Every dog owner thinks he knows how his or her canine companion thinks. I doubt that many dog owners already know everything covered in this single one-hour program on PBS’s Nova series, (re-)broadcast last night. Here’s a brief intro:
Watch Dogs Decoded on PBS. See more from NOVA.
Sample tidbit: genetically, via mitochondrial DNA (passed down, unchanged, in the maternal bloodline), dogs are gray wolves. Not similar to gray wolves. Identical to them. MicroPooches, Irish wolfhounds, chihuahuas, mutts, pit bulls, Labradors, collies, shar-peis, Afghan hounds, setters, Mexican hairless, basset hounds, German shepherds, poodles… gray wolves.
For now, if it’s not being rebroadcast any time soon on your local PBS station, you can watch the whole thing online, in eight- or ten-minute chunks, by following the link highlighted above, just below the embedded video.
Nance says
I’m sorry I missed that one and thanks for the link!
John says
I realize things are never this simple, but I keep half-expecting to hear that you’ve sprung for a Pooch of your own.
s.o.m.e. one's brudder says
Fabulous! and I never use that word. Watched it at 2:30 AM today. May have to get a dog soon.
John says
So glad you watched it; so glad you liked it. I’m not sure your getting a dog, even vaguely soon(ish), would be at the top of most common-sensible-recommendations lists. But hey, since when have we been ruled by common sense?!?
Jayne says
This is the sort of thing my kids (and I) would love to watch, but I know it would stir another round of, “Oh please, Mama can we get a dog, Oh PLEASE?!. Now that I think of it, I went through that with them not long ago and I wonder if they might have seen this on NOVA (which they do often view on their own) might have triggered the darn begging. Just like a dog… ;)
John says
It’s hard to describe the psychological landscape of someone for whom getting a dog was nowhere on the priority list but who suddenly finds himself owning a dog. Especially a lovable one. The impact on one’s holy schedule, y’know. They’re not set-and-forget, like cats. And I think the program hints at why this might be the case.
You don’t need me to tell you that your reluctance to watch this with your kids sounds less like an attempt to prevent THEIR likely reaction, than one to prevent YOURS. :)
whaddayamean says
i edited a book on dog-rearing once that had a heavy narrative historical portion. it was weird to learn all that genetic stuff–hard enough just to wrap one’s head around the idea that a chihuahua and a st bernard are genetically as different as me and my first cousin. also (sorry, i don’t have time to listen to the whole segment today! maybe another day) did it cover the SPEED of dog behavioral evolution? apparently you can go from wild fox to domesticated dog in only two and a half generations. funny that they can adapt so fast and yet not change genetically. or maybe not funny–maybe those two facts are related.
John says
One of the most striking segments indeed related to the speed of evolution. It covered a long-term Soviet research project, still going on in Russia, breeding silver foxes to see just how long it took to make them effectively pets. They’re up to 50 generations now. And one of the surprising findings: as they’ve become more and more like real dogs psychologically, they’ve come more and more to resemble them physically even though they’re not being bred for appearance. Recent generations of “purebred silver foxes” have shorter noses, and/or mostly white fur with black patches, and/or so on.
Have you read any Dean Koontz? He loves loves LOVES dogs. Just about every one of his books features a heartbreakingly heroic dog, often with preternatural powers and talents. After watching this NOVA program, I told The Missus if I had enough money I’d underwrite the cost of a documentary mini-series produced by Koontz.
marta says
My son will love this. Science and dogs all in one! He watches and reads so much about dogs…we came across this DNA fact before though I can’t recall where. Anyway, thanks for the link.
John says
When I located this program’s Web site for the link, I discovered that it’s actually a year old. So you and the kiddo may have seen it the first time around.
Would be interested to know what you and others — brudder, above, has already weighed in — think of the show. Hard to tell if it’s really as much a revelation and as cool as I thought… or if I’ve just been out of the dog loop, so to speak.
Oh, and Froog recently reminded me via email about a wonderful recent book on the canine mind: Inside of a Dog, by Alexandra Horowitz. I myself haven’t actually read it yet, but we gave it to The Stepdaughter (friend of dogs) as a birthday present a couple months ago.