Dog's may have Been First Domesticated for Food

[Dr. Cheese]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/sc...ml?ref=science

Interesting read.

[TOOL460002]

i never thought about or heard about this, but it makes a lot of sense.

i hope this isnt racist... but my parents recently moved to china, and have said that there are no stray dogs. none. there are people that will go out and walk their dog, but there are no strays to be seen. they previously lived in bangkok, and i have spent a lot of time in south east asia (not that strays are limited to there by any means) and there is no shortage of scraggly dogs running around.

i just thought that was kind of relevant, and i forwarded the article to the folks.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

What, you thought "hot dogs" was just a cute nickname?

[TOOL460002]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

What, you thought "hot dogs" was just a cute nickname?

hmm... (looks left at half eaten costco hot dog/soda combo which is suspiciously cheap at $1.50...) i may just play it safe on this one...

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by TOOL460002

i never thought about or heard about this, but it makes a lot of sense.

i hope this isnt racist... but my parents recently moved to china, and have said that there are no stray dogs. none. there are people that will go out and walk their dog, but there are no strays to be seen. they previously lived in bangkok, and i have spent a lot of time in south east asia (not that strays are limited to there by any means) and there is no shortage of scraggly dogs running around.

i just thought that was kind of relevant, and i forwarded the article to the folks.

It is a fact that people in East Asia eat dogs. As a little boy who lived outside of a military base in the Phillipines, I remember that our neighbors German Shepherd got out and was hit by a car. Before the family could claim the body, the dog had been skinned. Since that Shepherd was a pretty big dog, the folks in the neighborhood had a big party that evening.

[Thunderscreech]

Yum

[kserg]

I am sure people ate dogs all over the world and not just in Asia, however, I don't think that it was their primary function in the beginning. Their qualities in hunting and being guard dog surpass of their quality of meat. I can imagine once dog becomes old and useless as a hunter/guard he/she was eaten by the owners. I can also imagine of dogs used as meat when times are tough and there is nothing else to eat, but again... doubting their primary function as meat stock.


I can see how dogs were used for meat prior to domestication, as they were getting closer to humans via garbage. But at that point it would be consider more so baiting not domestication.

Interesting article nevertheless...

[McHaven]

We discussed this is in my prehistory class today.

Wild dogs initially followed human hunters, to eat left behind scraps. Eventually, the dogs lost their fear of humans and eventually became domesticated and even used for hunting. Basic right?

Now, what do you do in the winter, when food is scarce? Well, we've got that little meaty animal, who doesn't fear us at all. Hmm, sounds like an easy dinner.

[jonathan_matos5]

mmmm mans best friend

[Tama]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

What, you thought "hot dogs" was just a cute nickname?

LOL

Is it possible to get bacon from a dog ?
If so, I can see why.

[CrispyDelicious]

From Wikipedia, FWIW:

There are two different theories as to how the Chow Chow got his name. Chow, or 'chou', is Chinese slang for edible. Will Judy, author of "The Chow Chow," wrote that the name meant 'edible dog of China'. In 1878, a British historian and authority on China claimed to have found 25 restaurants in Canton featuring chows on the menu. In 1915, a law was passed in China prohibiting the buying and selling of dog meat. The word chow means food in English, and the shipments of spices and mixed pickles from China became known as chow chow, as did a spicy pickle relish.

[Ben Lesser]

The dog's what was first domesticated?

[Phalex]

Makes perfect sense. Dogs are handy animals. They make a dandy alarm system, they can be used for transportation, they kill vermin, and they are made of meat.

[electracoyote]

It's hard to imagine taking an animal that puts total trust in it's human, does almost anything to please their human, shows love and affection toward that human, hunts for and defends for their human, and skin it and eat it. I'd have to be pretty damn hungry.

I mean, didn't ancient man have emotions and a sense of attachment? I think those traits are almost as old as the human race itself.

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I mean, didn't ancient man have emotions and a sense of attachment? I think those traits are almost as old as the human race itself.

Survival is a trait that I think predates emotional attachment. An easy meal in a cold hard world trumps warm fuzzy feelings I should think.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by Phalex

Survival is a trait that I think predates emotional attachment. An easy meal in a cold hard world trumps warm fuzzy feelings I should think.

I agree.

If the theory is the dog was domesticated specifically as a herd/meat animal, like cows, that's kind of different from eating the family pet.

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I agree.

If the theory is the dog was domesticated specifically as a herd/meat animal, like cows, that's kind of different from eating the family pet.

True, but if things get truly desperate, my Pug would fit nicely into a dutch oven! I'd feel bad, but if it was a choice between eating her, or starving, well.......

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

It's hard to imagine taking an animal that puts total trust in it's human, does almost anything to please their human, shows love and affection toward that human, hunts for and defends for their human, and skin it and eat it. I'd have to be pretty damn hungry.

I mean, didn't ancient man have emotions and a sense of attachment? I think those traits are almost as old as the human race itself.

Not all cultures foster pet relationships with dogs. With rare exceptions, such as the fear of trichinosis in pork, taboos against eating animals arbitrary, IMO. Even disease concerns with pork are meaningless if the meat is really well cooked. There are certainly animals I am not interested in eating, but I see no ethical problem with eating any animal.

I have to admit that eating any of the great apes (chimps, bonobos, orangutangs, gibbons, and gorillas) is a bit too close to cannibalism, IMO, but in many places, they are considered "bush meat," and folks commonly eat them also.

[Eric Perry]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

...I mean, didn't ancient man have emotions and a sense of attachment? I think those traits are almost as old as the human race itself.

Ancient nuthin'. Many people in the world continue to eat dogs (and cats) as if they were a food group.

Originally Posted by Phalex

...if things get truly desperate, my Pug would fit nicely into a dutch oven!...

LOL!

[Thunderscreech]

Mmmm....Dogs