Foxes who Wag Their Tails!
78From wolf to dog was a long process. It only took foxes 45 years to do what it took us dogs thousands of years to do.
Learn more about Max A. Pooch
- Recyled dog recycles litter.
Max is a black Labrador retriever who provides information about dog services, dog products, dog issues such as puppy mills and pet stores that sell puppies, and other things of interest to dogs and dog owners.
Max A. Pooch Provides a Canine Perspective on How Foxes Became Domesticated.
It took tens of thousand of years of evolution to our wolf ancestors into man's best friend. Now I hear some crazy Siberians have accomplished in 45 years what it took us dogs eons to do.. Namely, they have managed to change wild foxes from animals that hate and fear humans into puppy dogs.
The question is of course goes beyond being cute and cuddly. Can these foxes-come-lately, herd sheep, retrieve balls, sniff out drugs or do all the other incredible things us dogs can do. Why I bet they can't even sniff out and retrieve cans and bottles like I do.
Smart Ancestors Saved These Kits From being Pelts!
I Think These Foxes are Copy-Cats, or is it Copy-Foxes?
Like us dogs these copy-cat foxes come in an array of colors, adore humans and can read humans like a book. Also like us dogs these foxes have curled tails which they wag when they see humans. Also like us dogs the ears of these foxes remain floppy longer than our wild relatives, and like us dogs these foxes exhibit a myriad of color ranges.
Seems to me these are dogs in fox clothing. You would think they would find something original to do that us dogs can't do. You know maybe these foxes should learn to fly, or water ski or something unique.
Siberians in the Winter Will Do Almost Anything to Quell Their Boredom
The way this all happened is that nearly 50 years or so ago some Siberian humans who had nothing better to do during the long winters started playing with foxes. They would breed them to other foxes, then the following spring the humans would find the fox kits that were the friendliest.
In each generation there were always some fox kits that were more friendly than the previous generation. Finally, what arrived were foxes who acted like dogs. These Siberians would then breed the latest generation of friendly foxes, and so on and so forth for the next four decades.
Dumb Foxes Ended Up Being Fur Coats
A Canine Perspective on How Foxes became Domesticated.
There has been a lot of stuff written about why this happened by biologists, anthropologists, and all sorts of poligists.
But I am going to tell you from a canine perspective what I believe happened. It is quite simple really. It turns out some of those little foxes knew what happened to mean foxes who are born in cages in Siberia. They are future fur coats.
Foxes are very sly and cunning. Quite smart really. Some of them realized if they looked cute and cuddily they would end up in the good cages, not be sent to the cages reserved for "these guys are for fur coats cages."
Siberians who Had Too Much Time on Their Hands Display Cuddly Foxes!
The Smart Foxes Became Cuddily Like Dogs
So it was, each generation of foxes had to become more adept at appearing human friendly. Call it the survival of the foxiest.
These cuddly llittle creatures have caught the attention of National Geogaphic Magazine and other media in their bold plan to escape from Siberia and land on someone’s couch. Who can blame them. I mean given a choice of living in a cage and being made into a pelt or living in a house and being made into a spoiled dog I know the choice I would take.
No Doubt Some Foxes will End Up Living Pretty High.
What does the future hold? Will Pet Foxes Negatively Impact the Fur Industry.
But, what does the future hold if foxes become humans companions. Will they negatively impact the fur industry? Imagine for example if a posh Fifth Avenue matron who is walking her fox sees a Fox Coat draped on a mannequin in a store window. Will the matron become an instant recruit for PETA and another voice against using animal furs for clothing?
Chinese Foxes and Other Chinese Fur Animals
- Fur Real! An Unpleasant Truth about China!
Don't go to this link if you are sensitive to videos and images portraying incredible cruelty to animals.
Learn About Puppy Mills, Then Imagine Fox MIlls!
Will Breeders Looking for a Quick Buck Start Fox Mills...Have they Already?
Will there be fox mills? You know, the Fox equivalant of puppy mills where foxes will be mass bred for the pet industry and sold in pet stores to unsuspecting buyers.
The same rules apply to purchasing a Fox Kit as they do to purchasing a puppy. Never buy one from a pet store. Never buy one online sight unseen.
Always visit the breeder to see the conditions in which the kit is raised, and to see its mother and father.
I Hope Us Dogs Remain Man's Best Friends.
The Future for Foxes will be As Varied As it Is for Us Dogs
Will fox kits be sold in pet stores? Will foxes be abandoned by some humans who find they are not as easy to control as are stuffed animal? Will their be no kill fox shelters? Will some lucky foxes end up with neurotic people who treat them better than there children. Will other foxes be let loose in the wild by lazy humans who no longer want to care for them?
It is hard to say. I just hope they don’t displace us dogs as being man’s best friend. If they did it would be sort of unfair. After all it took us thousands of years to earn ourselves that title. It would be a shame to lose it to a foxy newcomer who just earned the title in a matter of fifty years or so.
Learn What Humans Have to Say About Foxes
- Animal Domestication: Taming the Wild - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine
Only a handful of wild animal species have been successfully bred to get along with humans. The reason, scientists say, is found in their genes.
