentless logic of evolution admits no other outcome: every Carolina wren alive today is the descendant of a Carolina wren that succeeded in fighting off the competition. The nice guys did not merely finish last; they dropped dead, and their nice guy genes died with them, In group dwelling animals, undeniably self interested forces hold the group together, but it's still every wolf for himself when it comes to the struggle to pass on one's genes to the next generation. Every wolf in the pack has an evolutionary mandate to claim a mate, produce offspring, and see that his offspring survive and that inevitably means survive at the expense of the other guys. And in the wolf pack, the other guy is not over the next hill; he's lying a few feet away. The situation is inherently explosive. The wolf pack is a tightly packed powder keg of competing interests. Every member of the pack has an interest in being the only member to breed and produce offspring.
At the same time, wolves need the pack. Wolves that hunt very large prey such as moose may form packs with as many as twenty or thirty members, but even when the food supply
consists of smaller game, cooperative hunting by smaller packs of four to seven brings in more food than the sum of those four to seven wolves operating on their own could manage. There is also an evolutionary bootstrap process at work in favor of group formation: groups themselves become a force that favors groups, for packs can defend large territories, and only other groups then have the wherewithal to resist that otherwise superior force. When everyone else is a member of a territorial group, the lone wolf is in big trouble, for he now doesn't have a prayer of claiming and holding any substantial territory on his own.
Measuring Your Dogs Intelligence
Some dog owners and dog trainers expect their dogand#39;s level of thinking and smartness to be the same of humans, when being trained This mistaken assumption about dog psychology can be devastating to the expectations of both the dog owner and the dog itself Trainers shouldnand#39;t assess canine intelligence against human standards Each individual canine may possess his own unique talent If the o.....More on Psychology Of Dog
Body Language Your Dogs Movements and What They Mean
Dogs use their bodies and paws to express a variety of different things Below are some examples and what they mean Dog crouches with front legs extended, rear up, and head near the ground: This is the classic play bow and means simply and#39;I want to play!and#39; Stiff legged, upright posture or slow, stiff legged movement forward: and#39;I am in charge around here!and#39; and and#39;I challenge youand#39; A dominant .....More on Psychology Of Dog
Understanding A Dogs Pack Behavior
Many of the things dogs carry over from wolf society are useful to their new role; many are not The most clearly useful, though only up to a point, is the wolfand#39;s innate sense of social rank, and the system of communication that supports this rank structure Social rank is a consequence of adaptations that many group dwelling animals have made to the inherent contradictions of living in a grou.....More on Psychology Of Dog
Social Rankings Of The Wolf Pack Further
It is often suggested that members of the pack selflessly subordinate their own interests to the greater interests of the group, but this is really not an honest description of the evolutionary forces or motives at work In wolf packs the males and females of the group each establish their own social rankings The top male and top female furiously disrupt any attempts by their inferiors to breed .....More on Psychology Of Dog
Dog Psychology Specific links
Dog Psychology News
What's behind those puppy dog eyes? - Houston Chronicle
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Sociopathic Sanford leaves South Carolina -- again - Daily Kos
Sociopathic Sanford leaves South Carolina -- again Daily Kos Commentators engaging in armchair psychology during the past week have called Sanford "narcissistic," from his erratic opening press conference through each ... |
Telling Kevin Bell's story - Auburn Villager
 Auburn Villager | Telling Kevin Bell's story Auburn Villager Bell graduated from college when he was 19 with a degree in psychology--then went back for a degree in Spanish when he discovered he couldn't get a job. ... |
Precision v passion in the tie-breaker - Brisbane Times
Precision v passion in the tie-breaker Brisbane Times If the strange diffidence that once aroused suspicion the sisters might be staging results is no longer apparent, there is still a strange psychology to ... |
5 most and least intelligent dogs - Toronto Star
5 most and least intelligent dogs Toronto Star “Over 200 professional dog obedience judges, ranked 110 dog breeds on the basis of their intelligence.” Coren is a dog expert and a professor of psychology ... |
It's an Owner's Scolding That Makes a 'Guilty' Dog - New York Times
 New York Times | It's an Owner's Scolding That Makes a 'Guilty' Dog New York Times But they can say this: your dog's look is related not so much to what it did, but to what you did. Alexandra Horowitz of Barnard College's psychology ... |
Doggie day care job is full of wags - HeraldNet
Doggie day care job is full of wags HeraldNet ... dogs on her mother, who never allowed her to have a dog as a child. About five years ago, her keen fascination with animal psychology grew into an idea. ... |