Pets are retarded animals

[Z the laidback Virus]

First,I've got nothing against pets but really,they are stupid compared to their wild relatives. There are good reasons for this though.

First,domesticated animals(that's selectively bred by humans to fulfill a certain role for mankind) have been bred for just about anything imaginable:
-Meat (most species)
-Wool and/or skins (sheep,goats,cows,rabbits,chinchillas,etc.)
-Eggs (poultry)
-Milk (Cows,horses,reindeer,goats,etc.)
-certain skills (hunting,guarding,beast-of-burden) (dogs,cats to a certain extent,horses,donkeys,dromedaries,camels,llamas,you know the deal)
-Company (dogs,cats,canaries,goldfish,guinea pigs,etc.)
-Or even for medical or genetical research (mice,rats...even fruit flies)
Now as you see,none have been bred for intelligence. In fact,by selecting for certain features humans have mostly selected against the intelligence of these animals. You might think that for example a sheepdog might be a very intelligent race of dogs because they can herd sheep in a very sophisticated way. However,this is just about the only thing they are really good in and the herding behaviour has for generations been selected for and has become an example of fixed behaviour. Sheepdogs are neurotic herders. If they can't herd sheep they'll trie to herd geese,children or lawnmowers. Its not a sign of intelligence.

Also, these creatures have for many generations not really needed any intelligence they might naturally have had. Food was provided by humans, they were given shelter for bad weather and they were usually protected against predators,at least to a certain extent. This doesn't exactly favor inventivity and the lack of any pressure or stress in these areas of their behaviour ment they lost the intelligence to deal with such situations. What remains are only deeply ingrained instincts. For this reason,domesticated animals are rarely able to survive in the wild if there are plenty of predators in the area or if they can't join a group of wild relatives,wich might increase their chances as the presence of alert groupmates might benefit them.

Therefore it's no surprise pets are quite retarded compared to their wild relatives,intelligence just wasn't needed for humans. If our ancestors would have found a benefit for an animal to be intelligent I'm sure they would have bred an animal to high intelligence. If we can breed cows with utters almost as big as their body and bulldogs with heads so big they can't be born naturally,I'm sure we could also have bred a genious dog.

[Don Rizzle]

what like a dog which could guilde a blind human around in the wild

just picking but your right most domesticated animals have everything given to them so they lose their natural instincts, although many of them still continue to hunt cats do this and we aid them by giving them stuff to jump at l;ike a moving piece of string.

some people like to test the abilities of animals intelligence to get food for example with squirrel run making a complicated obstical course and leaving food as the reward for completing it.

how do u visualise an inteligent animal ,what it could do and who would want/need it?

what do they need a great deal of intelligence for? animals ahve learnt to survive and then past on the wisdon to thier ofspring can't imagion ever thinking about trying to teach a rabbit make sense of a balence sheet or explain game theory to me.

[Rain]

lol i know what u mean but its funny that u use the word "retarded" - they are just domesticated  - they have lost all ability to survive without humanity. Removal of such abilities which probably began when dogs and cats would pick at the bones thrown away by the primitive men.  Such removal has ensured loyalty which humans find reassuring since its not a trait we tend to posse ourselves.

Some pets listed though lack any chance for intelligence - i dont think we can expect much more out of goldfish other then company

[7even]

they are adapted. it's evolution. if youre a hater you can also call it mutation  .

[Z the laidback Virus]

Sure,they've evolved to fit into the human world in the best way possible. Intelligence is actually selected against in these environments and it's a biological law that characters that are not selected for tend to degenerate and dissappear. I don't think intelligence can COMPLETELY dissappear but it can degenerate much.

The dog guiding the blind man is actually an interesting example,I hadn't thought of it but it could be an example of a creature being bred for intelligence or at least, a form of symbiosis with humans. That is,a relationship between members of different species where both parties benefit from the other. The blind man/woman can walk through his world safely thanks to the dog,and the dog finds shelter and food by being housed and fed by the blind person.

