Biology of Housepets!

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 9:20 pm

SuperStar wrote:
deep winter wrote:
Douglas Collier wrote:Aha! An evolutionary chain! Ok, so we can probably assume that bipedalism came first, and either fluffy pads or bare hands (mice, oppossums, etc.) developed afterward. I'm guessing that fluffy paws developed in order to maximize dexterity (lack of a thick pad) while ensuring warmth in a cold environment.
What if it wasnt evolution?, What if It was ALIENS?
A theaory worthy of Agent Mulder of the X-Files.(at least what I think that is something he would Say)
Grape seems to disagree, https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... rathustra/

I don't get the connection entirely at the moment but i do know that the apes are a refrence to 2001 a Space Odyssey.

HoundInATree · Post by **HoundInATree** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:07 am

The film follows an evolutionary path that Mankind could supposedly go through. There's a part of that process in the film that is due to aliens.

As grape doesn't believe in the whole descented from apes thing, she would also disagree with the film and be extension the aliens influence on evolution.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:45 am

I now officaly see the connection.

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:03 pm

On the other hand, she could be saying that she thinks that humans and apes aren't related because humans are the aliens!

Anyway, another thing that Rick lampshaded in an early comic is how it's hard to see a bipedal dog's tail unless you're in a position to see it. One theory I have is that the tail was used by primitive dogs as a silent signal when hunting - the lead dog would raise his/her tail to tell the others behind him/her to be on alert, or something like that. It could also be used by the lead dog to signal whether a creature was to be treated as a friend - i.e. a tail wag.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:25 pm

Douglas Collier wrote:On the other hand, she could be saying that she thinks that humans and apes aren't related because humans are the aliens!

Anyway, another thing that Rick lampshaded in an early comic is how it's hard to see a bipedal dog's tail unless you're in a position to see it. One theory I have is that the tail was used by primitive dogs as a silent signal when hunting - the lead dog would raise his/her tail to tell the others behind him/her to be on alert, or something like that. It could also be used by the lead dog to signal whether a creature was to be treated as a friend - i.e. a tail wag.

Yes the could of done that and ot could of been Their language before Humans Realy develop a singe standard language. Heck i wonder if that is how they communicated for some time ir their vocal cords had to be developed over time like the breeds were adapted to suit the needs of the humans that took them in.

Civilization · Post by **Civilization** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:30 pm

Yeah, what would have came first, animals walking upright or talking?

HoundInATree · Post by **HoundInATree** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:09 pm

I think there's some youtube videos of some 'talking' huskies. So I'd have to say talking.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:12 pm

How about disease.
Also i just remembered that a dog's siliva is like a Antibiotic

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:56 pm

Well, we know for a fact that they are vulnerable to distemper.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:24 pm

Just looked that up sounds bad. I wonder how rabies would be...

Post by **Hlaoroo** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:55 pm

As a veterinary student I can tell you that rabies is absolutely awful. There's a reason animals with it get euthanased as soon as it's detected. I'm very glad we don't have it here in Australia.

I'm thinking most of the diseases and conditions that animals in the Housepets! universe would get would be identical to the ones their counterparts in ours would get.

deep winter wrote:Also i just remembered that a dog's siliva is like a Antibiotic

Well, there's only limited research on this. While it's true that saliva may have antibacterial properties against a few specific bacteria, a dog's mouth is also filled with all kinds of bad bacteria which can cause disease and infection. The dog's immune system is used to most of these which is why a dog is generally able to lick him or herself without issue (unless the licking becomes excessive). So it should never be considered to be an antibiotic or as a possibility to be used like one.

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:13 pm

But couldn't one develop an immunity to said bad bacteria from much smooches from the dog and hence be able to utilize said antibacterial properties?

Post by **Hlaoroo** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:26 pm

I wouldn't want to risk it.

Ever heard of Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, E.Coli or Pasteurella? All of them and more are found in dog saliva.

