The Dog Bus

But beyond that, they also have been kept as semi-domesticated animals by several indigenous groups. They have never reached the level of the domesticated culpeo, but they have been kept as pets.

It’s not something I recommend, but it is worth considering when we talk about dog domestication.

It is likely that any number of wild dog species have been kept as pets, but only one (C. lupus) has managed to be so successful.

The vast range of C. lupus may have played some role in it, and the fact that C. lupus is a large carnivore that can both hunt the same prey that people were hunting and protect against intruders, including other large predators that might prey upon humans.

Bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) are the smallest of the pack-hunting canids.

They live in South America at pretty low densities. They are widespread on that continent, but they are not that common anywhere

Yes, I know they look like the cross between an otter and a fox.

And they are famous for doing handstands to mark their territory.

But beyond that, they also have been kept as semi-domesticated animals by several indigenous groups. They have never reached the level of the domesticated culpeo, but they have been kept as pets.

It’s not something I recommend, but it is worth considering when we talk about dog domestication.

It is likely that any number of wild dog species have been kept as pets, but only one (C. lupus) has managed to be so successful.


The vast range of C. lupus may have played some role in it, and the fact that C. lupus is a large carnivore that can both hunt the same prey that people were hunting and protect against intruders, including other large predators that might prey upon humans.

However, we have to consider these potential domestications in order to understand how man and C. lupus became attached to each other in this way.


Yes, I know they look like the cross between an otter and a fox.

And they are famous for doing handstands to mark their territory.

But beyond that, they also have been kept as semi-domesticated animals by several indigenous groups. They have never reached the level of the domesticated culpeo, but they have been kept as pets.

It’s not something I recommend, but it is worth considering when we talk about dog domestication.

It is likely that any number of wild dog species have been kept as pets, but only one (C. lupus) has managed to be so successful.

The vast range of C. lupus may have played some role in it, and the fact that C. lupus is a large carnivore that can both hunt the same prey that people were hunting and protect against intruders, including other large predators that might prey upon humans.