Still Waters Posted January 22, 2010 #1 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Domestic dogs have followed their own evolutionary path, twisting Darwin's directive 'survival of the fittest' to their own needs -- and have proved him right in the process, according to a new study by biologists Chris Klingenberg, of The University of Manchester and Abby Drake, of the College of the Holy Cross in the US.The study, published in The American Naturalist on January 20, 2010, compared the skull shapes of domestic dogs with those of different species across the order Carnivora, to which dogs belong along with cats, bears, weasels, civets and even seals and walruses. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluey Posted January 22, 2010 #2 Share Posted January 22, 2010 is this survival of the fittest or cutest??????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilly Posted January 22, 2010 #3 Share Posted January 22, 2010 If 'cute' makes a dog more 'fit' to survive among humans then it most surely applies. BTW, if a dog type is bred by humans then it goes a bit beyond just natural evolution IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin6 Posted January 23, 2010 #4 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Not much need to prove Darwin right though, pretty sure that happened years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetacea Posted January 24, 2010 #5 Share Posted January 24, 2010 is this survival of the fittest or cutest??????????? In this case secondly the cutest and not the fittest, see link below. If 'cute' makes a dog more 'fit' to survive among humans then it most surely applies. BTW, if a dog type is bred by humans then it goes a bit beyond just natural evolution IMO. Very true, it's not natural selection anymore, we replace natural selection by our own criteria,it's artificial selection, natural selection is mainly out of the picture here. Dog no longer need to be 'fit', dogs no longer need to be fit, they don't even need to be able mate without assistance anymore, it's all about aesthetics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen in the North Posted January 24, 2010 #6 Share Posted January 24, 2010 In this case secondly the cutest and not the fittest, see link below. Very true, it's not natural selection anymore, we replace natural selection by our own criteria,it's artificial selection, natural selection is mainly out of the picture here. Dog no longer need to be 'fit', dogs no longer need to be fit, they don't even need to be able mate without assistance anymore, it's all about aesthetics... Yes, it's all about aesthetics, but I wish it was more about the dogs being healthy. Surely a 'good' looking dog is a fit, healthy one, rather than one which meets the breed standard and is possibly in discomfort or even crippled because of it. *cough* Bulldogs *cough* </mini rant> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatRobGuy Posted January 24, 2010 #7 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I'm all for survival of the cutest. I'm not very tough but apparently it looks as if I have chance! Nice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetacea Posted January 24, 2010 #8 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Yes, it's all about aesthetics, but I wish it was more about the dogs being healthy. Surely a 'good' looking dog is a fit, healthy one, rather than one which meets the breed standard and is possibly in discomfort or even crippled because of it. *cough* Bulldogs *cough* </mini rant> Yeah but who would want a healthy dog that looks virtually the samewhen you can have an inbred animal that's going to suffer from a variety of genetical defects. Health defects is what makes kennel club accepted dogs so special after all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen in the North Posted January 24, 2010 #9 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Yeah but who would want a healthy dog that looks virtually the samewhen you can have an inbred animal that's going to suffer from a variety of genetical defects. Health defects is what makes kennel club accepted dogs so special after all! Of course. Rule one. No inbreeding, no admittance. The lady from your article has it right: 'New dalmatian' supporter Julie Evans spoke of her anger at 'stupid breeders' in the Sunday Telegraph.She said: 'I am very concerned about the health of the breed. It is heartbreaking to see these dogs suffer and the problems can lead to a terribly painful death. 'There are some stupid breeders out there who think it is all about breed purity. It is not. It is about the dog's health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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