Abstract
It is common knowledge that dogs were domesticated from wolves. However, the exact details of this process are not nearly as well known, and many studies have been performed in recent years to discover exactly what caused this change to occur. Many different techniques, from comparing morphological evidence to peeking into the genome itself have been used to unlock this mystery. While many factors of the evolution of dogs are still being studied, it is now known that domestic dogs were developed from an ancient, ancestral wolf species rather than from the gray wolf, that clear morphological differences between wolves and domestic dogs can be found, such as the difference in the shape of the skull, and that the ability to digest starch not only varies between dogs and wolves, but between different dog breeds. The findings in these studies each provide a different piece to the puzzle that is the initial domestication of ancient dogs. Understanding how dogs were domesticated could in turn shed a new light on the development of ancient humans.
Introduction Canis lupus familiaris, better known by its common name, dog, carries the prestigious title of “Man’s Best Friend.” It is a title the domestic dog has earned over the course of its existence through assistance with hunting, herding, or even simply being companions. However, as close as humanity is to their furry friends, this wasn’t always the case. There was a time when the domestic dog did not exist in its
It can be argued that along with cats, dogs were one of the first animals to become domesticated. For approximately 10,000 years humans and dogs have more than co-existed, they have developed a special bond unlike any other animal has developed with us. Today hundreds, if not thousands of breeds of dog exist. Although this fact remains true, all dogs belong to the Canis Familiaris family within the animal kingdom. Despite any tamed, domesticated, or docile tendencies, all breeds of dogs have traits that are derived from their wild ancestors and to this day many of those traits still exist and in fact, are quite important to the dog’s survival and mating techniques. Some of the more prominent survival tactics include digging, burying, being
Have you ever played outside with your dog for a while and lay back to consider about how your dog evolved into whom he is today and how he turned into "family?" Well, over the centuries, dogs have evolved a lot! In between that time, they turned into what we call pets. Because of this, the relationship between dogs and humans has changed over thousands of years, wolves evolved to dogs and the wolves soon became pets.
This has led to the belief that dogs can provide company, affection and support to people who are going through a difficult time or who feel lonely. Dogs have aided humans in tasks such as hunting, livestock herding, and guarding. However, as society moved from small rural communities to increasingly large metropolitan areas, the dog’s role changed. Throughout the years a more specific type of
“A dogs sense of smell sometimes out perform X-Rays and CT scans at detecting cancers at an early stage by simply smelling a persons breath or urine.” Everyone is able to breed a dog to function in many different ways and for many different reasons. Mow explains how this is possible through his short movie Science of dogs. “Because of intensive selective breeding by cross breeding different breeds for different distinctive types of physical appearances and behavioral attributes; you will soon create the dog you were looking for and it will also have a consistency of creating the same breed of dog by creating a new genetic code in the dogs DNA”. For example there is one breed of dog that has the best sense of smell in the entire world and they were created for one job and one job only. Klim Sulimov explains what dog this is and how it was formed on the Science of Dogs, “The Sulimov dog has the best sense of smell in the whole entire world, and they were successfully created to identify explosives, he bred a Jackal with a Lapland Herding Hound, a Reindeer Herding Hound, a Fox Terrier, and a Spitz. Creating a dog that is highly trainable dog and a superior snout”. All these hybrid breeds are so successful because of how the dogs DNA is formed. The discovery of deciphering the dog genome was discovered by the Researchers at the National Institutes of Health on The Science of Dogs “Every piece of DNA is made up of four different chemical components
Have you ever had a dog? Do you know where dogs came from? Well, did you know that a million of years ago dogs did not exist. Back, then the dogs were wolves that disliked people. The relationship between dogs and humans has changed over time because over thousands of years ago, the wolves evolved to dogs and the dogs soon became part of human families. That is why these days people want to have a dog as a pet.
Humans and dogs have long shared a bond that was based on function. Early dogs that were the least valuable and useful did not make it into today’s time. On the other hand, the most valuable and helpful of dogs remained and created others like them. Ultimately, breed predecessors were produced by breeding the best hunters to the best hunters and the best guards to the best
Dogs are known as man’s best friend. Despite lacking the ability to talk, we understand them well. Buddyfruit, also known as “B-Fruit”, is a five-year-old male Pointer with a heart of gold. His family, the Whitfield family, brought him into their home almost three years ago. Cooper is a three-year-old male Golden Retriever with sad eyes and a joyful soul. His family, the Ruiz family, welcomed him into their family roughly a year and a half ago. From physical features, to aspects of personality, to history and background, every individual dog shares similarities and differences.
