If you've ever wondered why the Siberian Husky (Husky) and the German Wolfhound look so much like wolves, you've successfully cut to this topic. Although there is still much debate about the exact origin and age of modern dog breeds, there is strong evidence that domesticated wolves should be their distant ancestors.
Dogs and wolves are both members of the "carnivore" in animal taxonomy, and they have many similar characteristics.
Like what:
- It has 42 teeth
- 50 to 52 segments of the vertebrae (7 cervical vertebrae, 13 thoracic vertebrae, 7 lumbar vertebrae, 3 caudal spines, 20 to 22 caudal vertebrae)
- An annular contraction of the iris
- Has a similar sense of smell
- Diseases that occur are similar
- Behavior habits are similar
- Outstanding sense of direction
- The habit of going out diurnal and nocturnal
- Tendency to like to dig
- The gestation period is about 9 weeks
- Puppies and wolves open their eyes around 2 weeks
Wolves, known as gray wolves, live only in the northern hemisphere, but span Europe, North America, and Asia. Wolves living in the far north have obvious differences in color between individuals: wolves in the same family may be black, brownish gray, or even white. Wolves that grow in warmer areas are generally not aggressive, smaller, and have uniform coat color, usually yellow-brown or brownish-gray, like domestic dogs.
Wolves and humans
If we want to understand the initial development of the relationship between humans and wolves, we can compare their way of life to the way humans lived in history (about 15,000 to 60,000 years ago) and understand how wolves were domesticated by humans.
At that time, human beings were still in a semi-nomadic form of hunting and gathering. Most of them live in groups in natural shelters such as caves, attacking for the food they need. The group is led by someone with the best hunting skills or the best experience and enough to be trusted. Hunting is a predominantly male-dependent and considerable physically powerful job, cooking food and caring for small children, a major area of work for women.
Wolves also live together as a group extended from a family, and there is also a distinct ruling class in the group, which will be led by a chief. Like humans, they also use various naturally formed caves as shelters, and they also hunt and eat in the same way of attacking. Female wolves are solely responsible for childbearing and caring for young wolves, and for the vast majority of the time they rely on the stronger and more capable male wolves in the group to protect them and their young wolves and provide a source of food.
Because both humans and wolves belong to hunters, they often become competitors in hunting. Wolves have a keen sense of smell, making it easy for them to track down their prey. Humans, on the other hand, take advantage of this trait and often follow wolves and then try to drive away wolves and take away their prey. Wolves, in turn, track humans who are hunting and take advantage of the opportunity to pick up some of the remaining prey left behind by humans.
Over time, humans invented hunting conditions that were distinctly more advantageous than their competitors, using primitive "weapons" to make hunting more efficient. An adequate and good food source means a more stable lifestyle. So humans began to have more time to spend on building semi-permanent places of residence.
In the human tribes excavated (about 30,000 to 60,000 years ago), dog bones that resemble wolves have been found. But apparently, they are not human pets, but semi-wild animals that are slaughtered as food by the inhabiting humans. However, it is also possible to be attracted to the settlement by the smell of food scraps and caught by traps. Human tribes most likely stimulated the emergence of such animals, and wolves' keen sense of smell and hearing allowed them to detect the proximity of predators (such as lions, bears, etc.) earlier than the humans who lived there.
Early humans may have used the wolf's sense of smell and hunting ability, and the protection that their keen sense ability could provide, just as we use many of the same aspects of dogs today. For these reasons, wolves are also able to obtain some food and stay close to human settlements for a certain degree of protection. Because most large predators do not venture to approach the villages inhabited by humans.
The process of domestication of wolves
Over time, the wolves living around human villages gradually relaxed their vigilance against humans and began to get closer to people. Between man and dog, it was found that this free relationship had common benefits for each other, and finally this relationship gradually became closer and closer, and finally the whole process of domestication was reached. During the process of domestication, a remarkable nature possessed by wolves, obedience to the leader, became an important key in the whole process, and the human ability satisfied this leader role. If caught from an early age, the wild cub seems to be able to obey its human owner and be successfully domesticated.
The domestication of wolves was a fairly gradual process, but in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, it all occurred in very close times (about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago). Initially, humans used "subspecies" of wolves located in the areas where they lived, and many hybrids emerged as humans migrated. The wolf of 4 of these subspecies has had a profound impact on the development of our modern dog breed.
- The Indian wolf is probably the ancestor of the Australian wild dog and the Asian wild dog. The Dingo followed humans to the East and was then isolated due to the movement of the Australian section.
- Evolved from the Chinese wolf, there are Beijing dogs, du, song lion dogs and so on.
- Gray wolves are the main source of Dog Breeds in North America, such as the Huskies and Alaskan Sled Dogs.
- European wolves are probably the ancestors of the most dominant dog breeds, such as sheepdog breeds, fox breeds, and the largest hard dogs of the dog breeds.
