Dogs and Humans: An Ancient Bond

Several millenia ago, man and an early ancestor of the modern dog formed a mutually beneficial partnership. This animal was, most likely, an unusually tame jackal, or perhaps an ailing wolf that had been driven away by the pack. These new companions protected humans against wilder animals and guarded sheep and goats. In return, they received food and a dwelling. As time passed, these early dogs became man's trusted companions.

Traces of an indigenous dog family can be found in almost all parts of the world. There are several exceptions --in New Zealand, the Polynesian Islands, Madagascar, the eastern islands of the Malaysian Archipelago and the West Indian Islands have no evidence of any dog, fox or wolf existing as a native animal.

Not until we take a look at the records of the higher civilizations of Egypt and Assyria do we find mention of distinct varieties of the canine form. In ancient Oriental regions, such as Mongolia, dogs remained wild and untamed, prowling in packs like wolves, as they still do in many places.

One basic fact that makes it hard to believe that today's dogs all share a common ancestry is, simply, how different one breed is from another! Consider the St. Bernard, the Tan Terrier, the German Shepard, Siberian Husky, the Pomeranian and so on. It is perplexing to think how these breeds, differing vastly in size, appearance and temperament, could have one origin. The same, of course, could be said of horses. In both cases, breeders are familiar with the laws of selection and how easy it is to produce a variety in type and size.

In considering the question of dogs and wolves sharing a common origin, we should first look at their skeletal structures, or the osseous system. These are close enough in both species that their transposition from one to the other could hardly be noticed.

The spine of the dog consists of seven vertebrae in the neck, thirteen in the back, seven in the loins, three sacral vertebrae, and twenty to twenty-two in the tail. In both the dog and the wolf there are thirteen pairs of ribs, nine true and four false. Each has forty-two teeth. They both have five front and four hind toes, while outwardly the common wolf has so much the appearance of a large, bare-boned dog, that a popular description of the one would serve for the other.

Nor are their habits different. The wolf's natural voice is a loud howl, but when confined with dogs he will learn to bark. Although he is carnivorous, he will also eat vegetables, and when sickly he will nibble grass. In the chase, a pack of wolves will divide into parties, one following the trail of the quarry, the other attempting to intercept its retreat, exercising a considerable amount of strategy, a trait which is exhibited by many of our sporting dogs and terriers when hunting in teams.

Yet another similarity between canis lupus and canis familiaris is the gestation period, which is sixty=three days for each. The wolf's litter usually has from three to nine cubs. These are blind for twenty-one days. After two months of being suckled, they are capable of eating half-digested flesh which their dam or even sire has disgorged for them.

The dogs native to all places closely resemble in size, form, color and behavior the wolves of the corresponding regions. This fact is too widespread to be attributed to pure chance. Sir John Richardson observed in 1829 that the only observable difference between the domestic dog of the Indians and the North American wolves was that the latter had a greater size and strength.

It has been suggested that the one incontrovertible argument against the lupine relationship of the dog is the fact that all domestic dogs bark, while all wild canidae express their feelings only by howls. But the difficulty here is not so great as it seems, since we know that jackals, wild dogs, and wolf pups reared by bitches readily acquire the habit. On the other hand, domestic dogs allowed to run wild forget how to bark. The presence or absence of the habit of barking cannot, then, be regarded as an argument in deciding the question concerning the origin of the dog.

We might consider Darwin's belief that domestic dogs descended from several species of wolf from places as diverse as Europe, India and North Africa, as well as several species of jackal, and possibly from one or more species now extinct. This suggestion that our modern dogs had such a diverse ancestry could be the truest explanation we will find.

Bob Evanston writes and researches on many topics pertaining to animals and pets. You can get more information on dogs and some useful resources on training your dog
You can get a unique content version of this article.

Article Source: http://www.wellnessarticlelibrary.com

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated