WOOF

Roots of Dog

Eight million years ago on what is now the U.S. Great Plains, a powerful canid
(lineage of carnivorans) called Epicyon attacks a horned herbivore.

Epicyon is of size of a large wolf.

Epicyon and other of the subfamily
Borophaginae followed their prey into
extinction after the climate cooled down.
Eucyon with teeth suited for eating meats
and plants survived and eventually
migrated to North America and evolved into
wolves.

ThesubfamilyBorophaginaeis
an extinct group ofcanidscalled
"bone-crushing dogs"

Human - Dog Connection

About 12,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers (in Israel)

placed a body in a grave with its hand cradling a pup.

It cant be known whether its a dog or wolf. The burial is

among the earliest fossil evidence of dog domestication.

It was known that humans started to adopt wolf pups

around 14,000 years ago.

Wolf pups that are less aggressive and better at begging

for food are favored.

Some says dog domesticated themselves by adapting to

new niche human refuse dumps. Scavenging canids
that dont flee from people survived in the niche and
succeeding generations became increasingly tamed.

DNA makeup of dogs and wolves are almost identical.

Comparison between Dog & Wolf

Breeds Apart
SIMILARITIES

Dogs share certain characteristics born of their common origin.

Dogs developed tame dispositions and genetically linked qualities such as

trainability, tail wagging and multicolored coats when they are adapted to
human settlements.

Dogs developed skulls and teeth that were smaller compared to wolf as they no
longer need to bring down preys.

Dogs developed smaller brain which requires lesser protein and calories for
maintainence and growth as their diet gone from meat to human dumps.

Differences

In cold climates, larger dogs with dense coats could have better
chance to survive and reproduce.

Human crossbred animals to create greater variation in

appearance and ability to survive under different nature.

Dogs variation was possible because of genes that affect the

timing of its development as a fetus and puppy, this alters the
final appearance.

For example, the late growth of nose results in the pushed-in

upper face of bulldog, while the earlier growth of nose results in
long and slender snout of borzoi.

Faithful Companions

Dogs evolved in company of humans and difficult to exist without

them.

Vast majority living wild as village scavengers depend on

proximity to humans.

Below are some examples where human sees dogs not only as a
creature but as a companion.

Wrapped to resemble a jackal, the mummy of a young

canine was left an offering in an Egyptian tomb during
Roman times. Egyptians did not consider dogs sacred but
believed in their wild cousin, the jackal (as the god of
Anubis), guided souls of the dead to the afterlife.

 In 1957, a dog named Laika became the first creature to orbit

Earth in the Soviet Sputnik 2 satellite. She died in space.
Soviets later sent dogs rocketing 50 miles up in pressure suits
to prepare for the first manned spaceflight in 1961. Most,
perhaps all, survived.

When Sony designed the robot pet Aibo, it chose the form of a dog
to appeal to the widest possible market. We consider it a
companion, a mascot, says spokesman Jon Piazza