The dog is our oldest and most trusted domesticated partner of all animals.The friendship between man and dog has been around for 14,000 years.Scientists think people have taken the wolf into their early community about 14,000 years ago.That was good for both parties: the wolf lent the man his fantastic senses and his hunting and spelling properties and the people ensured that the wolf had easy access to the most precious commodity: food.When the wolf learned to live in the immediate. closeness to man, he evolved into a different kind of animal.He was no longer dependent on hunting and killing other animals for his food.He adjusted his behavior so that it was accepted by the people he lived with.Because his diet changed from raw meat to leftovers from the people's meal, his skull and his teeth became smaller compared to the rest of his body.His brain volume also decreased.
Slowly but surely the wolf became the first animal species that was domesticated by humans.The wild animal became a tame animal: Canis lupus became Canis familiaris.By selective breeding the dog has become the animal of which there are the most varieties on our planet.People have crossed over the centuries dogs with certain traits and certain talents, so that they have in fact bred hybrids.Because of the differences between those dogs you can clearly see what people needed, what they liked and what was in fashion.Dogs have been bred as specialists in all kinds of areas, from haunting game to bringing back shot birds, from guarding houses to guiding the blind.Their DNA and even the structure of their skeletons have remained the same as those of the wolf, but among the dog breeds we now know, we find all conceivable shapes and sizes.
But while some dogs, such as the Siberian Husky and the Alaskan Malamute, are close to the prototype of the species, other breeds show little similarity to their ancestors.You certainly would not say that the Miniature Poodle and the old English Sheepdog are descended from a common ancestor.
