Allie Ward
Appearances
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Oh, hey, it's that festival bracelet you're still wearing on Monday. Allie Ward, let's talk dogs. So in the past, we've done episodes on dogs and wolves, but this one explains why a wolf is your dog. It's anthropology, it's sinology, it's lupinology, it's ethnocinology, which is a term coined in 2002 by an anthropologist named Brian Cummings.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And a lot of experts agree that this is because they can't unionize because the majority of dogs are bad at computers.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Like the way they watch from a window for you to come home from work, except in a river of hell being like, you made it.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Do you think that that's anthropological evidence that all dogs do go to heaven?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And thanks to everyone who left reviews. Let's talk dogs. Enough about me. Okay, let's curl up.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Yeah. What about flim flam that we feel like we hear a lot? I don't know if it needs debunking, but like true or false, the whites of the eyes of a dog help us communicate with them, their eyebrow muscles. Did we breed them or did they get selected to have more facial expressions that we could understand?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
and be cute as we listen about breeds of dogs, what anthropological evidence we have for doggies being our friends, how wolves domesticated themselves, why our relationships with canines make us what we are, and if it's fair to ask your dog to love you back, we talk corn, paws, and why your dog is trying to make fetch happen with archaeologist, anthropologist, and ethnocynologist David Ian Howe.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
But for dogs who are working and going back to their wolfy roots, helping humans hunt, David says.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
What about bonding with a dog? When did it become not just like a work relationship, but an emotional bond like that? Or how are dogs different from other animals where it might be that really close emotional bond?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
How did you get your dog?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Well, how is it different? How is it more like a domestic wolf?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Are there any soapboxes that your work makes you want to get on in terms of how we think of dogs or how we interact with them?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
We actually did an episode with speech pathologist and the founder of the dogs talking through buttons movement, Christina Hunger. Her social media account is Hunger for Words. I'm sure you've seen her dog Stella pressing buttons. And people tend to be divided.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
on this they're either like oh sweet lord baby jesus my dog can talk this is the best or they're like this is garbage i hate what the world is doing new research came out a few months ago from a uc san diego paper titled how do soundboard trained dogs respond to human button presses and investigation into word comprehension which gives us an answer You ready?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
It found that, yes, dogs produced contextually appropriate behaviors for both play-related and outside-related words, and that pet dogs can be successfully taught by their owners to associate words recorded onto soundboard buttons to outcomes in the real world. So, yeah, they're really talking through those, in a sense. Now, can a doodle have an existential crisis while staring into a mirror?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
We don't fully know that. But in the future, we might be reeling that we ever questioned their ability to be dismayed at the state of the world like we are sometimes. So be nice to dogs. Be nice to animals that have feelings. And maybe one day, you know, via like a gentle brain implant, your dog will be able to cuss you out like a teenager.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
We have really great questions from listeners. And I wanted to barrage you with them. Is that cool?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So happy to have him. Also happy to donate of a cause of his selection. And David chose the wonderful NativeAmericanHumane.org, which is led by and with Native Americans. And the org explains, as Native Americans, we have shared special relationships with dogs for millennia, celebrating them in our stories, songs, and traditions, and
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And ethnosynology. We have both been tagged in so many, so many posts to talk to each other.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And by helping tribal families access veterinary services, NativeAmericanHumane.org helps people and animals live together in health and safety. And a donation was made to them in honor of David and thanks to funding from sponsors of the show. All right, patrons, let's ask your questions. You can submit yours before we record via patreon.com slash ologies. It costs a buck a month to join. Low bar.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Big love. All right.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Okay, so where wolves live, dogs are going to evolve first or they become domesticated and bred first.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Wormies, tropical worms. No. It would bum me out. Yeah. What about co-evolution? JP wants to know.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Have humans evolved alongside dogs or is the timeline like we were humans and then dogs evolved after us?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Do we know if dogs enjoy petting too? They do, right? Do you think they always have?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Can I interest you in the professional science paper titled, Shut Up and Pet Me, Domestic Dogs Prefer Petting to Vocal Praise in Concurrent and Single Alternative Choice Procedures. So it found that given eight three-minute sessions of petting, both shelter and housed dogs preferred petting to vocal praise and that dogs showed no evidence of satiation for petting. Please continue.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
The researchers postulate that petting is likely this unconditioned stimulus, and it promotes social behavior in dogs, but vocal praise likely has to be specifically conditioned. But petting is just like, I love this. Now, what about me? You're asking me. Well, a 2022 paper, Effects of Contact with a Dog on Prefrontal Brain Activity, a Controlled Trial,
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
found that prefrontal brain activation in healthy subjects increased with closeness to a dog and that hanging out with a dog stimulated more brain activity than interacting with a non-living stimulus like a stuffed animal. So yes, listener Anne-Marie Everhart, dogs tend to like being petted, and it's somewhat symbiotic. Brain, feel good near dog.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So did dogs evolve, or were they selected to make us feel gooder and gooder over time? Now, the 2021 study, Current Advances in Assessment of Dogs' Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain, notes that yes, domestic dogs can make facial expressions to convey their experience to us, and they can also read our face.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And whale eye refers to when you can see some white of a dog's eye as it turns its head away from you. And this can express anxiety or fear or discomfort. And in humans, this is called side eye, it's called stink eye, or it's called shade. Now, how else do dogs let us know what's on their minds? Asked Katie Oldham, Jacqueline Church, Lisa Gorman, Ryan Ketchum, Coforia's Classroom, TTL 101, and...
