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Staring at another mammal is inherently aggressive behavior. Wolf doesn’t stare, here. Wolf calmly observes, looks around, and blinks regularly when it’s looking at the mammal that is calmly filming it.
Our two genera, Canus and Homo, have existed in a close, symbiotic relationship for a LONG time. I wonder which genus taught the other proper behavior—i.e. “Don’t stare at me! That’s aggressive!” Either way, it’s clear from this video that both genera understand the rules of peaceful coexistence.
And I say, “Wolf, schmulf. That’s a DOG, and I can get along with any dog.”
-Laelth
And they have learned a lot from us. I see them as a co-species that has evolved with us over the past 15,000 plus years. The human-dog symbiotic relationship pre-dates human civilization by at least 9,000 years. We taught them things. They taught us things, and we grew together as mutually-dependent species.
I love them, and I value them for what they have given to us and for what they continue to give to us—unconditional love, their cuddling instinct, loyalty (pack mentality), velcro (they hate to be separated from us), socialism (Dogs are superb at sharing resources and fairly allocating pack resources), and even work ethic (only the highly-inbred, stupid, show dogs are lazy). Most dogs want to work, and they have phenomenal endurance. We lend our superior sight, our superior communication skills, and our extraordinary tool use. They lend their badass ears, their unparalleled sense of smell, their endurance, and their tenacity (they never want to “give up” on a project). We work well together.
-Laelth