Connorses · Post by **Connorses** » Fri May 01, 2015 5:46 pm

1071-CCN wrote:Okay, but then what was up with the time we saw the Dragon living in what appears to be an ordinary teenager's bedroom, looking normal-sized? Could someone explain that, or is it best to remain a mystery?

I think that was an illusion. The dimension where we saw Dragon was beyond mortal comprehension, so it made itself look like something a mortal could more easily understand. This means the best metaphor for what Dragon was going through was an upset teenager hiding in her room, which I think is clever and pretty funny since she's supposed to be this powerful demigod... It's probably my favorite thing in the whole comic.

Post by **Obbl** » Sat May 02, 2015 3:08 am

1071-CCN wrote:Okay, but then what was up with the time we saw the Dragon living in what appears to be an ordinary teenager's bedroom, looking normal-sized? Could someone explain that, or is it best to remain a mystery?

Dissension wrote:Is that how you perceived The Spirit Dragon and her lair? Fascinating...

So, yes

Post by **Sleet** » Sat May 02, 2015 11:14 am

I think Housepets! animals would get similar diseases, but at a much lower rate. They probably keep much better personal hygiene.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Sat May 02, 2015 5:23 pm

How about Night vision

Post by **Hlaoroo** » Sat May 02, 2015 5:27 pm

That's an interesting point, Sleet.

In our world it's actually not good to bathe your animals too often because you can wash away the oils that protect their skin and fur. So I have to wonder if it's similar in this world or not. In our world the maximum you'd want to wash your dog is once a fortnight unless the dog gets dirty. So I have to wonder how often they would bathe in Housepets world and if that would change much despite the bipedalism.

I can see paw-washing making a big difference for them though.

deep winter wrote:How about Night vision

I'd think that would either be the same or perhaps slightly better, given the extra receptors in their eyes.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Sat May 02, 2015 7:53 pm

We know they have a good sence of smell and hearing considering the can swivil them up to 90°. But it just occurred to me do all dogs have claws for traction.

Post by **Hlaoroo** » Sat May 02, 2015 8:03 pm

We often see them with claws in the comic if you look closely. So yes, I'd say they do.

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Sun May 03, 2015 4:49 pm

You can see King has claws in the second panel of this strip.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Mon May 04, 2015 3:06 pm

I wonder if they function as fingernails and if you can paint them?

Civilization · Post by **Civilization** » Mon May 04, 2015 3:08 pm

Well, people already do that in real life, so it wouldn't be that far fetched if they'd do it if they were anthropomorphic.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:35 pm

You know what a good question is, what traits do Housepets dogs have bred into them to compare with their real world counterparts?'

For example how a welsh corgi can perform its intended job, herding cattle. In the real world they avoid Getting hit thanks to their small size. However i estimate that King is between 2'6"ish-3' ish. If king was an Ag. Dog that herded cattle He is a decent target to a cow or steers hooves. I personaly think they'd need Quick reflexes, denser bones, and a layer of natural padding on the torso.

Huskies such as fox may have High stamina for running long distance. This could possibly come from better lung function and other factors.

But i think all Hp universe pets have Stronger neck muscles due to the fact that they look up to their owners/ parents/ ect.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Sat May 16, 2015 12:51 am

Do you think pets are color blind. Either i missed it or i never payed attention.
Ps. Also edited my last post from a while ago donno why i did that.

Post by **Obbl** » Sat May 16, 2015 1:21 am

Rick has stated that pets have less color perception than humans, but not to the extent of animals in our world
Although, based on the biological factors of color perception (i.e. color coded cones sensing specific wavelengths), I have to question how this would work

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Sat May 16, 2015 1:26 am

So they cant see certain colors of the Visible light spectrum such as most likely red and other colors.

Post by **Obbl** » Sat May 16, 2015 1:41 am

Except that would be the extent of real life animals' color perception, so... better than that.

Actually, you can have color deficiency instead of out-right colorblindness, so I guess that means some rods just aren't as sensitive to light coming in? So Housepets! animals are genetically color deficient... okay, I think I can dig it

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Sat May 16, 2015 11:06 am

Do you think that they have a low possibipity of Frost Bite? Especially huskies considering what they where bred to do.