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Poison Cheerios, first time question asker. What behaviors did dogs develop because of human domestication?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
When it came to finding mentors or professors, did you have to seek out ones that were not cat people or particularly had an interest in ushering you through this?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
That's nuts, isn't it? Just to think that they know that that works. Of course it does.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Lee Wang wanted to know, someone once told me that dogs have a much more muted pain response because when they were in the process of getting domesticated, humans didn't want to take care of sick or injured dogs. And that's why we have to be really proactive about monitoring their health. Is there any way to know that, about their pain response being muted?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
In this book, he wrote titled, First Nations, First Dogs, Canadian Aboriginal Ethnocinology. And ethnocinology is the study of dogs within their cultural context. I love it. So for years, y'all have asked me to interview this particular guest. I have been tagged in so many things. And also recommended by our experimental archaeology guest, Angelo Robledo.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
A bunch of people wanted to know about the Americas, and we did talk about that a bit, but Adam Foote, the Bloated Toad, Chan Verbidge, and Grace Robichaud wanted to know, the Bloated Toad asked, what about Native American dog breeds? I remember hearing somewhere that Chihuahuas are originally from the Americas. Is that true? I've also heard that there are some breeds of Chihuahuas
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
dog that are now essentially extinct, the line is extinct, that were domesticated by indigenous Americans, or indigenous North Americans now. Any evidence on that?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Now, what about behaviors that have been passed down through the ages or have remained from natural wolfy instincts? Let's talk fetch. So Lori Pemberton, listener, notes that dogs seem to instinctively know that's a ball and it's for me. And Olivia Eliason asked, is it true that it was dogs that taught us fetch? They were not alone. Salmon like the fish are
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
wants to know if dogs used to help us gather and carry firewood is this why they still love fetching sticks so much they say that their old lab would pick up as many sticks as physically possible sometimes around 10 at a time carry them all the way home and then drop them on the front doorstep without fail and they never knew if this was an instinct or just a quirk fetching sticks yeah
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
My dog does not care about fetch at all. She refuses. Yeah.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Is that odd for a lab or...
