The Evolution of the Dog
Not long after the age of dinosaurs concluded, about 55 million years ago, a family of small weasel-like species existed (They might have even lived in trees!). These Miacidae are the ancestors of many mammals living today including cats, dogs, weasels and even seals! Fast forward 10 million years to discover the first true member of the dog family, a fox sized creature who called the southwestern United States his home.
About 500,000 years ago the first gray wolves evolved in Europe and Asia. about 40,000 years ago the wolf branch of canid traveled to the americas eventually becoming the dogs we love today. Obviously, the jump from 40,000 year ago gray wolf to 2022 teacup poodle is more complex than this simple blog explantion, but it is pretty neat to think about the long long evolution of some of our best friends.
The domestication of wolves and the timing is largely debated. The two main schools of thoughts are either humans captured wolves, bred them and trained the friendliest ones to help them hunt, or wolves scavenged off early human groups with the friendliest ones eventually being adopted into the community. Perhaps, and most likely a combination of both these things happened, humans and wolves coexisted and collaborated on hunts and survival in ways that was beneficial to them both.
Today there are more than 4oo recognized dog breeds that come is all sorts of shapes and sizes. Follow along in the coming weeks to get a more in depth look at some of our favorite breeds!
