I was eating a salad today in the kitchen and our crazy poodle was going bonkers. I told him he was a carnivore but it didn't appease him so I fed him some of my lettuce and tomatos and he ate the portion of tomato that I gave him. It got me to thinking..and excuse my ignornace of biology, but, I noticed that many dogs are not the best hunters around....and that they live off of meat. If man was not around to help dogs survive would many speecies of dogs, say like poodles, wiender dogs, pughs ect ect..survive or be extinct?
Most dogs would survive because they would eat anything to keep alive. That doesn't mean some of them wouldn't make it. Dogs are omnivores I believe.
what non meats do they eat that come from nature (ie beside stuff in the trash or dog food which is manufactured by man instead of nature).
Through breeding, dog have become domesticated and they lose that ability since it ins't necassary. Also, with selective breeding, evolution isn't based on best traits for survival, it's "what looks cute." Even if it could harm the animal.
Canines are carnivores, but through domestication and adaptation, they have somewhat modified their diet, but it's still mostly meat Dogs will have the natural ability to survive on its own after a few years of caring, like a 1-year-old baby human cannot take care of him/herself, but a 12 or more likely 18-year-old person can. Besides, according to the theory of evolution and natural selection, when the environment suddenly changes, only the strongest or most flexible or adaptive will survive. because they all have different genetic makeup, not all will die off, and not all will necessarily survive. It's all about evolution and changing and adaptation Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Most domestic dogs couldn't survive in the wild. They've evolved with humans. A pitbull for example could never survive in the wild because it would see a 1000lbs grizzly bear and think 'cool I'm gonna kill this thing', and run up and start tearing into it, only to be smashed by a giant paw. They are too brave because man has bred specifically for that trait whilst keeping them safe from the natural world. They don't have the 'flight' response that is essential for a wild animals survival, its all fight. Well thats not true for most breeds, people don't realise today that nearly all breeds were bred to perform a task. Even poodles were originally hunting dogs. Dachsunds were used for getting badgers out of burrows. Pugs I think are one of the true 'toy dogs' meaning they were simply bred to look a certain way and sit on ladies laps. But most dogs had to earn a living working for man and their selection required that they exceed at that task. Be it hunting, tracking, pulling carts, fighting, rescueing people, whatever. Its just working for man instead of nature. Same basic idea though. They were sculpted to be best suited to their lifestyle. Most couldn't survive in the wild, some like the dogo argentino could merely as a byproduct of the kind of work they were bred for. But most are suited to working for man and being given food after they perform the task they have evolved to be perfect for performing. Thats the lifestyle they have evolved to suit so its a big ask to try and make them survive in the wild. Be like putting you in the ocean and telling you to survive there.
I think that most Breeds could probably survive. Like the Wild Dogs of Africa or the Dingo of Australia they would return to Hunting in Packs.
I've heard once that the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus not actually a wolf, since isn't lupus, not even Canis... but still a canid, anyway) is 60% carpophagous... that was a quite surprising, but I only heard once and didn't looked for confirmation, I'm not sure... this is a kinda off-topic, isn't? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
DNA analysis in the past couple of years has proven that dogs and wolves are actually the same species. In effect, wolves are simply one breed of dog: the oldest. However, it's been 12,000 years since the first wolf pack and the first human clan made a mutual decision to hunt together because their skills complemented each other nicely. That's about 9,000 dog generations, a lot of opportunity for selective breeding. (In contrast it's only a few hundred human generations.) The differences between the various dog breeds seem major, but in fact they're easily obliterated in a couple of generations of mongrelization. What remains are a few fundamental differences between the domesticated population of Canis lupus or Canis familiaris (depending on which name the single species is going to inherit) and the remaining, successful, widespread wild population. 