Letter: It's a dog's life

From Penny Barber

Your article on dogs and humans made me feel this is a receptive moment to
unleash one of my pet theories on the scientific community
(4 March, p 22).

I challenge the received wisdom that it was the brighter wolves who hung
around by cave dwellers’ fires looking cute, making themselves useful and
evolving into dogs. Wolves are a successful species with sophisticated social
systems. Why would they link up with us—and if it was such a good idea how
come they didn’t all do it?

I think the wolves that evolved into dogs were the thick ones that simply
couldn’t hack it as a wolf. Rather than let this failed wolf perish, the pack
abandoned it with the cave dwellers—a species judged by the wolves as
nearer the reject’s level.

It was my position as pack leader to two pleasant-natured, definitely not
pampered, but very dense dogs, that led me to develop this idea. I simply could
not imagine Becca and Katy getting the hang of any wolf-like activity—they
remain baffled by the process of stick chasing even in the company of other more
competent mutts.

Birmingham