On one hand, we have been feeding them and letting them have our camp scraps since time out of mind, so a benefit for them over living as wolves, and probably dogs started outnumbering wolves very early once distinguishable from them. They now outnumber wolves and other wild canids by many orders of magnitude.

On the other, for most of history we have been making the majority of the dogs do things for us, sometimes difficult and dangerous things, and have been somewhat more cruel [in many cases] or at least demanding and otherwise indifferent caregivers until relatively recently. Animal protection laws, let alone rights, are young ideas, and so is a decent chunk of pet-loving culture. Not all- man has cared for dogs since the start – but the standard of that care has increased not unlike the standard of care for other humans has done, a lot and recently.

Not to mention- humans walk dogs so they can poop mainly because we don’t want it done in our houses or yards or other immediate vicinity of our ‘campsite’ anymore, and we pick it up and dispose of it because of laws made by humans to keep our parks clean and avoid inter-human conflict. All part of the softening of urban life and inter-people relations in quite modern times.

No, I don’t own a dog, nor does a dog own me. Like Kevin Kline, I don’t have anything that I want fetched.

All of my reading and observation argues that you’re right. I think dogs are the reason why Neanderthaler went extinct, as well. We know that they were not well-adapted to throwing things, and that they have not had their remains found in association with dogs.

My suspicion is that the relationship between man and dog probably started on the outskirts of some human campsite, with the human throwing something at the local wolf, which was then returned for another throw. Thus, I think we might hypothesize that the wolf domesticated modern man as a stick-thrower. And, all the benefits accrued from there…

If I had to lay odds on it, I think I’d bet on the relationship between man and dog began with play, and the play probably began with the human throwing something at the nascent dog, who then returned it for another go-round.

After all, precisely who is picking up whose poop?

In my opinion, were we able to communicate with the dogs and the wolves who were their ancestors, we’d probably discover that they think they domesticated us, as opposed to the other way around. After all, look at the deal the dogs have going, and then tell me we didn’t pick up the shitty end of the stick…

Humans made dogs what they are by removing the pressures of natural and sexual selection from them. Dogs are idealized companions for people and have outsourced the need for ruthlessness to their human owners whom they love and trust.

You never see dogs pulling political crap, or being deliberately mean to other dogs. The really amazing thing is how well they do, when it comes to coping with injured, crippled, or ill members of the pack–The group includes them in the play, and takes care to observe the limitations. Acquaintance of mine has this rescue dog whose front legs froze, requiring amputation. The dog is now basically a kangaroo-looking little thing, and the bigger dogs he has all protect and treat her better than you could ever imagine.

Dogs > people, in all too many ways. I’ve never had a dog betray my trust the way people do on a routine basis.