The 's Best Friend ( Larson, And Orlando 2017

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.

All dogs can be traced back 40 million years ago to a weasel-like animal called the Miacis which dwelled in trees and dens. The Miacis later evolved into the Tomarctus, a direct forbear of the genus Canis, which includes the wolf and jackal as well as the dog.[8]

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

    Dogs have been domesticated for over 10,000 years. Food from the humans would bring the dogs to them, and the dogs would bark at predators when they came so the people started to feed the dogs to keep them around. In the 1’st century AD in China Roman mosaics show evidence of the present day Pekingese and Roman ladies also had lap dogs. They believe the dogs warmth cures stomach aches. The earliest evidence of any domesticated dog is a jawbone found in Iraq in a cave about 12,000 years ago. We know it is a jawbone of a dog because a jawbone of a wolf is smaller and the teeth is smaller.

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

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.

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?

Introduction Humans began domesticating animals around 12,000 years ago, mainly for the purposes of agricultural and the establishment of permanent farming settlements [1]. Dogs were also domesticated around this time and were mainly used as guard and hunting animals; Cat domestication occurred 9500 years ago, mainly for our ancestors to exterminate mice from grain caches [1]. Today, 57% of Canadian households own pets and the most common pet is the cat, with 37% of households owning at least one; Dogs are second at 32% [2]. Evolutionary Problem Pet ownership goes against evolutionary principles. Spending time caring for a non-human species means less interest and effort invested in raising human offspring; in the interests of evolutionary fitness, humans should focus on developing relationships with other humans, attract mates, produce and care for offspring and take care of relatives [3].

Some may not know that pets, like dogs and cats, have been a huge part of human society for nearly 32,000 years, according to Ault. Evidence presented by the National Academy of Science show that most domesticates have origins that trace back to farm animals. However, two notable exceptions are cats and dogs. Evidence points to an origin of dogs from the Canis lupus, gray wolves. Dog domestication possibly begun in Central Europe as early as the Upper Late Paleolithic, gradually, natural selection and genetic drift (resulting from human activities) began modifying these wolves from the overall population.

Could dogs be more than a man’s best friend? According to a new study, ever since dogs split from the grey wolves, their brains and digestive organs have evolved in similar ways to that of humans. This means that dogs could be man’s cousin instead of their best friend. Who would’ve thought that dogs took place in the human evolutionary process.

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.

For over 14,000 years, humans and dogs have co-existed in the same ecological niche (Clutton-Brock, 1995). The constant evolution of the symbiotic relationship between humans and dogs continues to be one of the most reliable and advantageous connections between two distinct species. The most prominent theory as to how such a mutually beneficial relationship began involves early canids (wolves) scavenging in the waste piles of early human settlements. These waste piles — which were situated on the outskirts of these settlements — contained food scraps and human waste that became a valuable food source for these wolves. Most importantly, this had become very beneficial to both parties.

Dogs were probably the first tame animals (Wikipedia). They have accompanied humans for approximately for about 10,000 years. They are the most adopted pets worldwide. They have lived and worked with humans in so many roles that they have earned the unique nickname, "man's best friend". They have been bred for herding livestock, hunting, guarding, helping fishermen with nets, and pulling loads, in addition to their role as companions.

To begin with, dogs and wolves are pack animals, and humans make sufficient pack substitutes----that is the foundation for man/dog relationships, and is likely responsible for its longevity.