Dogs now sniff out bombs, sarin, land mines, illegal drugs and other contraband, as well as money, firearms, traces of gasoline used in arson, underground gas and water leaks and termites.
They serve people with disabilities and sometimes help improve the physical or mental health of their owners.
Canine athletes chase Frisbees, catch fly balls, run agility courses and engage in more traditional work hunting, herding, pulling sleds and competing in field trials that measure their talents in those areas.
Some hunting dogs track endangered species, such as Florida panthers, for researchers rather than hunters. And a majority of the nation's 64 million dogs are still expected to provide companionship and security for their human families, under varied and often stressful circumstances.
It is hardly surprising, then, that scientists are trying to understand the behavioral and physical traits of top performers and companions to improve selection, training and breeding programs. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/6600507.htm
Finding genes that cause this or that ailment is what most people think of when they think about gene mapping and genetic research, and pinpointing the causes of inborn diseases is certainly one of the obvious and direct payoffs that will come from a better understanding of the canine dog genome. But the genes an individual carries are more than a personal health chart; they are also a logbook of the evolutionary voyage of the species. The canine dog's journey through the past 100,000 years in the company of man has left distinctive markers in the genes of the canine dog population. Just as an archaeologist can deduce nonmaterial attributes of a long-vanished civilization--its social hierarchies, superstitious beliefs, trading patterns--from its material remains, so geneticists can deduce much about the history, evolution, and social ecology of a species from the patterns that all those forces have etched into.........