1. Behavior. Dogs like people and the majority of them defer to humans as pack leaders. They treat us as fellow pack members, meaning cooperation, friendship, protection of the young, sharing food, as well as playing, fighting, and seeing who gets the best spot on the bed. 2. Diet. Wolves are carnivores. They will forage for berries and even rustle through garbage if they have to, but they prefer to hunt if given the opportunity to do so. Dogs are omnivores. They enjoy a good hunt but they are quite at home scavenging. Cleaning up our trash was one of the traits that got them invited into our campsites. This feeds back into 1. Behavior, because scavengers are easier for most of us to live with than hunters. We much prefer a dog begging from the table than going out and killing the neighbor's chickens. This trait also feeds into. . . . 3. Teeth. Wolves have very keen teeth about halfway back that are good for tearing flesh. Dogs don't have them because they don't need them to chew bread, bananas, kibble, and cooked meat. It would be very difficult for a dog to make a life as a hunter because he would have difficulty eating his kill if it were anything bigger than a rat. The diet also feeds into. . . . 4. Brain size. Brains require a lot of protein. Wolves get a lot of protein because they eat mostly meat. Dogs get less protein because they eat a lot more carbohydrates. As a result, dog brains are a bit smaller than wolf brains. Not so much that any individual dog might not be just as smart as a wolf, but as an average, the dog population is not quite as clever as the wolf population. Another mark against their being able to survive as hunters. Wolves are more clever about finding and catching prey than dogs are, who know exactly when to expect the sound of a can opener. DNA research that was just published in the Washington Post last week turned conventional assumptions about dog breeding on their heads. The first voluntarily domesticated wolves originated in China around 10,000BCE. All dogs are descended from this bloodline. They did not arise independently in different places. The dogs from China rapidly spread all over the world with humans. They were probably traded from tribe to tribe for other livestock or goods. The first distinct breeds arose about 7,000BCE, in Africa and Asia. Right around the dawn of civilization, but well after the development of Stone Age agriculture and animal husbandry. Some of them were the hard workers and predator hunters we expected to find in this group, such as the Malamute, Husky, Samoyed, Saluki, and Afghan. But surprisingly this group also includes the Lhasa Apso, Pekinese, Shizi (or Shih Tzu as people insist on spelling it), Akita, Basenji, Maltese, and Shar-Pei. The second group came a couple of millennia later, ironically bred for hunting, the skill that brought the original wolf ancestors into our homes in the first place, such as Mastiffs, Bulldogs, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds. (Obviously they must have been called something else because there were no Germans yet.) The third group included livestock herding and guardian dogs such as Collies, Sheepdogs, and Anatolians, as dogs had been developed who could be trusted not to eat domesticated game animals, but it also included some surprises such as greyhounds, which had previously been thought to be one of the oldest breeds. The fourth group included dogs for various types of guard duty, such as terriers for keeping pests away, and some of the more specialized hunters such as spaniels and pointers. Finally, in very recent times, an explosion of breeds occurred as dog breeding became a hobby and a sport. This includes some real surprises, such as the Pharaoh hound. Statues of identical dogs are found in Egyptian tombs, yet the Pharaoh's DNA shows it to be just a few centuries old. Apparently the dog had been extinct for millennia and a few enthusiasts managed to recreate it by selectively breeding sighthounds with big ears and small necks.
Dog Food Ingredients Dry dog food brands are listed in alphabetical order. You will need to scroll from left to right, as well as down, to read the page in its entirety. None of the dog foods on this page contain Ethoxyquin, and they all meet or exceed AAFCO Nutrient Profiles for dog foods. For information on the ingredient definitions, visit the AAFCO Definitions of Dog Food Ingredients page. Also, if you would like ingredients listings for even more dog foods, these food comparison charts has a good variety of brands. Return to: What to Feed Your Puppy Dog Bil Jac California Natural Natura Pet Foods Flint River Ranch Innova Natura Pet Foods Nature's Recipe (Lamb Meal, Rice & Barely) Top Five Ingredients (listed in order) 1. Chicken By-Products (Organ Meat Only) 2. Chicken 3. Corn 4. Chicken By-Product Meal 5. Dried Beet Pulp 1. Lamb Meal 2. Brown Rice 3. White Rice 4. Sunflower Oil 5. Vitamin E Supplement 1. Chicken Meal 2. Wheat Flour 3. Ground Rice 4. Poultry Fat 5. Ground Wheat 1. Turkey 2. Chicken 3. Chicken Meal 4. Whole Ground Barley 5. Whole Ground Brown Rice 1. Lamb Meal 2. Ground Rice 3. Cracked Pearled Barely 4. Animal Fat 5. Lamb