Man’s best friend: you would think that that title would conjure up images of humans, or even our closest cousins in the animal kingdom, such as monkeys, apes, and chimpanzees. However, the first image that enters most humans head is the same image that would have induced fear hundreds of years ago, the not so distant heir to the wolf: dogs. The same creatures that we feuded with for survival now take up a huge part of our lives and make up a large portion of the images littering the internet. Dogs take part in everything from movies to family gatherings, to search and rescue and emotional or physical service. Nearly fifty percent of American households alone have at least one dog, and between all of us we own 83.3 million dogs, a number not to be trifled with. The place our four-legged canine companions claim is undisputed and easily backed up.
We always say, “Dog is the best friend of human,” but how many of us know the history of human-canine relation and things that dogs have done for us? Maybe the one who truly loves dogs will know about these. There is no exactly record about how dogs came into our lives, but dogs have worked for human for the last ten to twenty thousand years.
The true origin of the dog is unknown, since there are many theories about how they became to be. The grey wolf is the most probable ancestor of all current dogs breeds. Early humans formed an unlikely partnership with the grey wolf. It was to say that dogs were wild until about 12,000 years ago, but in 1997 a DNA analysis suggested a date of about 130,000 years ago for the transformation of wolves to dogs. Which means wolves began to adapt to human society long before humans settled down and began learning agriculture. One group suggested that wolves and dogs split 32,000 years ago, somewhere in East Asia. An analysis of mitochondrial DNA from 18 fossil canids. They were the first animal we humans domesticated. The fates of our two species became braided together.
For millions of years dogs have remained a constant companion of man. Bred from the aggressive and formidable Gray Wolf tens of thousands of years ago the domestic dog now lives in many homes across the world. Where in the far distant past the domestic dog was bred as a guard animal, a beast of burden, and even a food source the dogs of today are bred for a far more endearing purpose-companionship and love. Finding a pet dog that is more of a joy than a chore is necessary when asking: How much is that puppy in the window?
The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris or Canis familiaris)[2] is a member of genus Canis (canines) that forms part of the wolf-like canids,[3] and is the most widely abundant carnivore.[4][5][6] The dog and the extant gray wolf are sister taxa,[7][8][9] with modern wolves not closely related to the wolves that were first domesticated.[8][9] The dog was the first domesticated species[9][10] and has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes.[11]
Back then, the wolf-like dogs would have been used for hunting thanks to their amazing hearing and excellent smell. These traits would help the hunters tremendously. The hunters also used them as guard dogs for their livestock. Also, if the hunters were ever attacked by an enemy, the wolf-like dogs would have come in very handy as another warrior on the battle field since wolves are faster and stronger than humans. Having a loyal animal is useful in many ways when the world used to be wild and untamed. Plus, the lack of technology in the past would make it seem that a tamed animal would equal that of a machine.
There are several theories on how the evolution from wolf to dog came about. One theory is that the human environment attracted wolves. Wolves started following people around to take advantage of food scraps that were left behind. Eventually, wolves lost fear of people, and people lost fear of wolves. The benefits of this new relationship were not just one way. Wolves also helped humans by sniffing out prey and helping them hunt. Success likely meant the humans would share their food with wolves. This is a very popular theory, but it has been disputed. Archeological digs show that the early dogs were not eating the same mammoth meat that the humans were eating. Instead, their main diet consisted mostly of less popular human meat such as reindeer. The prehistoric dogs also had many broken teeth and severe facial wounds. Although these injuries could be from fighting with other dogs, many scientists believe the dogs had been beaten with sticks, leading many to assume the relationship between man and prehistoric dog was not as companionable as the theory would suggest.
“A dog is a man’s best friend” goes much deeper than the phrase might initially imply. Recently many medical journals have begun to identify with the many and varied benefits of pet ownership. Men have always relied upon animals for work, transportation, and survival. As times have changed, man has begun to appreciate a different bond with animals. Gone are the days of animals running free outside around the homestead, for now animals are allowed inside and are considered by many to be an integral part of our daily lives! Medical studies have found that animals have a much greater intelligence level than originally thought. Through proper training and experience, animals are not only household pets, but also are becoming an accepted form