Dogs might do just fine without humans

Evolutionary biologists study how animals developed, but also what they might become.

A recent article on Vox.com speculated on how animals might adapt in response to changing environments, imagining flightless carnivorous pigeons, aquatic rats and bats with 6-foot wingspans capable of gliding long distances in search of food.

In their new book "A Dog's World" (Princeton University Press), bioethicist and philosopher Jessica Pierce and biologist and ethologist Marc Bekoff ask a different question: What would become of dogs in the absence of humans?

Subtitled "Imagining the lives of dogs in a world without humans," it explores how and whether dogs would survive if humans suddenly disappeared.

Through this lens, they consider how dogs live today, their relationships with humans and the factors that would shape this potential evolutionary future: size, intelligence, skull shape, food availability, daily caloric needs, reproduction, social organization, problem-solving ability and more.

Their speculative journey takes the reader from canines' past to a posthuman future where dogs suddenly left on their own must navigate a new world to find their own food and shelter, develop relationships with other dogs and protect themselves from predators.

What skills would dogs need to survive, and do they have them now? Behavioral flexibility is one and could play a role in the ability of individual dogs to solve problems and navigate social interactions with other dogs and other animals.

Learning ability is another. While cues such as "come," "sit" or "stay" won't be of much use to dogs on their own, the impulse control some of them may have developed through training could come in handy, Pierce and Bekoff suggest. And trained dogs, they write, may have learned that if they try something and don't get rewarded, they should change their behavior and try something else, a behavioral pattern that might translate into greater adaptability.

Dogs are pack animals, and it's interesting to ponder how that might translate into their ability to work together to survive. Would dogs of differing sizes, personalities and abilities band together to survive? Nature offers plenty of examples of cooperative hunting, in which different types of animals work together to increase success, such as coyotes and badgers teaming up to trap ground squirrels, and groupers and eels helping each other to find and flush prey. Your Chihuahua might find a role burrowing to reach food or prey inaccessible to bigger dogs.

Personality and heritage would play a role, as well. I asked several dog owners how they thought their dogs would fare without humans.

People with spitz breeds (including Alaskan malamutes and Samoyeds) had no doubts about their dogs' ability to survive. The same was true of people with Jack Russell terriers, some herding breeds or mixed breeds.

Even dogs with disabilities might have a chance. "My paraplegic dachshund probably has the best odds," one wrote. "She's sneaky and remarkably fast — and a proven ratter, even after her injury."

So can we — and should we — prepare dogs for life without us?

The authors say "doomsday prepping" for pets could have valuable benefits for them, even if we don't disappear anytime soon. Practical skills include foraging (a great way to enrich any animal's life), focus- and impulse-control through training; physical fitness to build endurance and prevent obesity; and development of independence, self-reliance and self-confidence by allowing dogs to make choices, teaching them to be comfortable when left alone, and participating in dog sports that build skills, such as scenting, agility and mental acuity.

The authors write: "Our take-home message centers not solely on an imaginary future, but also on the present. In thinking about who dogs might become without us, we may gain fresh insight into who they are now and how our relationships with them can best benefit us both."