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Well, Ren S. wanted to know, they say people talk about inherited traits like prey drive and obedience and aggression, activity level that seem to follow breeds. Is this a real phenomenon or just a correlation or false attribution because of how we socialize dogs that look a certain way? Or do they really do have those traits hardwired?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And now that you have done this, are there other people who message and write you all the time asking how they can also get involved in the field?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Now, what if a dog's idiosyncrasies are screaming at strangers or trying to eat cats?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Megan Peeler, first-time question asker, asked, why do people tend to be much more anxious of large dog breeds than small ones when, in my experience, Megan writes, small dogs seem much more likely to be aggressive and large dogs are often pretty chill and laid back, which was echoed by Sarah Filo and Megan Ratcliffe.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Now, Genetosaur asked, why all the bully breeds are basically marshmallows in a brick body? A few people asked about aggression. Like when it comes to dog breeds that are considered dangerous, Gail Lane asked, i.e. pit bulls, is this more due to how they're treated or are there truly inherent dangerous traits? Avrin Keating wanted to know, can you discuss pit bull origins in Flim Flam?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I see arguments all the time online where some people say pit bulls are kind nanny dogs and others who say they were bred for bull baiting and inherently violent. When it comes to stigmas of pet dogs, what's the anthropology behind that? And like, let's say choosing a dog that would be good for your family or for your lifestyle.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Yeah, that's what I figured.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And it's interesting too to think if we're all humans, but your uncle might be a dick, your other uncle might be super sweet. You know what I mean?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
It's like these little family lines come down and who knows what comes up with temperament. I live in LA where pit bulls are, there's plenty of them and they don't get adopted very often. And I know a lot of people who have them as family dogs and absolutely no problems. I know others who... I have a friend who had to put down a pit bull because of an attack, so it's kind of all over the map.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
But make sure that they're getting a lot of exercise and doing what they want to be doing and getting their energy out. Right.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And if you need a wealth of free information on ADHD and my beloved husband, Jared Sleeper, you can see the three-part ADHD episode. And yes, we will link it in the show notes. But, you know, some people asked about health issues with certain breeds. Don Smalczyk wanted to know, how far back in time do breed-related health problems go?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Like, is there any historic evidence, you know, for things like hip dysplasia or respiratory problems with pugs and Frenchies and stuff like that?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So Dr. Angela Perry is a zooarchaeologist and has authored papers such as Dietary Variation Among Indigenous Nicaraguan Horticulturists and Their Dogs, an Ethnoarchaeological Application of the Canine Surrogacy Approach. Just in case you're up for some light reading. Dr. Perry is kind of the goat of canine studies.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Some, however, are just adorable. And Colby Evans and first-time question asker Lindsay Wallace asked, is it true that beagles have white tips on their tails to assist humans in seeing them through the grass when they're following a scent? And thank you, Colby and Lindsay, you both asked that because you made me go down a metaphorical badger hole about this.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And according to the 2019 study, true colors, commercially acquired morphological genotypes, reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds. informing both trait ancestry and breed potential. Explained, if dogs inherit one copy of a specific white spotting gene variant, they typically have some white on their feet, chest, face, and tip of the tail.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
But if dogs inherit two copies of this particular variant, however, then they're often mostly white with just some patches of color. So one copy, they have a tuxedo shirt and socks. Two copies, you name them, spot. Now, this paper went on to explain that people historically chose dogs with white in their coats when they needed to be able to see the dogs better.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And people who use dogs to hunt or retrieve game, for example, need to keep track of the dogs in heavy brush or vegetation, and white coloring makes dogs much more visible. Now, the white tail tip seen in hunting and herding breeds, those have been given a devastatingly cute name. It's called the shepherd's lantern.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
A little white glow wagging around in the grass where your doggy is, it makes me physically nauseated with affection. Mana wanted to know when and why did humans start breeding tiny dogs that suffer their whole lives?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Some people are asking about smoosh noses and whether or not you think that in the future humans will start breeding dogs to have longer muzzles and things like that just to avoid health issues and vet bills.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Now, David has also authored papers such as Dogs in Native American Culture, An Ecological and Ontological Approach, and On the Origin of Our Favorite Subspecies, The Biological Implications of Dog Domestication on Modern Humans. And he told me that his grad school courses involved biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And for more on this, Kayla White, Erin White, Sonya Bird, Manna Storm, Don Smolchak, and Nikki G, you can see the 2023 article in the Journal of Canine Medicine and Genetics bearing the ominous title, Brachycephalics. Once a problem is seen, it cannot be unseen.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