Digest Bil Jac California Natural Natura Pet Foods Flint River Ranch Innova Natura Pet Foods Nature's Recipe Preservatives (Please note that all of these dog foods contain a form of vitamin C as a preservative. There are some studies that show Vitamin C may be harmful to dogs, however I have yet to find a better alternative except for home-made dog food.) * Sodium Propionate * Vitamin E Supplement * Ascorbic Acid * BHA * Vitamin E Supplement * Vitamin C Supplement * DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source of Vitamin E) * Ascorbic Acid (Source of Vitamin C) * Vitamin C (calcium ascorbate) * Vitamin E Supplement * Vitamin E Supplement * Ascorbic Acid Other Ingredients * Chicken Liver * Brewers Dried Yeast * Cane Molasses * Eggs * Salt * DL-Methionine * L-Lysine * Vitamin A Acetate * Vitamin D3 Supplement * Vitamin E Supplement * Roboflavin Supplement * Niacin * Biotin * Choline Chloride * Folic Acid * Thiamine Mononitrate * Pyridoxine Hydrochloride * Vitamin B12 Supplement * Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex (Source of Vitamin K) * D-Calcium Pantothenate * Manganous Oxide * Inositol * Iron Sulfate * Copper Sulfate * Zinc Oxide * Cobalt Carbonate * Potassium Iodide * Sodium Selenite * Zinc Sulfate * Vitamin C Supplement * Monosodium Phosphate * Niacin * Calcium Pantothenate * Vitamin A Supplement * Manganous Oxide * Vitamin B1 Supplement * Vitamin D3 Supplement * Riboflavin (Source of Vitamin B2) * Vitamin B12 * Vitamin B6 Supplement * Vitamin K Supplement * Folic Acid * Cobalt Carbonate * Sodium Selenite * Lamb Meal * Dried Whole Egg * Lecithin * Fish Meal * Brewers Dried Yeast * Wheat Germ Meal * Dried Kelp * Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal * Salt * Potassium Chloride * Monosodium Phosphate * Choline Chloride * Ferrous Sulfate * Zinc Oxide * Selenium Supplement * Manganous Oxide * Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2) * Copper Sulfate * Amino Acid Chelates of Zinc * Iron * Manganese * Copper and Cobalt * Niacin * Vitamin B12 Supplement * Vitamin A Supplement * Calcium Pantothenate * D-Biotin Supplement * Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6) * Calcium Iodate * Thiamin Mononitrate * Folic Acid * Vitamin D3 Supplement * Whole Steamed Potatoes * Ground White Rice * Chicken Fat * Herring Meal * Whole Raw Apples * Whole Steamed Carrots * Cottage Cheese * Sunflower Oil * Dicalcium Phospage * Alfalfa Sprouts * Whole Eggs * Whole Clove Garlic * Probiotics (Freeze Dried Streptococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Freeze Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Freeze Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Freeze Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product) * Vitamin A Supplement * Vitamin D3 Supplement * Niacin * Claium Pantothenate * Manganous Oxide * Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Monoitrate) * Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) * Vitamin B12 * Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) * Vitamin K (Menadione Sodium Bisulfite) * Folic Acid * Cobalt Carbonate * Sodium Selenite * Biotin * Tomato Pomace * Potassium Chloride * Choline Chloride * Yeast Culture * Yucca Shidigera Extract * Ferrous Sulfate * Zinc Oxide * Zinc Proteinate * Vitamin A Supplement * d-Activated Animal Sterol (Source of Vitamin D3) * Niacin * Calcium Pantothenate * Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) * Manganous Oxide * Copper Sulfate * Copper Proteinate * Thiamine Mononitrate * Pyridoxine Hydrochloride * Folic Acid * Biotin * Vitamin B12 Supplement * Calcium Iodate and Sodium Selenite Dogs, it sems, eat a better balanced diet than humans! LOL! http://www.doggiedoor.com/ingredie.htm
We have twelve dogs. Feeding them commercial feed would cost a fortune. In addition, several of them have mild allergies that seem to be triggered by something in the feed. We throw whole chickens in the pressure cooker, then use the food processor to turn them to paste -- bones and organs and all, lots of good calcium and other stuff. We mix that with cooked pumpkin, cooked rice and a bit of whatever my wife has handy that week, in a ratio that she knows; I'd say the result is about 25 percent chicken. We supplement that with 1/5 to 1/4 kibble in case we missed some vitamins and minerals, except for the dogs that are allergic to kibble. (Innova, in our experience it's the best.) They also get a dog biscuit every day for additional variety and nutrition, and beef bones every week or so for their teeth. It's been working great for about fifteen years. We have not had to put any dogs on those incredibly expensive prescription diets. Their health has been better than average, even into old age. Their teeth are good. Most of them don't eat stool, although there's always one or two that just seem to be programmed for it. Except for those two, their breath is fine. And it's cut our dog food bill down by about 75 percent.
