Are Seals Related To Dogs? Here's Why Seals Look Dog Like!

Humans have always had a soft spot for animals.

What makes this world a better place to live is that animals, too, have a soft spot for humans. A dog is more often than not labeled 'man's best friend', for they are loyal, loving, and gentle.

Seals are an adorable species that mirror a dog's loving and social behavior, for they genuinely like to be petted and enjoy spending time around humans. These tender creatures also reflect each other's physical features in so many ways. Does this mean they are the same with only a different name?

Have you ever wanted to find out how are seals related to dogs? Do they come from the same family? We've got the answers to your wonders, explore more about this wild-domestic pair in this article.

Seals and dogs are mammals belonging to the same sub-order of Carnivores called Caniformia.

A seal is a semi-aquatic animal found hopping around on their big bellies rather adorably. Dogs, on the other hand, are members of the terrestrial squad that walks around on all fours.

The formal term used to refer to seals is Pinnipeds, which also includes walruses and sea lions. Seals are related to dogs in certain ways, mostly in physical appearance, but their behavior is also greatly similar to the creatures we call man's best friend.

Despite coming from different families, dogs and seals are adorably matching when it comes to being warm and welcoming.

They get along not only with each other, which is the cutest sight to see, but like dogs, seals also like to be around humans and exchange affection.

These animals are not genetically linked, they are alike in some habits, but the similarities end there. At the end of the day, a seal and a dog are equally loving and polite.

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Do dogs and seals share DNA?

Seals and dogs are often assumed to have the same DNA because of how parallel they are. This does not necessarily mean that these animals share the same DNA.

Dogs and seals descend from the same suborder, 'Caniformia'.

These friendly mammals even look and behave alike in the sense that they have matching round faces, a genuine mask of politely smiling faces, and even an identical flicker of warmth in their little eyes.

Seals and dogs, though of one suborder, are not closely related in the sense of belonging to the same family or ancestor, as they do not share familial ties in spite of their many similarities.

These species are also both mammals, and all mammals have DNA, and that is about as far as we can link dogs' DNA to seals.

How closely related are seals and dogs?

Seals and dogs share a suborder, 'Carniforma'. As far as similarities go in the sense of genetic relation, these sea and land animals are not interlinked.

In spite of having different ancestors, dogs and seals are quite alike in a lot of other ways. Seals look like dogs, meaning these species share certain facial characteristics.

A seal has a matching round face to a dog, they even wear twin smiles of utter politeness that instantly puts humans at ease and make them want to pet these animals. Seals and dogs also have identical little eyes that more often than not are twinkling with all things warm and welcoming.

Sea lions, a sort of seal species, have a fair number of attributes that mirror those of a dog.

The former mammal has the ability to walk on all fours, just like the latter mammal on four limbs. The pair even has external flappy ears, another physical trait in common.

These animals both have body hair, a dog's fur is thicker than the short hair of a sea lion. Thus, at least one kind of seal is largely relatable to dogs in bodily features.

Are seals just dogs?

In a way, maybe seals are just dogs. But, it is not always factually correct to deem these marine mammals 'dogs'.

Seal babies and dog babies are both known as 'pups', the latter are more commonly referred to as 'puppies'. Carnivora branches out into a number of suborders, one of them being Caniformia, the suborder to which dogs and seals belong.

What is striking here is that Caniformia is generally characterized for being a suborder of creatures that are 'dog-like' in some way. Seals do have dog-like appearances, the two are often even mistaken for one another.

As pups, seals and dogs greatly resemble each other physically, they are just so fuzzy, small, and round that it is impossible to tell them apart.

But, dogs are not aquatic animals, they are domestic and are not made to live in water, unlike seals who are born wild and marine. A bear, too, belongs to the order of Caniformia, so are they dogs?

No, they are definitely not, they may be furry carnivores like dogs, but that does not make them dogs. Thus, seals are dog-like, not dogs.

What are seals' closest relatives?

Seals have a few close relatives of their own, bears and weasels for example.

A bear, weasel, and seal are all from the order of Caniformia. Part of the Carnivora family, they enjoy eating meat as part of their wild diet.

These animals like to chow down on a common marine animal, fish. Weasels are a lot smaller as compared to the big and scary bears, even the flappy and bobbling seals. Members of the same suborder, each of these animals are found roaming lands all over the world and largely in a lot of continents and oceans.

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