

In addition to this change, snouts got smaller, brains got smaller, coats got lighter and tails got shorter and/or curlier. In his book, On the Origin of Species, Darwin explains that dogs’ ears started flopping because of disuse of the ear muscles dogs didn’t have much cause to be alarmed with all the domestication happening. These animals were more manageable and approachable and more likely to stick around and additionally, quite useful! There started the doggo-hooman bonding that was to lead to the former becoming the latter’s best friend.Īs wolves became increasingly tame, their natural survival instincts also diminished, in addition to changes in their behavior and appearance. Well, there was a time when dogs were wolves! Even today, both species share a lot of genetic similarities, even though they often look nothing like each other.Īfter centuries of leaving scientists perplexed, it took Charles Darwin to bring to light a little something known as the “ domestication syndrome”, running through every domesticated animal.Įons ago, wolves and humans started getting friendly, with the tamer specimens of the latter being allowed to chill with humans. Well, not only will this article give you a few answers, but also a list of the top 17 dog breeds with floppy ears. Well, if you have, you wouldn’t be the only one in fact, you’d be among the likes of esteemed intellectuals like Charles Darwin!

From Spaniels to beagles to retrievers to Bassett Hounds, those adorable floppy ears have stolen tons of hearts worldwide!īut have you wondered why these ears flop as they do (other than to magnify cuteness by a gazillion times, especially in those slow-motion wind-in-my-ears videos)?