I had a friend with a pug for a pet. He always claimed that pugs were bred as war dogs in a land where size is a premium. I did a quick search on the net and haven't come up with any corroborating sites. Most of the sites simply mention that the pugs come from China and the history really begins when they reach Europe. The war dog aspect seems somewhat ludicrous, but they have been altered since coming to the west, so who knows. I used to have a Yorkshire Terrier. The best dog I ever owned. Good ol' Ratt Dog. Extremely intelligent and personable. He also had a strong territorial instinct. I've seen him chase Mastiff's out of the yard. I think the animals are confused when he starts going apeshit on them. He starts barking and twitching and his starts flying. I don't think they know what to do, so they leave. I think that even these toy dogs were originally bred for a purpose, that of chasing rats. I miss that old bastard. I have no doubt that the breed would not long survive without the aid of humans though. Can you imagine a pack of wild Yorkies terrorizing the countryside? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Actually without man many dog breeds would not even exsist. Sooo if we were to now abdon our dogs...It really would be a 'Dog Eat Dog' type of world. Man bred dogs for years, breeding two different breeds for certain traits to get one ideal dog for wahtever suits you [hunting, herding , ect.] So without man the beagles would not exsist [Hmm became a offcial breed around the 1600s sometime]. And damnit sometimes I wish they didn't...-glares at dog who is now chewing on a purple pen-. Oh and dogs usually only eat vegtables and such [like eating grass] is when they are having stomach problems Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Terriers were bred to chase small animals. Usually pests rather than game, just keeping the bothersome wildlife out of the yard or off the farm. Often burrowing animals, most of them have the size and shape to chase gophers and such down into their holes and even keep digging to get at them. This means that if you eat rabbits, you can probably get any of several breeds to chase rabbits and drag them out of their burrows for you. Like all dogs -- the domesticated population of Canis lupus, as opposed to the still-wild population of the same species, the wolf -- terriers lack the strong teeth about halfway back on both jaws that enable wolves to rip flesh efficiently. (As I mentioned in my first posting in this thread.) Terriers can catch rats and moles and eat them up pretty good. But when they catch something bigger like a hare or a badger, they might be strong and ferocious enough to kill it, but they'll be pretty slow at eating it. That would be their problem if humans died off and left dogs to fend for themselves. They wouldn't be able to eat their kill fast enough before the scavengers got there to fight them for it. The larger ones and/or the most aggressive ones would occasionally get lucky and crossbreed with a wolf or a coyote (or even a jackal) instead of being eaten. The hybrids would rapidly bridge the gap between the two populations and integrate them into a rather varied global pack. Different breeds with varying amounts of wolf/coyote/jackal DNA and sturdier teeth would specialize in the game in different parts of the world left behind by the vanished humans. The terriers' descendants would be tearing up the English countryside, competing with the foxes for vermin and small game. The larger dogs would be bringing down sheep and cattle. Since there are no wolves or bears in England, they'd probably be left in peace to eat their kill at their slow pace. In America the biggest dogs would have to hybridize with wolves and coyotes to get their teeth back because the wolves and coyotes have that ecological niche to themselves and will not share it happily with anything smaller than an Irish Wolfhound, St. Bernard, or Anatolian Guardian. Asia has been so overrun with humans and the large predators hunted almost to extinction, that the dogs would probably not have a lot of competition except from cats, who still have their ancestral hunting equipment.