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Sat May 16, 2015 11:35 am

Obbl wrote:Except that would be the extent of real life animals' color perception, so... better than that.
Actually, you can have color deficiency instead of out-right colorblindness, so I guess that means some rods just aren't as sensitive to light coming in? So Housepets! animals are genetically color deficient... okay, I think I can dig it

Perhaps they see things in muted tones? That would explain why Peanut uses such vivid colors in his Spot comic (I.e. coloring Spot light blue and then imaginating Spot as being whitish gray).

deep winter wrote:Do you think that they have a low possibipity of Frost Bite? Especially huskies considering what they where bred to do.

Probably, though the shorter haired dogs (such as Sten the chihuahua) might have a heightened chance of getting frostbite. Of course, that's why they have extra winter gear.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Sun May 17, 2015 11:28 pm

Douglas your oc/fursona is a corgu right?

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Mon May 18, 2015 2:30 am

A corgi, yes.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Mon May 18, 2015 2:23 pm

Some time ago i edited a post and rewrote the content i dont remrmber why i did it to begin with. However the message i wrote was over looked and it happened with the second message wich i wrote as a separate post. I want to hear peoples opion on it because i have a little project going on and i need to have some input from other people. Yes i could of done it there bit this is relevent to the discussion. Why i ask you is because i believe you would ask your self something along the line about the corgi breed and you where the last person to respond to the topic.

deep winter wrote:You know what a good question is, what traits do Housepets dogs have bred into them to compare with their real world counterparts?'

For example how a welsh corgi can perform its intended job, herding cattle. In the real world they avoid Getting hit thanks to their small size. However i estimate that King is between 2'6"ish-3' ish. If king was an Ag. Dog that herded cattle He is a decent target to a cow or steers hooves. I personaly think they'd need Quick reflexes, denser bones, and a layer of natural padding on the torso.

Huskies such as fox may have High stamina for running long distance. This could possibly come from better lung function and other factors.

But i think all Hp universe pets have Stronger neck muscles due to the fact that they look up to their owners/ parents/ ect.

Ps i forgot to add a thicker skull on the corgi theroy.
Pss i am using my phone so forgive my spelling error
Psss i am at school

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Mon May 18, 2015 4:52 pm

Yeah, I've estimated King at about 2' 6" myself, based on comparative measurements to doors. I imagine the smaller size at least makes jumping out of the way of kicking cattle much easier, as there's less mass to launch into the air; they could probably tire a cow out by dodging its attacks. But you wouldn't want a dog to be too small, or it would be too fragile for herding. Denser bones would definitely be a plus - King demonstrated this when he fell down the stairs in a carrier and came out of it with only a bump on the head.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Mon May 18, 2015 5:05 pm

Wouldnt that also introduce problems when swimming.

Do corgis even swim

Post by **Obbl** » Mon May 18, 2015 5:07 pm

Well, King certainly didn't jump into the lake to fetch his watch (though that may have been because he was busy yelling)

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Mon May 18, 2015 7:12 pm

Come to think of it, dogs and cats in the Housepets universe probably wouldn't be very good swimmers at all, between the less hydrodynamic humanoid shape and the drag from fur, not to mention the seeming lack of webbing on their hands and feet. They'd probably only be able to swim as well as humans at best.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Mon May 18, 2015 7:16 pm

Otters have webbing so i think its implied that labs and other webbed pawed breeds.

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Mon May 18, 2015 7:18 pm

Probably. I wouldn't bet on them being able to swim as well as otters, though.

deep winter · Post by **deep winter** » Mon May 18, 2015 7:26 pm

the only marine mammal that could best the otter is the Seal if its still in the same form. But onto a diffrent but relevent subject, has anyone read the housepets the series fanfic? Spesificaly the breed of dog,the Hirs’kyy̆ Korol/ King of the Mountain.