You would never think that shepherd dogs would actually rebel against humans. They not only join the wolf pack, but even attack the sheep. You know, the shepherd dog is like a "guardian of the sheep". What is going on?
In this video, we can see that behind the leading wolf, there is a shepherd dog, and it even wears an anti-wolf collar around its neck.
In addition, there is a group of wolves slowly following behind them. Although the size of this shepherd dog is extremely inconsistent with that of the wolf members, and is larger than the lead wolf, it seems that it gets along very harmoniously with these wolves.
In another picture, a shepherd dog sneaked into the sheep shed at night, acting cautiously. After a while, another shepherd dog ran over.
A sheepdog dragged a sheep out of the sheepfold, and then two sheepdogs attacked it one after another.
In the end, the sheep were beaten until they had no resistance, but the two shepherd dogs still seemed to have not had enough fun and attacked the sheep in the sheepfold. After a while, a third shepherd dog came to join them. Attack the sheep in the fold.
Faced with such a strange situation, local herders expressed worry that the shepherd dog had been living in the area for many years. If it continued to rebel with other shepherd dogs, the local sheep flock would be in danger.
We all know that shepherd dogs are working dogs, a general term for dogs that are dedicated to herding, and are not a separate breed. They are mainly responsible for protecting livestock, a job that has continued for thousands of years.
When you see this, you must be very curious. Why do sheepdogs attack sheep?
This has to start with the shepherd dog itself. The shepherd dog is a dog. It and the wolf are both canines. It is said in many places that they are "close relatives" who are closely related by blood.
It is worth mentioning that dogs and wolves are the same species, but they belong to two different subspecies, and there is no reproductive isolation between them. Moreover, dogs are actually the product of domesticated wolves, but their living habits are very different.
It can be seen from this that the first reason why sheepdogs attack sheep is because genetically speaking, they are actually wolves. It was simply domesticated and became a dog, not a wolf.
The difference between dogs and wolves is caused by their different living environments. Wolves live in the wild and need to hunt by themselves, while dogs are domesticated by humans and in most cases do not need to hunt by themselves.
Secondly, maybe the sheepdog suffered some blow. My personal guess is that maybe it was a conflict with its owner that caused it to rebel.
Or perhaps, the sheepdog was punished by its owner and was in a bad mood. As its companions, the other shepherd dogs will naturally help it.
So, if an incident such as a shepherd dog attacking a flock of sheep occurs, does it mean that humans’ domestication of dogs is unsuccessful?
Speaking of which, we must first understand why we can domesticate dogs?
When it comes to dog training, you have to mention the "Alpha Theory". This theory holds that wild dogs are social animals with a strict hierarchy in the group. This theory calls the leader of the dogs "Alpha", who controls the distribution of resources within a group.
The process of training a dog is actually to let the dog know that you are the allocator of resources, and it must obey you and listen to you in order to get resources.
How can we domesticate dogs scientifically?
Many people will punish the dog in the process of training the dog, such as denying food, beating and scolding, etc. Is this really feasible? Some researchers believe that animals' group social behavior is based on peace rather than conflict, and that encouraging behavior is more effective than physical punishment.
When the dog completes your command, give it food or praise it; when it is waiting for you to feed, give it another command. Only this kind of positive reinforcement training can let it know what to do is more worthwhile.
Scientifically speaking, can dogs really be completely tamed?
In fact, it cannot.
Even if a dog is domesticated by humans, the wolf nature in its genes will not disappear. Growing up, you must have seen countless incidents of ferocious dogs hurting people. You may ask, how can it still attack humans since it has been domesticated by humans?
Of course, many dogs will attack strangers and sometimes their owners. This is because even after being domesticated, it is difficult for dogs to completely surrender to humans.
Never think that humans can completely control dogs. You must know that dogs may turn into wolves if the environment changes. For example,
, the most obvious example is dingo . Dingoes are products brought to Australia by Southeast Asian immigrants. These carnivores arrived in Australia, and as they survived and multiplied, their numbers increased, and they gradually began to get out of control.
But the most important thing is that this group of wild dogs are extremely powerful in fighting. They quickly defeated many local animals and became the top of the food chain.
Therefore, when we treat dogs, we should not beat or scold them at will. When it feels good about you, it will also give you corresponding feedback and eventually become the most loyal partner.
