A Dog's World

"What would happen to dogs if humans simply disappeared? Would dogs be able to survive on their own without the help of humans? Many people assume that dogs are so dependent on people that they could not and would not survive in a world without us. But is this true? And why does it matter to contemplate such a scenario? In this book, the authors argue that dogs would, as a species, survive without us and that imagining a world for dogs without humans allows us to explore a number of fascinating questions about the past, present, and future of dogs. The book opens by presenting the current state of dogs, including the surprising fact that of the c. 500 million dogs in the world only 20% are pets while the rest are street dogs, feral dogs, or strays, suggesting diversity in the ways which dogs exploit human habitats and by extension how they would fare without us. From there, the authors explore what is known about dog origins and their co-evolution with humans. The heart of the book draws on evolutionary biology to imagine what dogs might become, biologically, absent humans. For example, if dogs were no longer subjected to artificial selection pressures what would their evolutionary path look like? Would dogs become like their wolf ancestors? Would dogs maintain the evolved socio-cognitive skills that facilitate communication with humans? How would they interact with other animals? The authors conclude the book by asking whether dogs would be better or worse without humans, as imagining a world in which dogs are "wild" raises questions about pet keeping practices and about the costs of captivity for dogs. Ultimately, as the authors say, in thinking about who dogs might become without us we gain fresh insight into who dogs are on their own terms are and how our relationships with them can best benefit us both"--