I saw him chase a rabbit a couple of times. He definitely had the instincts. Zigged and zagged as good as the rabbit. I doubt that he would have known what to do with it once he caught it though. The rabbit would have most likely kicked his ass in any real battle. He might have a chance with a gang of Yorkies. But, what Ratt really liked to go after was frogs. Crazy dog would bite and chomp at frogs all night long. My buds and I would be hangin' out at night in summer and Ratt would come up to the picnic table, frothing at the mouth like a mad dog, and bark at me until I got up to round him up another frog to persecute. He never killed them, he just liked to play. I always wondered if he wasn't getting addicted to the poison. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Funny that he couldn't round them up himself. He probably just knew it was easier for me to do it. Had me trained, so to speak. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Of course, my Yorkie wasn't one of the really tiny ones. Some are so small they probably couln't even kill a rat. Toys indeed.
very interesting natural history of dog domestication, thank you. i would appreciate any reference you or the Post can provide. if you will allow, i will correct minor errors. No. That may have been suggested, and it is a testable hypothesis, however DNA analysis has proven nothing of the kind, and I don't think that it's possible to prove it that way. To ask, "How much DNA differentiation does it take to make a species?" is meaningless, because species are not defined by the amount of genetic differentiation. Currently the Canidae taxonomy is as below. Canidae * Alopex * Alopex lagopus (Arctic fox) * Atelocynus * Atelocynus microtis (small-eared dog) * Canis * Canis adustus (side-striped jackal) * Canis aureus (golden jackal) * Canis familiaris (dog) * Canis latrans (coyote) * Canis lupus (gray wolf) * Canis lupus baileyi (Mexican gray wolf) * Canis lupus chanco (Mongolian wolf) * Canis lupus hodophilax (Japanese wolf) * Canis lupus pallipes (Indian wolf) * Canis lycaon (eastern Canadian wolf) * Canis mesomelas (black-backed jackal) * Canis mesomelas elongae (eastern African black-backed jackal) * Canis rufus (red wolf) * Canis simensis (Ethiopian wolf) * Canis sp. * Chrysocyon * Chrysocyon brachyurus (maned wolf) * Cuon * Cuon alpinus (dhole) * Dusicyon * Dusicyon thous (crab-eating fox) * Lycaon * Lycaon pictus (African hunting dog) * Nyctereutes * Nyctereutes procyonoides (raccoon dog) * Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis * Nyctereutes procyonoides procyonoides * Otocyon * Otocyon megalotis (bat-eared fox) * Pseudalopex * Pseudalopex culpaeus (culpeo fox) * Pseudalopex griseus (Argentine gray fox) * Pseudalopex gymnocercus (pampas fox) * Pseudalopex sechurae (Sechura desert fox) * Pseudalopex vetulus (hoary fox) * Speothos * Speothos venaticus (bush dog) * Urocyon * Urocyon cinereoargenteus (gray fox) * Urocyon littoralis (island gray fox) * Vulpes * Vulpes chama (cape fox) * Vulpes corsac (Corsac fox) * Vulpes macrotis (kit fox) * Vulpes macrotis zinseri * Vulpes velox (kit fox) * Vulpes vulpes (red fox) * Vulpes zerda (fennec fox) * Vulpes sp. brains require a lot of fat! to make the myelin sheaths. when you have children, that's the diet thing pediatricians remind parents of constantly, lots of fat for brain develpment. I don't think that's true. Could you please provide a reference that concludes that differences in brain size between wolves and domestic dogs are attributed to the amount of carbohydrate in the diet. I suspect it's merely a matter of body size difference, i.e. allometric differences. you mean Shizi Gou, from; http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/s/shih-tzu.html
I had originally posted this in an edit, but by the time I was done Paul had already posted. This kinda adds to my last post. You know what would likely happen? As you said [fraggle], the larger dogs would have to mix with the wolves to find a niche. The smaller dogs would likely gang up together in their various breeds, forming a smaller mixed breed pack. In effect, recombining the genes that were seperated in the various breeds. It's possible that some larger dogs would also join this smaller group rather than wolves, but there would have to be a point where the larger dogs begin to look at the smaller as prey rather than buddies. That is if the small dog niche would even survive. They would face competition with cats. Didn't cats evolve later than dogs? I remember reading that dogs don't compete well against cats. I guess the cougars never out-competed the wolves. But housecats are a bit different. Although they are still somewhat solitary, they have been known to form large colonies, like lions. So what might happen in this regard is housecats mixing with the smaller wildcats and possibly even evolving into a size that could compete with wolves. America's big cats are rather solitary and don't compete with wolves. Are there any species of wildcat in Europe? Probably not, huh? It would take time, of course, and the wolves already have a head start. But I could easily see them forming competition for the small dog niche. The only thing is, I don't know how interbreedable the various cat species are. And don't forget that the rat and mouse species would have to readapt as well. Although they are not domesticated, they feed off human civilization perhaps even more than dogs or cats. Without humans they'd have to find new niches to take advantage of. It would be an interesting evolutionary battle. Rodents are generally evolutionary more suited to win, the only reason they have been kept down in their scavenger niches is because they evolved after most niches had been filled. With the damage we humans have done to the natural order, there is a void that will be filled by the best evolutionary tactic. The rodents might have the edge in Europe. In America we still have wild species and the rodents would have more of a challenge. What a complicated web it would be. Too bad no one would be around to watch it unfold. I bet we could learn a lot from it.
