Dog species, breeading and training

Jackson Neshah

Posted : 8/5/2006 7:09:40 AM


 
The variety of dogs in shapes and sizes make dog the most diverse mammal species of all, numbering over 350 distinct types from the Chihuahua to the Great Dane.
 
To now realise that dogs evolved from the grey wolf instead of several wild canines, as Darwin had thought, has not yet removed the mystery of how it is possible for the grey wolf's DNA to generate so much diversity, which people nevertheless see as one and try to train with the same dog training techniques.
 
However, a research collaboration between Uppsala University in Sweden and the Trinity College Dublin, Ireland suggests that the variety of dogs stem from mutations in the canine genome (Genome Research DOI: 1101/gr.51117706).
 
Mathew Webster of Trinity College Dublin says that when about 15, 000 years ago the grey wolves were domesticated, the pressure of natural selection was relaxed. He goes on further to say:
 
"Our findings highlight the importance of mutation in driving evolution. With weaker natural selection, you can get a lot more changes in proteins that can be important in the future of the species. Some mutations can have a greater impact because they influence the expression of lots of interacting genes."
 
The dilemma of dog owners, who would like to train their dogs at home, is the fact that breeders are known to play on the opportunity offered by genome mutation to artificially select dogs#%92 characteristics such as barking in the presence of intruders, pit bull's aggression etc. in creating dogs.
 
A cursory look at most dog training programs will show that their techniques are almost the same for training all dogs. So the big question is whether it is appropriate to try to train all dogs using the same dog training techniques.
Rejoinders are welcome.
 
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