Dogs may have domesticated themselves because they liked snacks, model suggests

Plausibility of dog self-domestication

• Many commenters doubt that wolf domestication was purely “self‑driven,” arguing humans must have strongly shaped which animals survived and bred.
• Core objection: why would early humans keep feeding wolves if they didn’t yet provide value (hunting help, protection, alarm system)?
• Others counter that humans aren’t purely transactional: surplus after big kills, children feeding cute animals, and general human enjoyment of feeding wildlife are enough to start the process.
• A common scenario offered: bolder but less aggressive wolves scavenge on middens and feces at the edge of camps; aggressive ones get killed; over generations this selects for tamer, more human‑tolerant animals without an explicit “breeding program.”

Mutualism and ecology

• Several comments propose early wolf–human hunting cooperation: humans bring tools and cognition, wolves bring speed, senses, and tracking; both gain more food.
• Wolves near camps may deter more dangerous megafauna (big cats, bears), making their presence indirectly valuable.
• Analogies are drawn to “problem bears,” raccoons, baboons, and urban coyotes already adapting to human food and proximity.

Cats, other species, and domestication constraints

• Side debate over whether cats mostly hunt birds or rodents; anecdotes show it varies strongly by individual cat and environment.
• Discussion that successful domestication usually requires preexisting social structures (packs, herds, colonies); this is used to argue cats and dogs fit, bears and snakes mostly don’t.

Food motivation and behavior

• Long thread on what “food‑motivated” means in dogs and cats: not “likes food” but “will reliably work for food despite distractions.”
• Many examples of animals more motivated by play (balls, work) or attention than by ordinary treats, though high‑value foods can override that.
• Parallels drawn to humans’ variable “food drive.”

Ethics and meaning of domestication

• One line of discussion expresses remorse that dogs’ bodies and minds were reshaped for human purposes, creating a sense of moral debt to treat them well.
• Others respond that domestication is a mutually beneficial evolutionary strategy: dogs as a species exist and thrive only because of humans, and humans were also reshaped by dogs.
• Broader concern that humans have been poor stewards of both domestic and wild animals, despite the deep emotional connection many people feel.