The origin of the development of each dog breed
The process of dog breed selection and improvement has been carried out for thousands of years according to human needs for food, protection and companionship. Dogs have a very keen sense of smell and are faster and more agile than humans, so they are valuable companions when humans track and hunt animals needed for food and fur. Dogs are also useful for surveillance and guarding, killing some of the harmful critters that are attracted to human habitation by food. Some wolves perform better than others in a particular job, and humans use this to choose and gradually develop a variety of dog breeds.
During the Neolithic period, about 8,000 years ago, humans began to learn to grow grain on their own. At the same time, humans also domesticated domestic animals such as goats, sheep and cattle, and began to raise them, so humans had one more purpose of breeding: grazing.
When people choose early domestic dogs for special purposes, they actually accidentally choose some specific characteristics. Among these are personality, body shape, and body size.
When choosing a dog personality, it is advisable to choose those who are playful, friendly, and less aggressive to humans, but who bark quickly at intruders. These traits are mostly consistent in young animals, and these "puppy" traits remain in place after a period of adulthood. Academically, this is enough to constitute a new breed.
When early humans selected dog breeds for different purposes, they often based on several specific internal and external characteristics. This includes body size, appearance, and personality. When it comes to hunting fast animals, because speed and agility are required, dogs with relatively low weight, strong bones, long legs and soft spines are chosen. Large, strong dogs are used to hunt large prey such as gazelles, while smaller ones are used to hunt rabbits. If the dog's task is to catch a mouse or dig a rabbit's burrow, it needs to be fast and agile, which will require a strong body and short legs.
If the dog needs to be used to haul heavy loads, it is best to be strong and hardy, and large enough to support many strong muscles.
Personality is also an important factor. A large dog chosen as a guard must be brave enough to face an intruder and show its aggressiveness. But the same large dog is used to drag heavy objects, because it must often contact many strangers at work, so it is easy to be trusted and can always maintain calm. A small mousetrap must maintain its innate sense of sensitivity in order to be able to catch such pests quickly.
Early domestic dogs
In various parts of the world, people demand different characteristics from their dogs, and the decision is made in terms of environment, climate and lifestyle. People living in the Far North need dogs to be able to drag heavy loads and withstand very cold weather, and archaeologists have found that 7,500 years ago there were very similar to today's huskies, weighing 23 kilograms (50 pounds). They have a slightly shorter muzzle than gray wolves, but they do inherit the same energy and physique as their ancestors.
In Asia and Europe, dog breeds evolved from Indian wolves as well as Eurasian wolves were also differentiated into jobs and purposes such as hunting. The lingti was first depicted on Egyptian frescoes dating back about 5,000 years, and smaller ones appeared shortly thereafter
Hounds, such as the pharaonic hounds we know today. Another modern dog breed whose ancestors also appeared in about the same period is the Saraki, which appeared around the second millennium BC and was bred in the palace by the pharaohs, very similar to today's Beshengji.
The emergence of "pet dogs"
Over time, more diverse dog breeds were bred. Dog breeds with both visual and olfactory abilities have been developed and can be used for all-round hunting. From this type of dog breed, a smaller "dirt" dog breed was developed, which is a terrier dog that is widely known in the future. Their name "terrier" is derived from the Latin word "terra", which means dirt. Characterized by short legs, strong bodies, hard-working ability, they specialize in finding and catching small prey, and they are the best helpers to control the number of pests such as rats, so they are bred in most human-inhabited areas.
Dog breeds used to herd cattle and sheep must be agile and intelligent, and retain many of the traits inherited from their ancestors, wolves, such as distinguishing weaker animals when hunting.
Large, heavyweight dog breeds are developed to drag heavy loads, protect cattle and sheep from predators such as bears or wolves, or guard farms to prevent animal and human invasions.
The emotions that exist between dogs and humans are not new, and a Turkish shepherd two thousand years ago may treat dogs with no different emotion than today's farmers living in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. However, in the early days, people may not feel a special need for the company of dogs to relieve loneliness, and only a few people can afford a dog that does not need a job for a lifetime.
Pet dogs mostly originated in wealthy regions, such as China or Japan, and the so-called "toy dogs" were raised by the emperor and their court. These dog breeds were discovered and brought back to places like Britain and Europe after Europeans traveled to these countries. Around 500 AD, the Bichshund family began to be established, giving birth to today's curly-haired Bichshund and Poodle minor breeds. Many types of small dogs are also bred in monasteries, and their uses range from companion dogs to caretakers.
Over the centuries, many of today's dog breeds began to take shape. Around 1300 AD, the Black Hound (the ancestor of the Bloodhound) was established in England. In Europe and Asia at the same time, shepherds were beginning to develop – including the ancestors of hungarian orbolis and komondo dogs.
About three-quarters of today's dog breeds have only been bred in the last 300 years. Advances in the range and accuracy of firearms have led to the introduction and improvement of many sports dog breeds today, and with the passage of time, people have shifted interest to multi-purpose dog breeds and toy dog breeds.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the development of dog breeds had been roughly completed, and most of the dog breed improvements were limited to modification, and basically no longer needed hunting and other functions.
Follow me for more pet tips!