which cites this French Veterinary Association's guidance that only functionally and clinically healthy dogs with breed-typical traits should be used for breeding, i.e. only breed dogs that do not suffer from any serious disease or functional disabilities.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And the article also states that vets don't want to judge their clients' love for certain breeds, but it predicts that in time, breeding practices will start to trend toward healthier variations on dog breeds.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
and even by the height of the roman empire they had influencer caliber dogs like little lap dogs greyhoundy ones obtained from the british isles and one absolute beast that appears to be the size of a junior varsity football player but with a huge melon and a face that looks like a melted tire this behemoth war dog was known as a molasses.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And if you're like, I want a monster to cuddle and follow around with a heavy bag of its poops, good news. Some readers are trying to resurrect it by backtracking through lines of mastiffs. I mean, is that good news? I mean, I say no when you have so many lovable hairy babies waiting for you in shelters.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
We can versus we should is very on point, which is just the kind of the story of the entire human species. But Dana Owens and Aaron White wanted to know about smelling fear or smelling pregnancy. Dana Owens says there's a saying that dogs can smell fear. Is it body language or actual chemical response? And Aaron White wanted to know if dogs can tell when you're pregnant.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Apparently wolves and sanctuaries can. How much can they glean about us just from scent?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Get yourself in front of the 2022 paper. Dogs can discriminate between human baseline and psychological stress condition odors, which found that acute psychological stress response in humans changes the volatile organic compounds emanating from our breath and or sweat. And it's detectable to dogs. Dogs can smell your stress and fear on your mouth and in your sweat.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And in an early 2018 paper, Interspecies Transmission of Emotional Information via Chemo Signals from Humans to Dogs, explained that in smelling odors associated with fear, dogs display more stressful behaviors themselves and they have higher heart rates. So can dogs figure out what's going on with you before you know or before your Instagram followers know?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Probably even your pregnancy announcements. You betcha. And they deserve a small, tiny piece of cheese for that, they told me.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
But despite those variations...
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Yeah. Cheaper pregnancy test, probably. Literally. Chandler Witherington said, I've heard this theory that any dogs left on their own for long enough after a certain number of generations will revert to default dog form with pointy ears, sandy brown short hair, something that looks like a Carolina dog. A jaunt down a wiki hole told me. Any truth to that?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
That's the now extinct Tasmanian tiger. So RIP. We have a whole episode on Tasmanian devils. So if you need it, we'll put it in the show notes.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Are they considered native now or invasive? How is that classified?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Now, many of you, such as Evan, Saluki Haver, Faran, Shibu Inu parent, Karina Bruce, and Jannie Rounds, as well as Keforia's classroom, asked about the most ancient dog breed, the most unchanged from wolves. And for years, if you asked the Guinness Book of World Records, it would have pointed to the long-snooted and the ponytail-eared Saluki. But via this groundbreaking study in 2022 titled,
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Arctic-adapted dogs emerged at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Researchers found that there was a noteworthy genetic similarity between the ancient ancient dog and modern Greenland sled dogs, and it indicated that the major ancestry of modern sled dogs traces back to Siberia some 9,500 years ago.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And now, while the Victorian era produced a lot of different breeds of dogs, the throwback breeds include the Senjis, who have been depicted in African artwork going back 4,500 years, and also the so-called New World, pre-Columbian, North American pups like the hairless treasures, the Zolos. But like you probably don't know the names of all eight of your great grandparents.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Where was that information? Was it notes from people's digs? Was it like oral traditions passed down? Where did you find that?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I mean, I dare you to try. Like, do you know the names of your great grandparents? I know three. So I'm sorry, ancestors. But just like that, it's not easy for dogs to know their heritage. But people like David are looking desperately for dog remains. In your research, do you ever come across what you think are dog bones, but they're coyote bones?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Yeah. How do you figure that out?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Several people, and this may or may not fall under your research purview, but Ruben Clasmo, Minty McGee, Stacey Pinkowitz, Harper Atlas, and Jaden Guildenstern want to know, what is the deal with the smell of dog paws? It brings me instant joy and calm. Why do they smell like corn chips? Why do they smell like Fritos? Why, why, why? Everyone wants to know.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
