DNA Study Finds Chihuahuas Aren't Dogs

I ain't fond of little yappy, ankle-nipping, lap-sitting mutts period. Sorta bothers me some, since I'm really a hard-core dog devotee, but when I encounter one of those frou-frou toilet-brush dogs, or one of their less-furry Meso-American cousins, my thoughts turn immediately to things like #1 driving woods and hockey sticks. Generally, the humans associted with that sorta dog similarly affect me.

The Puppies here at Castle Timber regard mini-mutts in more or less the same light as they regard cats and rodents - disposable critters, consumeables placed on the planet for their amusement and excersize.

You better watch that kinda talk about CATS, Timber.

Little dogs had to be forced to be - cats just IS!

But, then, we've got a great deal in common with rats. Do we not crowd together, murder each other, crawl on one another's back in an effort to scratch out just a tiny bit more fresh air than our underlings, with little regard for the crushed beneath us? Do we not, even, run in the "rat race?"

wow, now it appears that the membership In tres partem devisiat sunt.
!Those that like cats
2Those that like big dogs
3Those that like small dogs?

Im one of a really small group that likes big, small, medium dogs, cats, and even livestock (who are more intelligent than most realize)

Dont like no Komodo dragons, will have nothing to do with them snot mouthed walkin pustules.

I am somewhat ashamed of my prejudice.

And I am quite fond of Komodo dragons....

- I really enjoy cats. If you're real careful, and just spook 'em with the first shot, they can be a real challenge.


Jist kidding, of course - critters is critters, critters is cool, and mosta their problems - and even their faults - can be laid right at the feet of humans. I have absolutely no tolerance for anyone who - either knowingly or negligently - causes a critter any harm or who crates conditions which place critters in the path of harm.


Oh, btw - just FYI, The Puppies take particular delight in wabbits. Great fun indeed

Im surprised that pustule is a sponsored link

zit

nope

I like animals big and small. I'm somewhat ridiculous about it.

Well hawks and falcons in New York have been eating rats, pigeons, and Chihuahuas, but so far no cats:
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"The hawks' first ugly encounter in four months came Tuesday afternoon in the midtown park's northwest corner, where the diminutive dog was poking around in the bushes while out for a walk with its owner.

The 18-inch hawk, with its 45-inch wingspan, swooped down and gouged the Chihuahua with one of its talons."

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http://1010wins.com/topstories/winstopstories_story_218113258.html

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Patiodog - the "more in common" referred to percent DNA. Differences are small - we only have 1.4% (one-point-four percent) difference with chimps, for instance, but quite a lot more with rats. Clearly the percentages agree with the opinion of Siberian Huskies, hawks, falcons, and all persons of sound mind here

We got owls and eagles around here with 6 foot-plus wingspans, and some hawks and ospreys that come pretty close to that. I guess this ain't good chihuauhua-raising territory, at least for the free-range type

I was just having a bit of fun -- but, since you've mentioned it, where do you see that humans and dogs are closer than humans and rats?

Back on topic:

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LOS ANGELES - The case of 174 feral Chihuahuas on death row in a Los Angeles animal shelter has pitted animal rescue groups against each other in a debate over whether the purse-sized dogs are too vicious to adopt.
The plight of the tiny dogs has prompted a war of words between rival Chihuahua rescue groups, a candlelight vigil, and an outpouring of offers of new homes and money.

Some experts have also warned that the adorable lap dogs, made wild by years of inbreeding and roaming in packs in the home of their elderly owner, were closer to miniature wolves than the cute breed made famous as the Taco Bell mascot.

The dogs were seized from the home of 72-year-old Emma Harter in November. Harter was charged in April with felony animal cruelty.

Animal experts employed by Los Angeles initially determined that the dogs were too dangerous to be sent to new homes, Animal Care & Control spokeswoman Kaye Michelson said.

"They are very unsocialized," Michelson said. "They do have severe behavior problems."

Their fate will be sealed on Thursday, when a judge is expected to decide whether the dogs should be euthanized or rehabilitated, a question also being debated by Chihuahua rescue groups.

Lynnie Bunten, president of Chihuahua Rescue & Transport, a Texas-based organization, said the dogs were too threatening to be adopted by "regular Joe families."

"They are pack animals and as pack animals are dangerous," Bunten said.

But Kimi Peck, former daughter-in-law of the late actor Gregory Peck, said all the dogs could be rescued and planned to hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday at her Burbank kennel, Chihuahua Rescue.

Peck also criticized Bunten's group for its stance: "They are despicable. They are Hitlers. They won't take dogs unless they are perfect."

No one questions that these are troubled dogs. The pack's dominant members have attacked and killed more than a dozen kennel mates after arriving at the shelter, Michelson said.

Pet expert Warren Eckstein, who evaluated the dogs for Peck, said he believed all of the dogs can be saved.

"Of course they are going to have that kind of behavior - look at how incarcerated humans act," Eckstein, who hosts a national pet radio show and consults with NBC's Today Show, said. "I'm not saying they are all Rin Tin Tin, but they're not Cujo either."


Story by Gina Keating

Story Date: 21/7/2003

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/21575/story.htm

Chihuahuas! They are evil! And their aficionados weird!

non-barkers
The basenji, a compact hunter whose ancestry is depicted in Egyptian tombs 5,000 years old, is the only dog that does not bark. It isn't mute however. It often chortles or yodels, even snarls, and it has other unusual characteristics. Like the wolf, another non-barker, the basenji can only be bred once a year, not twice like most dogs.

Patiodog - do a search for dna-genome-human-dog-rat, you'll get any number of hits all showing the same thing.

Curious. Two points that appear to be at odds with each other on the surface. So, being a geek (and not wanting to get to work on what I'm supposed to), I logged into Science to see the original publication (vol 301, pp 1854-1855).

Overall, in terms of transcribed genetic material, both dog and mouse have about 80% homology with humans, and about 75% homology of actual genes. By comparisons of some bits of nontrascribed DNA, mice were more similar to humans, by others dogs were more similar.

Here is Science's analysis - which differs subtly but significantly from National Geographic's analysis:



Italics mine...

Another wonderful picture from the same Scientific American article >



> which also provides a side-splitting link to the photographer's efforts to get both the wolf and the Maltese to sit still and look at the camera!

Neither of my dogs can do it.

If only I had a nice wolf...