Dogs

Behavior

Dogs have an instinct called prey drive (the term is chiefly used to describe training dogs' habits) which can be influenced by breeding. These instincts can drive dogs to consider objects or other animals to be prey or drive possessive behavior. These traits have been enhanced in some breeds so that they may be used to hunt and kill vermin or other pests. Puppies or dogs sometimes bury food underground. One study found that wolves outperformed dogs in finding food caches, likely due to a "difference in motivation" between wolves and dogs. Some puppies and dogs engage in coprophagy out of habit, stress, for attention, or boredom; most of them will not do it later in life. A study hypothesizes that the behavior was inherited from wolves, a behavior likely evolved to lessen the presence of intestinal parasites in dens. Most dogs can swim. In a study of 412 dogs, around 36.5% of the dogs could not swim; the other 63.5% were able to swim without a trainer in a swimming pool. A study of 55 dogs found a correlation between swimming and 'improvement' of the hip osteoarthritis joint.