It's like a yeasty smell that you're like, that's my doggy.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And yes, listener Ren S, whose special interest is dogs, they say that corn chip foot flavor is due to a combination of bacteria, pseudomonas and proteus, which combine with spit and sweat to produce a yeasty smell. And I read up on it, it tends to be harmless, although those bacteria can sometimes be present in UTIs in dogs.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And you can wipe down your pup's feet and trim the hair on the paw pads to keep them fresh, But in general, huffing their little mitts while you spoon them should be harmless. That does make me wonder, when dogs are digging around in their blankets or digging around on a flat surface that absolutely cannot be fluffed or modified at all,
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Our dog does that on the couch where it's like there's nothing to fluff. There's nothing to change. It's just the couch. Is that an instinct from digging a bed in grass? What is that from?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Let's look at the 2013 Frontiers in Zoology paper.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Dogs are sensitive to small variations of the Earth's magnetic field, which gathered data on several thousand poops and pees of unleashed dogs in an open environment, and they discovered via data on these thousands of poops and pees that dogs opted to excrete with the body being aligned along the north-south axis, and they avoided the east-west axis of the compass for their pooping and peeing.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So now you know that. Now as for sleeping, some researchers note that sleeping like a sphinx with the head resting on the front paws could signal a dog wanting to nap but still ready to jump into action if need be. Now sleeping on the back in dogs is associated with comfort and trust but also with it cooling off by exposing their belly.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And the donut position can, of course, trap body heat if your pup is chilly. And personally, when our dog rests her chin on any part of us, we freak out silently. And I feel like I've been kissed by the pope, but in a good way.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Last listener question. This is very specific, but Allie B says, I taught my dog Raya to play a toy piano for treats. Adorable. Sometimes it seems like she's enjoying her little tinkling little notes. Do dogs enjoy music, do we think?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And if you want studies to back this up, you can see the 2020 paper in the journal Animals. And it's titled Musical Dogs, a review of the influences of auditory enrichment on canine health and behavior, which mentions that in the presence of classical music, dairy cows are more chill and they produce more milk. But listening to rock music stunts the growth of hogs.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Slow string music resulted in more time spent lying down. for pigs. What about dogs, though? We're here for dogs. Now, the paper notes that the soundtrack of rock and heavy metal music induced undesirable behavior and physiological changes in dogs, such as increased barking and standing up. Although researchers don't know Maybe that was just the dogs trying to thrash to some death core.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Maybe they loved it. Now, other studies, the paper notes, reported that classical music had a calming effect compared to controls, but the sound of praising words and intonation activated reward regions in dog brains. Also, playing an audiobook
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
induced calmer behavior than classical music so just leave this episode on repeat for them when you leave the house because they are good boys and girls perfect sweeties or let them thrash you know your dog best but yeah like when i'm jamming out he's always stoked and sometimes dogs will howl with it and stuff the idea of a toy piano too is like that's really that's cute speaking of loving it
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I guess one other question from listeners. Kristen wants to know, I love my dog. Is he capable of loving me back? How would I know if he loves me? Is that quantifiable? Do you think that dogs love the indoor life and food and pets and cuddles and fresh water? Or do you think that they love us?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
When did they go from a wolf to a dog?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
You can always believe that they love you.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
That's free and easy. You can always set up a button for them to press or just not worry about it because they're not humans. We can't expect them to heal all of our wounds as much as we would like that. Last questions I always ask everyone, what sucks the most about your job? Like what's the shittiest part of being an ethnocynologist? There's got to be something.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Do you ever have dreams that you find dog remains on a dig?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Do you ever wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare about being on a dig or having forgotten your tools or anything like that? Do you have stress dreams being an ethnocynologist?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So humans and wolves are like, hey, man, what's up? Like if you saw the same dude at the gym all the time. But if the leg press at Planet Fitness was a bloody reindeer in Siberia.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Well, when's your next expedition that you're off on?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Oh, I think that's a great question. For me personally, it's almost a proxy for a continuation of family. And I found out I couldn't have kids in my 30s. And I didn't know if I wanted kids anyway. I wasn't sure if I would be good at that. But for me...
