The Story of Dogs

Dogs are kept as pets or used for other purposes in most parts of the world, and in the UK alone, there are over 10.5 million dogs. ⁽¹⁾ Taking these numbers in to account, and the dogs importance and increasing role in today’s society, one cannot simply stop wondering where these remarkable creatures originated, and how they came to tie such close relations to human beings.

Dogs, as we know them, belong to the family Canidea. The Canids consists of 38 species ⁽²⁾, as well as several sub species, including Canis familiaris, mans best friend. The exact origin of the domestic dog is still unclear, making the development from wolf to dog a much-debated topic. Some think the domestic dog should be classified as Canis lupus familiaris, as it might have descended from the Grey wolf, Canis lupus.

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The most common perception of the origin of the domestic dog, is that they descend directly from wolves. However, newer research looking into dogs’ genetic information reveals this as only half of the picture. Robert Wayne and his co-workers at UCLA show through genetic research that wolves and dogs share everything but 0.2% of their genetic information,⁽³⁾ supporting the theory that dogs really do descend directly from wolves. On the other hand, Wayne also reveals that the genetic information of dogs might originate from other species of wild canids.

Although there are few specific details of the domestic dog’s history and origin, it is known, on the basis of genetic and behavioural studies, that the dog is a domesticated wolf. But what species of wolf is the domestic dog’s closest relative? Zeuner argumented in 1963 that the Indian wolf Canis lupus pallipes was the closest relative due to its smaller size and less tendencies of aggressive display, making it less of a challenge to tame. ⁽⁴⁾ The European wolf, Canis lupus, and the west Asian wolf, Canis lupus arabs were recognized by Clutton-Brook in 1984 as the domestic dogs most likely ancestor, as they both have a greater representation of genes in the genetic information of arctic dog breeds.⁽⁴⁾ The actual fact may be that dog’s as we know them, and their waste differences in size and appearance is due to the fact that the domestic dog may have been influenced by several types or species of wolves.

There are several plausible theories concerning the origin of the domestic dog, and one can only hope that research eventually will uncover the missing links that may give us more concrete answers than we already have today.

References

(1)  http://www.dognews.co.uk/uk-domestic-dog-population-is-larger-than-originally-thought-3/

(2)  http://entomology.cornell.edu/cals/entomology/extension/outreach/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=1033768

(3)  Dominique Grandjean & Franck Haymann, Dog Encyclopaedia by Royal Canin, p. 2 – 5. Published by the Royal Canin Group, 2010.

(4)  http://www.kursagenten.no/artikkel/354/Domestisering-1868.aspx