The question about the benefits for humans of an intelligent animal. Well, I assume such animals could have some sort of benefit,perhaps they could be used for certain actions that involve intelligence and wich we humans could not do so easily though I can't tell of any such job from the top of my head.Perhaps animals are capable to do much more then we realise.

As for the squirrels,they don't count because they're wild animals. They're surely inventive but I bet they wouldn't have been that bright had they been domesticated. It seems to be a general rule that domesticated animals have 30% smaller brains then their wild relatives. Imagine what that means for goldfish..Goldfish would be pretty hard to learn anything,even if they had been smart because their memory doesn't seem to span longer then 30 seconds.

[Don Rizzle]

yea if a squirral was demosticated it would just get fat and lazy and wouldn't be able to jump or do anything special

i think we're best sticking to basics when utilising animals for own benefit, a goiod example we ust send budgies down mines when the bird dies the workers know its not safe and return to the surface

[Z the laidback Virus]

^I believe they used canaries or pigeons and not budgies.

But that's a kinda cruel employment of animals I think. Reminds me of the US army training dolphins back in the Vietnam war. Those were trained to carry small mines and place them on Vietcong divers,I believe. The mines would explode immediately however,killing both diver and dolphin.

Don't like those methods..

[smerlus]

there's a fact that says that humans haven't domesticated an animal for over 1,000 years so back then they probably didn't need an inteilligent animal for anything

[Don Seer]

^ canaries i believe.


sheepdogs (border collies) aren't stupid. yes they 'herd' even with people, they're incredibly intelligent. they will play it with you as a game, rather than as an instinct. they will out maneuver you, or back you into a corner.. and if they find themselves backed they'll charge for the biggest opening.

my dogs parents were cow dogs (yes they herded cows..) even though we got her from the farm as a pup she is wary of sheep, but fearless around cows, and has an eye for deer. maybe because they kept all the pups in a cow shed until we got her.

they can learn from actions you make.

if you're playing throw the ball.. if u dot hat thing where u pretend to throw and dont, they either spot it right away.. or wont fall for it again. not like a dumb dog like a rottweiler will.

if i open the gates to move my car in, the dog wont move. if she see's the reverse light she moves then -not when the car is rolling-

they are also used as guide dogs, but bore easily. although they need a *lot* of training a guide dog doesnt do much for its life bar from walk around. these dogs need stimulation.

our border collie was 14 yesterday (98 in dog years.. ). my aunt is blind and has had guide dogs for as long as i can remember.


what animals are really more intelligent? pigs? dolphins? some apes?

there arent many intelligent animals that can fit in your home as a pet.

[smerlus]

if you call sitting in a cage and dying from hazardous fumes domesticated....then more power to you

[Don Rizzle]

do u know it costs £30,000 to train a guide dog

[DAYUM]

so my kitty witty is retarded?

 

[Z the laidback Virus]

Your kitty-witty isn't really retarded...but it would be outwitted by any wild feline. It has to be mentioned that cats aren't fully domesticated though. They might actually be creatures that have benefited from us,rather then the other way around. We give them food,shelter,company and love....yet the cat basically leads it's own life.It isn't usually tied to the house but will freely move through the neighborhood. It's thus benefited from us while all the while remaining quite independent and without giving much of a benefit to us,apart from company and a certain level of pest-control.

Also the cat might be expressing it's semi-domesticated state in not changing physically much from wildcat. They haven't become fat (not as a whole species anyway) and they haven't gotten much lazier (wild species of cats are very lethargic as well,lions will sleep 20 hours a day) Also,while hanging ears and lips are a common feature for domesticated mammals,and are found in for example dogs,guinea-pigs and goat these features can't be found in your kitty-witty wich might indicate a not fully domesticated state. Cats also readily adapt to living wild. This might not be conclusive however as pigs do so as well and they do display hanging ears and lips..but these are quite intelligent animals really and that might compensate for domestication. I bet wild boar are generally smarter though.

[DAYUM]

o well my cats live in my guarge now and they seem happy when they arent hungry...

but my guarge is connect to my backyard and they always run out there and have fun till they come back and sleep and then go play outside again and we let them in when it rains or any bad weather happens... they seem really happy...

[Z the laidback Virus]

Good for them.