Book Review Section
Raymond and Lorna Coppinger. Dogs: A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution. New York: Scribner, 2001

Alan M. Beck , Purdue University

This very readable book takes an evolutionary and very personal look at dogs. Either a lack of rigor or an effort to stimulate discussion may account for its many generalizations. The authors argue that dogs could not survive without people but pay a price. Of course, all animals, wild and domestic, are now influenced by human activity.

The Coppingers review the standard hypothesis of dog domestication from the wolfthat early people selected and bred wild wolves to create the dog. However, they have trouble with this simplistic interpretation. They note Darwin’s observations that, to create new breeds of pigeons, required a large population from which one can select desired traits. The authors do not believe that early Mesolithic people had access to a big enough population of wolves to account for the variety of dogs we see today. In addition, the transformation occurred faster than they believe. But they ignore just how much time was involved and that  just in the last 50 years  people have been able to develop an incredible variety of dog breeds from relatively few dogs.
They note that not all the traits distinguishing dogs from wolves are variations found in wolves; thus, they could not be objects of selective breeding. One explanation is that selection for a behavioral trait may cause novel physical changes. They discuss the work of Dmitri Belaev who, by selecting for tameness in wild silver fox, produced foxes with dog traits like piebald coats, floppy ears, and dog-like sounds—traits not found in wild foxes.

Distinguishing this book is the hypothesis that people living in villages created a new niche and that dogs evolved by natural selection for this new niche. They searched for village dogs, looking for the Mesolithic dog, and spent much time observing the dogs of Pemba, off the East African coast. The physical and cultural isolation of the villages is most like the world when dogs were first developed. Because of the small concentrations of food, Pemba dogs do not form packs an example of why the simple wolf model may not be appropriate. While dogs may be self-domesticated, I propose the same for cats and even humans.
Their comments of livestock-guarding dogs provide fascinating reading with anthropological and sociological insights that are not typical of most books on animal behavior. Development of such dogs is a product of arduous selection, lots of migration, and high mortality. There is a selection for size to handle food deficits and cold weather better. There is selection for pigmentation so dogs may be more resistant to sunburn, and their distinctive coloration facilitates ownership.

Another insight in the development of guarding dogs is the discussion of critical periods. The success of a guarding dog is not shape but exposure to sheep during the critical period. From the time they open their eyes at about 13-days until about 16-weeks, dogs are learning what is important in their lives. The Coppingers hypothesize that early experiences change the brain, so the critical period really helps shape the dog in many ways. Wolves mature much faster than do dogs and thus have a much shorter period, until day 19, in which they can learn new behaviors. Thus, wolves do not make good pets.
Sled dogs are another love for the Coppingers. With comparative data and well-written rhetoric, they clearly admire the stamina of the sled dog, presented considering the length of some races as the world’s fastest animal. They feel that the sled dog is the pinnacle achievement of dog-human mutualism.

The authors seem not to equate the benefits we receive from household dogs with the more tangible benefits we get from working dogs. They acknowledge the health benefits but appear to require more convincing. They fault us humans for the one-sidedness regarding our relationship with animals. They ignore the data on how dogs benefit from human contact, dating back to Pavlov who noted that his dogs experienced a drop in heart rate when he arrived. The Coppingers do not mention the many social advances addressing animal welfare.

The book takes on many ethical issues related to our relationship with dogs. They rant that the dog population eats incredible quantities of farm-grown food that could go to people and estimate that the U. S. dog population eats as much as all the people in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles combined. Their argument ignores that animal foods use food wastes and thus provides a market for such products, therefore lowering the price of human food.

Most relevant are their objections to training dogs as if they are wolves. Dogs do not think like wolves anymore than we think like monkeys. Dog trainers would do better just to study dogs. They note that we have known about critical periods since Scott and Fuller’s work in 1950, but dog trainers and breeders do not understand the importance of shaping behaviors and still look for confirmation to predict behavior. The Border Collie may not care about herding the sheep but enjoys the motor pattern involved. For a predator, predation is its own reward. Predation is not only for food but also for pleasure. Any of us who enjoy our work may appreciate this.

The Coppingers take issue with our society that now chooses dogs by the way they look as opposed to the way they behave. They go so far as to state that working dogs should not be bred or sold for the “pet” class. That is the work of the village dog. Their attack on the pet class is presented as an example of dulosis. Dulosis is an entomological term for the enslavement of an ant colony by an ant colony of another species. We humans have enslaved dogs as our servants. The Coppingers feel the best (worst) example of slavery would be service dogs. “There is little question that the service dog represents a great benefit for a very few humans, but is also a biological disaster for any dog that gets trapped in the system.” They emphasize the 50% failure rate reported for most service dog-training programs. They argue that part of the reason is that the dogs rarely are exposed to the problems they will face during their critical periods— a point well taken. Coppingers forgive working dogs as although victims of forced labor, they have the opportunity for breeding based on performance. Assistance dogs are in a dead-end. The authors see dog sledding as less exploitive than a dog’s helping a person in a wheelchair. They fail to note that service dogs also have a companionship role and enjoy a life-fulfilling role.

The book’s major message is that there is no gene for a good dog—good dogs are made after they are born, not before. The observation is probably true for people as well.



Note
 

For Abstracts of all issues, including the most current, click Article Abstracts

To order Society & Animals Journal, go to our secure online ordering page

You can Search the online issues of Society & Animals, as well as the entire Society & Animals Forum (formerly PSYETA) website,
for topics and keywords of your interest: