![]() George Washington had 36 foxhounds, and one was named Sweetlips.In Roman times and the Middle Ages, mastiffs wearing light armor, carrying spikes and pots of flaming sulphur and resin ran into battle against mounted knights.The Ancient Chinese carried Pekingese puppies in the sleeves of their robes.Dogs (and wolves and foxes) are descended from a small, weasel-like mammal called Miacis which was a tree-dwelling creature and existed about 40 million years ago.In any case, what began as a relationship that benefited both early man and dog continues to today. We can't say for sure why we began keeping dogs as companions perhaps they began as village scavengers or garbage disposals, with humans adopting wolf pups that were easily tamed or perhaps humans saw the value of dogs as herding and hunting partners. One study suggests that all domesticated dogs are descended from three females near China, 15,000 years ago. In China, the remains of domesticated dogs have been found in 9,000 year-old Neolithic sites in the Americas (Danger Cave, Utah) the earliest dog burial found is 11,000 years old. When did our association with dogs begin? In Germany, a burial of a human with a dog dates back 14,000 years. The DNA of dogs and wolves is almost identical studies suggest that they split into different species around 100,000 years ago. This is a relationship that predates written history. Yet our fondness for dogs goes beyond cuddliness and similarities in "looks." Their intelligence, social structure, loyalty, and ability to learn visual and auditory commands have led to their domestication primarily as partners and companions, rather than food. We are comfortable with things that we see over and over again, and this familiarity is generally associated with positive feelings: "If the general features of one breed of dog's face look something like the general features of our own face, then, all other things being equal, that breed should arouse a bit more of a warm and loving response on our part." Stanley Coren, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, explains that people choose dogs that look similar to themselves because of familiarity. ![]() ![]() SWARMING DADDY LONGLEGS! The explanation behind the creepy phenomenon Paper Model: Roman Colosseum and Constantine's Arch ![]()
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