I a way dogs are perfectly adapted to their enviroment. Their enviroment is of course human society. They have proliferated tremenduously together with the human species. They did well to choose to live with humans (although it wasn't an active decision on their part). Sadly the downfall of the human species will probably also mean the end of most dog breeds. However one might venture to guess that with all the genetic diversity going around in the dog population (i am just guessing here that there is quite a lot of diversity based on phenotypical diversity, although this doesn't have to be the case), one would suspect that it might be possible that a certain (new) dog breed will survive the human species. I would say in conclusion that the dog is perfecty adapted to its current environment and has at least a good shortterm prospect of survival.
I've never heard this stuff about the teeth. I know dogs don't usually eat animals they kill but I did once see my neighbours sharpei catch, kill and begin to eat a possum(before being chased with a broom). Also I've heard dogo argentinos are unusual because they will eat their prey if left to their own devices. They are used for hunting wild boar so I can only assume thats what they are eating. If you can shear the meat of a wild boar you can shear it off just about anything. I always thought its simply that most dogs have forgotten the connection between killing and eating, not that they didn't have the hardware for it. But like baby cheetahs might know to catch a gazelle but then be stumped on what to do with it. They need to be taught. Dogs too probably just need to be shown that after you kill whatever you need to eat it. I think they'd figure it out if they had to. Also, even wolves will only generally be successful if they are in packs, so we shouldn't be asking more from dogs. I think a pack of dogs could be fairly successful, if the right types of dogs were in the pack. A common belief is that ALL dogs are toned down weaker version of wolves. This certainly is not the case, there are dogs that would be dominant over any wolf. Wolves are far from the 'toughest' dog, they are the dog most perfectly suited to survival in the wild (in the environments they inhabit), but there are plenty of domestic dogs that will kill a wolf. While the ancestry of most of todays breeds involved man taking wolves and toning them down, the ancestry of some dogs involved man taking wolves and breeding them to be stronger and meaner. All dogs are wolves that have had their evolution specialised to varying degrees on different tasks. They all gave up the well roundedness of the wolf to have their 'stat points' focussed on something in particular. In many cases this made the dogs meeker than the wolf, sighthounds had their evolution focussed on speed and in doing so gave up alot of the strength and tenacity of the wolf, but some were bred for combat, and they gave up other traits like speed and hearing and whatever else in favour of strength and tenacity. The result being animals that are actually more formidable than any wild canine. Plenty of dogs would have the grit and power to be a wild animal, some would be even better than wolves at bringing down large prey. But there is just so much more than that to living in the wild, so many attributes required, and by not being wild, the different domestic breeds each lost different groups of those attributes to render them inadequate at wild survival. Domestic dogs as a whole didn't really lose anything in particular, each breed lost something different, and in most cases gained something in its place. Something to make them better at whatever task they needed to perform for man, but this inevitably made them worse at the original task being survival in the wild. There aren't many breeds i can think of still well equiped for wild survival, rather than breeds the 'type' of dog that would come closest are boar hunting dogs. The demands of that task are similar to what would be required in the wild and I think a good pack of boar dogs could probably do ok for themselves out in the wilderness. On pugs being war dogs; If there is a sceric of truth in that it would just be referring to how mastiffs were used to get that 'pug' look. Ancient mastiffs were used as war dogs, and in the creation of the pug they may have been used to a minor degree in the breeding to accomplish the desired phenotype. No dog like the pug was ever used in wars. Even the mastiffs of today who descend from the dogs of war aren't really anything like the actual dogs that were used in wars and the colliseum etc. Pugs were definately designed specifically to be non-working pets.
