I don't mean to say that dogs don't regurgitate for their young; on the contrary. AND, I wouldn't be surprised by a non-parent dog regurgitating for a pup. But generally speaking, in a wolf pack, ALL the wolves participate in the care of the young; the pups remain at the den, with baby sitters, while the rest of the pack goes out on the hunt, then comes back and regurgitates for the pups.

I just thought of a great example: My dad lived in a rural area for many years. His next door neighbor had a few dogs that kept breeding, and they lived in a semi-wild state; it was a real sore spot with the neighbor, as the dogs were quite vicious and would menace my Dad in his own driveway.
One of the bitches had a litter, and as soon as those pups were old enough, she would take them on the "rounds" of scavenging people's garbage cans and compost piles. She would trot along, with a line of pups behind her, showing them all the best feeding places. These dogs did not hunt, but rather, ate what edible garbage was left unattended. They did not remain at the den while the adult dogs went out and scavenged. This is a great example of what you would see with a village dog, but probably not with wolves.

One of the best dogs I have had was a GSD/Dane that grew up with my two older kids. I got him at the Humane Society at 4mo old and had him nuetered. He lived to be nine and "fed" every pup that would request a meal. I was always amaized by this. My then young daughters were'nt so impressed. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

This sounds like a fascinating book. I'll have to try to get it. Just a thought on the DNA similarity between dogs and wolves. Remember, according to the expert, we humans share something like 95% of our DNA with chimpanzees. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I have no problem believing that <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> So there can be some very profound differences between a species even if the DNA is quite similar.

Also, it still is an Inuit practice to take sled dogs to an island to spend the summer in isolation. That had some tragic consequences this year when a Grandmother and child visited, if I remember correctly to check up on them. They were attacked and killed by the pack even though these dogs had been part of their family since birth and had never done anything like that before. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Just an example of the "pack dynamic" that still exists in our faithful friend.

LSwanston,

Check your PM's.

Having followed more of this thread, I have to say that the book is interesting, but it is a theory. They state that up front.

Overall the book is heavy on theory and light on evidence. But I think the theory holds weight, I just wonder at all of our dog's behaviors and genetic capabilities comming from a group of sickly, scared, proto-dogs. To look at the explanations of behaviors of those dogs and to look at the working capabilities of a nice GSD, I wonder at the connection. That's all. . . Early environmental impact can only go so far in its effects on behavior and ability.

I think the important part of the book is understanding the physiological development of pups and what impact their environment has on their socialization and imprinting, which = their later behaviors. Kinda cool. . .

All the other theory on where our dogs come from is just that, theory. Not that I don't agree, but it is one of those things that won't be proved.

Brendan, thanks for the info on dingos. Weird little creatures arent' they?

I think that the book as a whole is an important piece of work, and wish that I had read it long ago. But I do agree that the physiological development of pups angle is pretty cool, too.

The gold standard for info on the development of pups is Scott and Fuller's "Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog", which is where Coppinger and most every other author that discusses this topic gets their info from. Fascinating book.

SchH3,
Have you read "The Domestic Dog," by James Serpell?

Yeah, I have that one too, but it's been a few years. If I remember right, can't say I found it to have any new info.

Fair enough. I haven't read it, but was told that it was comparable to the Coppinger book, so I added it to my reading list.