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Similarities Between Wolves And Domestic Dogs Essay

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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

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