Is it actually a dog-eat-dog world?

People believe that it's a "dog eat dog" world -- becuz that's how they made it-- and that's how they live it.

Definitely not right to drag the dogs into this. THEY (and our cats and other pets) are what make many people look forward to coming home at night after a rotten day at the job or on the street - so they can pat their pets on their furry little heads, and get licks and kisses from their pets who love them so much, and calm down after being messed over by the boss or the stranger on the bus/subway/commute.

A word of kindness to another human being or an act of compassion is what separates the humans from the creeps.

It is a dog eat dog world. Every race does things to survive.

I do believe that would be a fair judgment, 50/50. I might add that out of the 50% who are only out for themselves, 100% would swear that they put forth a lot of effort to help others and are in denial of the fact that they are actually selfish that way. But when you look at the equally successful 50% who rally to support and encourage others with kindness and selflessness, this group of people is far happier.

you are comparing a species (dog) to a genus (ape)

also, few apes are "mean"

it is an expression, just like "the cat is out of the bag", even if cats have little to do with secrets. Just an expression. Relax.

It's a little like calling something "inhumane". Humans are probably the most gratuitously violent species on the planet. Other animals aren't so needlessly violent and cruel.

So next time you see someone torturing a cat, call them "humane" - since it's a trait that is restricted to humans.

Dogs (who are really just domesticated wolves) are always battling for supremacy in the social order. They don't technically 'eat' each other but there is a rigid social order always with a top dog (alpha male) and fierce competition to attain that position.

Some humans act like that too (hence the expression). Though it doesn't have to be that way. Hyper-competition amongst us humans is to me degrading our humanity.

P.S. - I love dogs (and wolves). Its just that humans don't have to act that way.

Dogs do eat dogs, if they are starving, and we are all animals after all, with all the instincts that lead to the dog eat dog mentality.

The wild dogs in Africa eat Wildebeest.

I think its more of a 'Korean eat dog' world.

The world merely "IS". What we perceive it as in our minds becomes the reality of the world to us. From this point you can see why there appears to be so much chaos in the world.