The relationship between humans and dogs was the topic of a discussion at the in-person Science Café at Fuel Coffee Shop in Mount Vernon Tuesday, Sept. 27.
Dr. Matt Hill, an associate professor in archeology and anthropology, presented the different relationships humans have had with dogs over the centuries.
Hill said that the number of dogs as house pets increased following World War II. Prior to that time, dogs as pets might have been something rich people had, but the increase of pet ownership increased in the 1940s to its peak in 1980s.
“Prior to the 1940s through 1980s, the United States had a problem with feral dogs, so much so that there were positions like dog catchers dedicated to catching those animals,” Hill said.
As pet ownership has moved many dogs inside, many of those pets also are exhibiting some of the same characteristics and health ailments of their owners – increases in obesity, anxiety and health issues due to inbreeding have been on the rise in dogs.
Hill said that dogs have had three primary uses over the years – as workers, as providers of raw materials and as symbols or spiritual beings.
When it came to workers, Hill noted the work Native Americans did with animals.
“They used dogs as hunting aids,” Hill said. “The dogs would help guide them to areas of prey and at that point, the hunter would finish the job.”
Hill said by utilizing dogs in this way, it helped hunters have a 50 to 60 percent increase in hunting success.
Another form of working for dogs has been pulling sleds or carrying supplies.
“A big dog is able to carry 45 kilograms for a number of miles,” Hill said. “That’s roughly the same weight a human can carry on long hikes.”
Hill said there are still 500,000 working dogs in the world today aiding law enforcement and military and as guide or service dogs.
“They use the same attributes we’ve been relying on dogs for a number of years,” Hill said. “They help people with mobility to move items they need carried or utilize dogs eyes to help keep them safe from hazards. Dogs also seek things like bombs or criminals, using their sense of smell for law enforcement or military.”
When it came to raw material, Hill said there were dogs, just like sheep and other animals, whose fur people would turn into things like blankets or clothing. It’s a practice that still happens today. KnitmyDog, a popular service that makes sweaters out of dog fur, has had to stop taking orders as they have a high backlog of orders.
When it came to spiritual, Hill said that there has been an increase in people mourning pets in recent years and started businesses geared to those losses. There also is archeological evidence of humans being buried with beloved animals and pets, with one of the first found from more than 12,000 years ago.
“This particular woman we found buried would have come from a family with meager belongings, just as the start of farming was beginning, and yet she was buried with this dog,” Hill said.
Hill discussed the use of dogs as food in some cultures. He said that is outlawed in the United States, but there are 20 million dogs used as food.
“It’s done by a small minority of people in the countries where it happens, and it’s done in festive or as a special thing to do, not a staple of their diet,” Hill said.
Hill said the United States slaughters billions of chickens, cows and pigs for food sources annually.
Hill also said that in the early United States, colonies and early explorers would eat dogs, and even some of the sled dog exploration in arctic areas was made with the idea of eating their sled dogs as the loads on the sled got lighter and there was less weight to carry.
“I get that today it would be akin to cannibalism for many people, that we don’t eat a member of our family,” Hill said. “In these other cultures, though, it is done as a ceremonial act.”
Hill noted what also changed is, with the growth of the social classes, especially middle class, eating dogs greatly decreases.
A questioner asked how dogs came to be domesticated by humans originally.
Hill said that the dogs most likely started evolving that choice centuries ago. They would have been wolves, but started selectively domesticating themselves and choosing attributes that would make them more tolerable to humans.
“There are key differences between wolves and dogs today – domesticated dogs’ sense of sight is not as great, their hearing is diminished from wolves, their sense of smell is less, their brains are slightly smaller and their fight or flight instincts have been reduced,” Hill said.
Those adaptations have been successful. There are now 78 million dogs in the United States compared to a paltry number off wolves.
Where wolves are pack animals, dogs in their domestication will always choose to interact with people over other unknown dogs.
“They are more aggressive towards strange dogs than they are towards unknown people,” Hill said. “Unless they were raised with other dogs, they may have a worse time socializing with other dogs.”
Science Cafes continue both virtually and in person this fall.