why do people keep comparing dogs to wild animals?

Dogs aren't like wolves. Feral dogs don't form packs. Feral dogs are mostly solo creatures. Male feral dogs don't help raise the puppies. Feral dogs are primarily scavengers, not hunters.

In the wolf pack, there is a mother, a father and their puppies. That's all. The male and female parent dogs are "alpha" only in the sense that they are teaching the pups how to survive. Scientists don't use the term "alpha" in speaking of wolves (or dogs) anymore.

One man with mistaken beliefs and bad methods on TV has set training and dog care back thirty years or more. People think that if they saw it on TV, it must be true. Sorry, that's not so.

If turned loose over 90% of hand raised wolves will die, too. People seem to expect that just because a wolf is a wild animal and a dog is not, then the wolf should survive on instinct and the dog will not be able to survive or adapt. There's a reason captive wildlife isn't just released into the wild, because they would all die from eating things they shouldn't or their inability to hunt.

The whole "dogs can't survive in the wild" thing is an invalid point. It ignores the fact that hand-raised animals cannot reliably hunt, defend themselves, or properly interact with their own kind. It doesn't matter if the animal is domestic or considered "wild", if it's hand-raised it isn't fit for survival.

I think it has a lot top do with the general retreat from rationality and evidence based decision making. People are quick to buy any story that fits with their world view without checking for facts to back it or the agenda of the originator.

I think the real question is has dogs' digestion changed over the last 10,000 year or more that they have been eating man's grain and vegetable heavy leavings? Wheat has been called the staff of life, not beef. When the Irish starved to death, it was the potato crop that failed, not the pigs. What do you think Chief Cornplanter's dogs ate? Anybody familiar with life in the past would find the suggestion that dogs always ate meat until the development of dog food ludicrous.

For all you people that say dogs do not run in packs or kill in packs....read this.....

BREAKING NEWS

WILD DOG PACK

KILLING FOR FUN

In Eastern Washington

June 10, 2011

4

(STEVENS COUNTY, WA) -- If there is one thing equally frightening to encountering a pack of hungry wolves in the woods, it’s running into a pack of ferocious dogs who enjoy killing for fun.

State and county officials say a pack of what may be wild dogs has killed some 100 animals in the past three months in northeastern Washington State, And they say the dogs appear to be killing for fun, not food.

Authorities are warning people to take whatever steps are necessary to protect their families and animals. No humans have been attacked yet but that is the great fear, that an adult or child could end up in their path one night.

The dogs appear to be very cunning in that they appear to hunt all or mostly at night and lay low by day which has made it extremely difficult to trackers to find them, according to Stevens County Undersheriff Lavonne Webb.

In a recent attack the dogs took down and killed a 350-pound llama earlier this week. They've also killed other farm animals, such as goats.

Officials say a photo snapped by a local indicates four to five dogs in the pack but it is still not clear if the dogs are feral or if they go home to owners during the day. The breeds of the dogs are unknown.

And this.....http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_news/2009/08/jus...

What?

you've just done exactly that '' ...over 90% would starve to death...some wolves etc die from...''

Don't really see what you are asking? should we compare them to humans? horses? what would be the proper basis of comparison, tell us enlightened one ?

Most hand reared foxes, painted dogs, badgers, in fact pretty much any 'wild' animal not raised in the wild would and does not cope well.

90% of statistics are made up on the spot, you know

Can you PLEASE, for the love of all thats holy, STOP writing like this? Can you start writing ENTIRE sentences and NOT repeating the same old used up answer on EVERY question?

Do you answer just to get the 2 points or do you actually put any thought into it?

Could you please elucidate. Perhaps some link for the 'statistics' for further reading.