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
When my husband and I decided to become like life partners and get a dog, like that meant a family to me in a way that I think I otherwise wouldn't experience. And, you know, I think it seems silly to both of our moms that we baby our dog so much, but this is our family. Like she is our child in a way because I know I won't have one.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And so as soon as I was able to get a house, like that was the first thing I did. So me adopting a dog was one of my first financial goals on Patreon, and so I took a poll on Patreon of your aunt's names, and a top name was Lynn. So my dog is named Gremlin, or Gremmy, and she bears the burden of my full obsession. I love her more than she would ever want me to.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I think it's brought out a part of me that's also made me more loving to myself because I would never treat my dog the way that sometimes I would treat myself. So then it's like, okay, well, remember, you're a living thing too that needs rest and fun and play. So it's almost a mirror of the love we should show each other that we show for our dogs. You know what I mean?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
That's a long answer, but I never really thought about it until right now.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I mean, it's funny too that it's like some dogs can be like a coworker and a family member and a guard, right?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Yeah, a therapist. And I know this person that works in grief who says that when an animal dies, it can be more impactful to us than even a friend or family member because that animal saw every aspect of your life every day. They were there, you were there with them 24-7, but it's not always understood how big of a loss that is. For more on that griefologist, you can see the thanatology episode.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
When was it a dog world? When did pretty much every continent have dogs and humans working together?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
They really do teach you how to love on a different level without guards, you know?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Yeah. Which I think a lot of people aren't able to feel that in other ways. And they teach you that that's okay, which is amazing.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I mean, keep looking for dog bones because I want to know more of their backstory.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And you can follow his work on his website, which we'll link. You can also follow Ethnocynology on Instagram or David Ian Howe on TikTok. He has two podcasts, Ethnocynology with David Ian Howe and The David Ian Howe Show. So now you know how to find him. What about a book? Do you think you're going to do a book? I get asked all the time. Oh, you should do a book.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Book agents, get at him before someone else does. I know you're out there. I know you're listening.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So ask wolfy people what you're wondering because doggone it. The world is weird, and it's great, and let's focus on what's good here and there, shall we? So the charity was NativeAmericanHumane.org, and David has also started the Strider Memorial Project and Charity for his late beloved companion, and that's at GoFundMe.com slash ethnocynology.org.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
You can find out more about ethnocinology and David Ian Howe at Instagram.com slash ethnocinology on YouTube and TikTok at David Ian Howe. And his podcast is Ethnocinology with David Ian Howe. And we'll put more links to his stuff as well as studies that we talked about on our website at Alleyward.com slash ologies. slash ethnocynology.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I'm laughing a little bit because Grammy is shaking her collar in the studio and making some noise. Normally, I would just retake that, but here we are. She's an additional contributor to this episode. Also, heads up, we do have classroom-friendly and kids-safe episodes on our spinoff podcast called Smologies, which you can find wherever you get podcasts. It's also linked in the show notes.
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Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Look for the new green artwork. You can also join our Patreon and submit questions before we record at patreon.com slash ologies for as little as a dollar a month. Ologies merch is available at ologiesmerch.com. We have totes and shirts and sweatshirts and hats and stickers. Thank you, Erin Talbert, for adminning the Ologies podcast Facebook group.
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Thank you, Aveline Malik, for making our professional transcripts. Kelly R. Dwyer does the website. The lovely Noelle Dilworth is our scheduling producer. Susan Hale, top dog, is our managing director. Jake Chafee is our well-tempered assistant editor. And Apex editor is Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio. Nick Thorburn howled out our theme music.
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Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And if you stick around until the end of the episode, I tell you a secret. And this week, it's that I was in Las Vegas for CES to speak at a panel about the podcasting industry. And I got some yogurt and some water for my room. I was trying to fit it in the minibar fridge, which was kind of cramped.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So I took out some like white claws and tall boy beers and whatever was in there to jam in my Greek yogurt. And after a few minutes, I saw a tiny note on the side of the fridge that everything in there was on a sensor system and you would straight up be charged for anything you lifted up. So I called the front desk to be like, hey, Lowell, I was just trying to refrigerate a yogurt.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And they told me that if I put anything of my own in the mini fridge, it would cost $50 a day. And also, I had racked up $93 in minibar charges because I lifted up some cans. even though I didn't drink them. So I took my yogurt out, I put the cans back, and I begged for forgiveness. Sin City, baby, where you can do anything you want except refrigerate yogurt for free. So I have learned.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So make sure to hydrate regardless, take care of yourselves, and kiss your dog on the forehead for me. Okay, bye-bye.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So this guest's handles everywhere are ethnocinology. I was game. So they did their undergrad in anthropology at University of Tennessee at Knoxville and got a master's in anthropology at the University of Wyoming. They are an educator with huge platforms on TikTok and YouTube. And they are also a professional archaeologist. And we talk about how wolves went from the woods to your bed.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
