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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs
Published on: October 13, 2017
[An experiment on fox domestication and debatable issues of evolution of the dog]
Abstract:
This paper is a review of the results of the authors obtained in a long-term experiment on fox domestication. Debatable issues of dog evolution are discussed in light of these results. It is demonstrated that genetic physiological mechanisms of the behavior transformation during selection and the nature of the arising phenotypic changes are associated with retarded development of corresponding ontogenetic processes. As a result of this retardation, the adult animals retain juvenile traits of behavior and morphology (the phenomenon of neoteny). The role of hormonal changes caused by domestication in the evolutionary origin of neoteny is discussed.
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