(by 42 people)
From Wolves to Dogs - A Brief History
What do I mean by the phrase Dogs are People Too? Well, there's a lot more similarities between humans and dogs than many people realize. To explore this idea a bit further, let's set the way-back machine to a few thousand/million years ago.
What is a dog?
The word Canine is derived from the latin word Canis. There are 35 existing species of Canids (meat-eating animals that primarily pursue their prey across open grassland). The word dog itself comes from the Old English word docga.
The Dog Family ranges from the smallest canid, the Fennec Fox, to the Largest, the Gray Wolf.
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Where and how did dogs originate?
Around 7 million years ago, a wolf-like animal called Tomarctus arrived on the scene. The wolf, coyote, fox, jackal, dog, and all the rest of the canines can call Tomarctus great-great-great-grandaddy. At the time of Tomarctus, there were 42 different kinds of Canids, all competing for pretty much the same space.
Experts believe the earliest dogs looked like the feral dogs of today and that if modern dogs were allowed to interbreed they would revert to that type. In fact, skeletons of the earliest dogs and their wild wolf cousins can be tough to tell apart. The coyote is considered by some to be one of the last species of primitive dogs.
Primitive dogs differed from cats and other carnivores in that they hunted in packs, developed a protective territorial instinct, and a sharply defined social order (alpha male, alpha female, etc). Dogs are without a doubt social animals and crave companionship.
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So, my little puppy is actually a (gulp) wolf?
The biggest difference between the wolf and the dog is that the wolf remained wild and the dog was "neotonized". The word neotony essentially describes the selective breeding of something with the goal of retaining its infant or adolescent characteristics. Which means that athe modern dog is nothing more than a wolf pup who never grew up (a common complaint among many human parents as well)!
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So, where do WE (humans) come in?
It's not difficult to imagine curious humans luring wild dogs into their camps, and eventually taking in and raising orphaned wolf pups.
Once the humans realized how useful these early dogs were on hunts, it was only a matter of time before the "man + dog" team became established as a "super-predator". It has been said that one hunter with a pack of dogs can track and bring down large prey that a group of hunters only cannot. Add to that the alertness of the dog and their natural "early warning system", and you have a perfect example of synergism in action.
The earliest (domestic) dog fossils, two crania from Russia and a mandible from Germany, date from 13,000 to 17,000 years ago. "Official" domestication of dogs is believed to have occurred about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East. Scent hounds were developed in Persia and Egypt, and were the first "modern" dogs used in hunting. It is thought that the earliest of these hunting dogs resembled the present-day dingo, the wild dog of Australia. These dogs probably had large erect ears, but the ears began to droop in smaller, later breeds because of excessive ear skin.
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Why do we have so many different breeds now?
In general, up until the Middle Ages, dogs were mostly bred for hunting and war. The Medieval period started the "specialization" of dogs. Monks began raising dogs for companionship and protection. During this period much smaller hunting breeds were also introduced. These "Beaver dogs" were the first terriers, and were used to hunt wild rabbits and foxes by burrowing into their lairs.
During the Renaissance period, the number of breeds literally exploded until today world wide there over 500 different breeds of dogs. So prized are our dogs that starting with the earliest cave paintings showing man and dog hunting together and continuing into the 21st century, the dog has been celebrated in art, movies, and literature.
In 1859, the first dog show was held in the town hall of Newcastle upon Tyne in England, and the English Kennel Club was founded in 1873. The first dog show in America was held in 1875, and the American Kennel Club was founded in 1884.
So, there you have it. A brief, but I hope enlightening discussion of "man's best friend". The next time you take your "wolf" out for a walk, I hope you'll be able to observe him/her with a slightly different perspective. If nothing else, you'll be armed with some new knowledge you can use to amaze your family and friends.
Entries from my blog at www.dog-gonnit.com
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAdditional Resources
- dog-gonnit! A Site for Dog Lovers Created by Dog Lovers. Find Dog Breed Facts from A-Z Here
- dog-gonnit! Mutt or purebred,we love our dogs. Dog Stuff From A to Z.
- Internet Archive: Details: The American book of the dog. The ...
- The American book of the dog. The origin, development, special characteristics, utility, breeding, training, points of judging, diseases, ...
- Origin of the domestic dog: Information from Answers.com
- Origin of the domestic dog i Domestic dog Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order:
- Basic Dog History - Dog History - Dog Forums - I-Love-Dogs.com
- Basic Dog History - Dog History. I-Love-Dogs is the place to discuss Basic Dog History. Molecular systematics indicate that the domestic dog is descended ...
- Dog Domestication - When and Where was the Dog Domesticated?
- When and where the partnership of dog and humans first occurred is currently under considerable ... History of Dog Domestication. From K. Kris Hirst, ...
- A History of Dogs in the Early Americas
- Because of their ubiquity across cultural boundaries, dogs have been so commonplace that their history seemed to warrant little consideration. ...
- CANINE EVOLUTION: A Shaggy Dog History -- Pennisi 298 (5598): 1540 ...
- A Shaggy Dog History. Elizabeth Pennisi. In this week's issue of Science, three research teams chase down some of the age-old issues surrounding the ...
- Origin of the domestic dog - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Origin of the domestic dog From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- Border Collies. Experience the Zoooom!
- Border Collie Information from A to Z
- The Beagle. A happy little hound who loves to snack, snooze and sniff!
- There's Never a Dull Moment with Beagles Around.
Sit! Speak!
Please critique my first lens and rank it.
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Traffic_Mad
Great lens! Lots of useful info on dogs and their origins. Thnaks Posted May 22, 2008 |
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animal_lover79
I read this lens the whole way through. Very nice work! Favorited! Posted April 01, 2008 |
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BookMama
I love the title -- Dogs Are People Too. My husband says that, though he just means I should let them up on the sofa or give them tastier food. I added you to my lensroll. Posted March 02, 2007 |
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WalkerDay
Thanks Burke. I dropped by your lens - you're off to a good start. I ranked your site, added your lens to my favorites and lensroll - should bump you up a bit. If you need advice on what to do next, here;s tha place to go: http://www.squidoosecrets.com/build/?yourlens=5364. Enjoy! Posted March 01, 2007 |
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Burke_Jones
Very nice lens! I have just recently created a lense in the same subject area - still feeling my way around to best provide material for it. Posted February 28, 2007 |
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