Lord studied the development of eleven wolves from three litters and forty three dogs; thirty three border collies and German shepherds raised by their mothers, and tien German shepherd pups that were hand-raised. when exposed to familiar and new smells, sounds, and visuals, testing them weekly. She found something now known as the socialization window, a four-week developmental time. At this time, wolf and dog pups are walking and exploring without fear. They will remain familiar with the items they come in contact with throughout the rest of their lives. When this window closes, new sights, sounds, or sights will startle and scare the little pups.
Both dog and wolf pups develop the sense of smell at two weeks, hearing at four weeks, and vision by six weeks. The most crucial difference is the time the socialization is open for each species. Dogs begin when they are four weeks old, already being able to smell and hear. Wolves, on the other hand, enter socialization when they are two weeks old, just starting to smell. At the end of the window, wolves are starting to hear so the sounds frighten them. Therefore, the difference is not in the gene, only when the gene is activated.
This experiment contains Themes of Science including science based on evidence and subject to debate and tentative. There was an experiment performed and the conclusions presented were based off of this experiment. The results were convincing, but not concrete. The testing group wasn’t very large and the balance of wolf pups to dog pups to a dog control group was not balanced. Also, there was no control group for the wolves.
Article: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2013/01/18/why_wolves_are_forever_wild_but_dogs_can_be_tamed.html
Lauren Mattison Hour 2
I really am fascinated by this article. I never knew that the difference was not in their genes but just when the genes are activated. I wonder if the other differences between dogs and wolves like their appearances and others behaviors are results of the gene function. I also wonder if the behaviors that they share, like getting masking their scent by rolling in smelly things, result from the gene theory. Overall, a very intriguing article.
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