Who’s smarter: Dog or Wolf?

Yes. Our domestication of wolves, and our own dominant nature, has resulted in dogs that are so submissive that they suppress their independence and intellect, new research at Princeton University finds.

Dogs wait for orders, while wolves cooperate with each other to solve problems. We have bred dogs for obedience and dependency. As a result they have a great deal of independent initiative and cooperation amongst themselves bred out of them.

Scientists at the Messerli Research Institute at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, tested both dogs and wolves.For the study, the scientists paired a high-ranking dog with a low-ranking member of their pack and set out a bowl of food. They did the same thing with a pair of wolves.

In every matchup, “the higher ranking dog monopolised the food,” Range said at the meeting. “But in the wolf tests, both high- and low-ranking animals had access” and were able to eat at the same time. At times, the more dominant wolves were “mildly aggressive toward their subordinates, but a lower ranking dog won’t even try” when paired with a top dog.They don’t dare to challenge.

Wolves were also better able to find food after following the gazes of their fellow pack wolves. According to scientists “They are very cooperative with each other, and when they have a disagreement or must make a group decision, they have a lot of communication or ‘talk’ first,”

In another experiment at Oregon State University gave 20 adult dogs and 10 captive wolves sealed containers of sausage. Each dog or wolf was allowed 2 minutes to try and open the containers. The dogs experienced all failed. The wolves all succeeded.

The researchers conducted the same test with dog puppies and they all succeeded, just as the wolves did. Because adult dogs “suppress their independence, it’s difficult to know what their normal problem-solving abilities are,” According to scientists “as the dog grows and becomes more dependent on its human owner their independent behavior is inhibited.”

An elephant’s bladder can hold nearly 5 gallons (18 liters) of fluid, and yet, it can pee just as quickly as a cat.A new study reveals that most mammals larger than rats urinate for about the same amount of time: 21 seconds.

Animals lighter than 3 kilograms, such as small rodents and bats, cant pee in streams; rather they urinate in a series of quick drops. Meanwhile, larger animals – from goats to gorillas to Great Danes – would release jets and sheets of urine when they had to go, and most took about 21 seconds to pee.

The key factor behind this phenomenon is the length of the urethra, the researchers found. As an animal’s body gets bigger, its urethra gets longer at a predictable ratio.With a longer urethra, the effects of gravity increase, which creates more pressure in the bladder and pushes the urine out faster.

Dogs in kennels not only may bark incessantly, but they may also show other signs of extreme distress that are often associated with mental illness.

A new study, published in the latest issue of the journal Physiology & Behavior, examined the behavior of 30 kenneled dogs. These canines were even more socialised than most home pets, since all were male German shepherd trained police dogs. Police dogs also sometimes spend time in kennels after their work shifts. None of the dogs included in the study were on any prescription medications.

*Bouncing off the walls – literally: The researchers described this as “jumping at a wall and rebounding from it or jumping on the spot either all four legs leaving the floor or hind legs continuously in contact with floor and forelegs only leaving the floor.” The dogs would do this over and over again.

*Spinning: This involved “turning in a tight circle pivoting about (the) hind legs.”

*Circles: Dogs were seen “walking or trotting around perimeter of pen” in repetitive circles.

*Paces: The researchers observed the dogs “walking or trotting back and forth along a boundary or imaginary line.”

Such behavior is associated with mental health problems.

Obviously your dog, as many others, hates being in a confined space and away from any contact with his humans. Next time give him to a family he knows.