What niche did dogs fill for humans that made them such successful companions and tools for people?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I essentially just asked him about his entire field of study because I'm the worst. It's his fault he has a cool job.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Every time my daughter, Grammy, does boof, boof, boof, when we get a delivery, she's fulfilling the pact of her ancestors.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
What types of ceremonies? I know the line between food and friend is so long. It's so cultural. It's so regional. It's also temporal. It's odd that we eat pigs, but we can think of eating dogs.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
It's confusing to me how confusing it is. And I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian, but it is still super confusing to me. So what types of ceremonies were they revered enough to be like a sacrifice or how did that work?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Trust me, you will not enjoy this aside, but for quick factual context, a University of Minnesota article titled Cultural Awareness for Veterinary Clinicians notes that the practice of eating dogs is found in many Asian countries, including the Philippines, China, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand. And while the practice is not nearly as prevalent as it once was.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
The paper says it does continue, and in general, this consumption is seasonal, with most dog meat being consumed in the winter. Now, you might say, why does that ick me out so much? So in a 2010 book, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, author Melanie Joy notes that meat-eating typically involves one or more of the three Ns of carnism. It's normal, it's natural, or it's necessary.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And researchers have found that meat eating is trending upwards in India, which is typically more vegetarian.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And a 2022 paper out of the University of Technology in Sydney titled Exploring Meat Eating Practices in Mumbai and Sydney with a View Towards Encouraging a Reduced Meat Diet notes that although meat consumption in India is relatively low, it's rising in response to growing levels of urbanization, and increasing disposable incomes and exposure to new global norms.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And we'll get to that. But first, thank you to Patreon folks at patreon.com slash ologies for supporting the show for as little as a dollar a month. and submitting your questions for the ologists before we record. We also, by the way, have a show called Smologies. Those are kid-safe and classroom-friendly episodes. You can find Smologies wherever you get podcasts.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
So when the norms change, obviously cultural practices do too and vice versa. Now on the topic of Australia, that country has one of the highest levels of meat consumption across the board, which was news to me. I didn't know that. I just hear that y'all have great coffee there.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Now a 2021 paper titled The Evolution of Urban Australian Meat Eating Practices reports that despite these really carnivorous leanings Australia, 20% of folks identify as aspiring meat reducers. So what's going on there?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
It explains that changing discourses of masculinity and the move toward embracing more fluid representations of gender have in turn changed meanings of the meat-eating man and a meat-heavy diet. So it's important to remember that our relationships to certain animals are highly cultural and And they change over time. They're changing all the time. What you eat is weird and gross to someone else.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
I guarantee every single one of us. And when you're going through the research and looking at remains of dogs and burials of dogs, perhaps, when did they start to really branch off with different breeds? Because a Shih Tzu, so different from a Malamute, obviously, they're all the same species, which is...
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
boggling to me yeah you know they're kind of i've said before that they were kind of like apps for people it's like you need a weasel sniffer you get this kind you need a yeah some could pull your stuff you get this kind but when did they start branching off into such specialized breeds i like that you said app because something that is in the literature a lot and this is something dr perry talks about is dogs are a biotechnology
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Yep. As we have mentioned in a previous episode, stubby-legged doxies used to charge into badger holes, and they were so good at that. Yorkies were bred to be tiny and to accompany miners in small places so they could eat the rats. Poodles were bog dogs. They were good at navigating the water to pick up hunters' dead ducks.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
And even the queen's corgis once had the job of herding geese, hence they are very short. So today we rely on apps and robots to do things for us. But back then it was like, I need an animal with a gangly face and no tail and bowed arms for the purpose of finding and biting the village witches. And they were like, cool, here you go. We bred a new dog for that.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Dogs are the world's most lovable tools.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Just search for it, S-M-O-L-O-G-I-E-S. Also, thanks to everyone leaving reviews, which help the show so much. I read them all and then I read you one each week, such as this one from Momstress1 who wrote, Thank you for illuminating so many fascinating topics. Even those that seem mundane at first are revealed to be deeply connected to the web of life. Momstress1, the name. I love it.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
It's like the French Bulldogs of the ancient times.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
What's something that when you were studying, you were really baffled or boggled by? Was there any moment that really shocked and surprised you?
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe
Your dog eats a sock and you're looking at like two grand. Grammy needed two teeth pulled and it cost more than replacing a crown on my own human molar. But there's no price tag on the soul of a precious angel. Also, if you have working dogs like service dogs or sheep herding ones or witch nibblers, they don't even get a real paycheck.