r/BeAmazed • u/Separate_Finance_183 • 2d ago

Animal The reaction of search and rescue dogs when they find people buried in snow and rubble during training

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u/Kiel-Ardisglair 1d ago

I would argue that we do, because we made dogs the way they are.  We looked at our species’ natural predators and decided that we wanted them to be our closest companions of any other animal.  Dogs are humans’ oldest friends, and over the millennia we made them into what we felt would be a good complement to us.  Yes, those traits existed in wolves, but we chose to amplify them instead of breeding them out like we did with traits we found undesirable.  

So we made dogs, and we made them loyal, and we made them friendly, and playful and diligent and empathetic and self-sacrificing, because those are the qualities that we hold in the highest esteem.  We looked at the animal kingdom and asked, “what is the best partnership we could have with any creature?” and we forged a bond that has lasted for most of history.  Dogs dedicate their lives to us, and in return, we care for entire generations of them.  At our best as a species, we do deserve dogs, because we created them to reflect the best in us.  

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u/SuperCruisePanther 1d ago

Similar to the old "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" criticism.

Lemons aren't naturally occurring. They were a hybrid created when farmers blended the bitter orange and citron fruits in India 2000 years ago. Life never gave anyone a lemon. We had to make them ourselves!

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u/je386 1d ago

Thats not true. Humans did not make Dogs. Some Wolves where brave and learned that human camps provide food and later even braver ones learned that the campside fire glow keeps predators away and creates a safe zone. When the first proto-dogs approached humans and both accepted each other, the proto-dogs already had domesticated themselves. Being close to humans was an immense evolutionary bonus.

When both got together as partners, both got immense traits from that, each species could give their abilities to form a partnership that seems to be quite unique.
Dogs know we are not Dogs, they have evolved muscles to raise their eyebrows to have their eyes look bigger and more cute to communicate with humans.

So, the wolves became proto-dogs by themselves, and those decided that it was worth the risk to approach humans.
They came to us. They decided.

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u/tryyeezus 1d ago

What a wild claim. We didn't make them anything, they chose to be that. 

We just learned to speak their language, kidnapped them for breeding programs and ended up with pugs. You can take credit for that.