Classroom Questions

Questions for “Even raised by people, wolves don’t tune into you like your dog”

Researchers investigated when dogs’ ability to understand human gestures begins. To do this, the scientists enlisted 44 puppies from the Canine Companions for Independence program (some pictured here at the Duke Puppy Kindergarten).

Jared Lazarus

By Science News Explores

To accompany “Even raised by people, wolves don’t tune into you like your dog”

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

1.  How do dogs and wolves differ?

2.  What does it mean to domesticate an animal? Give examples of at least five animals that have been domesticated.

During Reading:

1.  According to Clive Wynne, what is “the clearest result” being reported by the authors of the new study?

2.  What inspired Hannah Salomons to compare the wolf and dog pups?

3.  What is domestication and what aspects of dogs has it changed?

4.  What is the biological relationship between dogs and wolves?

5.  How did Salomons and her colleagues test for differences in the behaviors of dog and wolf pups? Afterward, what did they conclude?

6.  Domestication has turned dogs into what type of “missiles,” according to the story?

After Reading:

1.  Some people liken domestication to taming an animal. But there are differences. For instance, you might tame a feral cat in several months. Domestication can take millennia. Do some research on domestication. Based on what you learned, how you would characterize the difference between taming and domestication?