Domestication of dogs: causes, effects, evolution, how did domestication changes the dogs. Before going into the subject, it seems prudent to define what domestication consists of. Domestication means using wild animals and plants to meet basic human needs such as protection, food, and transportation. An Example of this is cattle of Africa, goats, sheep. But dogs are the primary and essential factor of domestication. Man has always used the thing which he likes. It also means that the use of animals for your benefit.Now, let’s get down to business.
It is said that dogs evolved from wolves between 27,000 and 40,000 years ago. The name of the oldest known dog is burial. It is said that dogs were stably taken as pets more than 14,200 years ago. Dogs may become pets of our ancestors because our ancestors have more meat than they could eat quickly. They often hunt more than their needs or capacity.
Maybe they share this extra meat with wolves during long ice winters. It attracts these wolves to the hunters and towards man. It is said that the domestication of dogs started in Eurasia, Central Asia, and East Asia. When the population increases and man begins to develop relations with wild animals like boar, cows, sheep, goats, etc. The domestic action of the dogs is one of the miraculous moments in human history.
The fossil shows that the oldest domestic dog was about 14,000 years old. Scientists disagree on dating because they think that domestication dates can go into the past. Research of evolutionary ecologists Krishna R Veeramah, from the University, stony brook, with his colleagues, collects and samples the DNA of two dogs’ fossils. The tracing dates from these genomes were different from the first one. The new dates were 7,000 to 4,700 years old.
Another research of nature communication states that dogs were domesticated from 20000 to 40000 years ago. there are almost five ancestral lineages that say pretty different about the domestication of dogs; some say that if we looked by the closest ice age 11,700 years ago, they present five different samples about dog domestication, which are given below, the sample found in levant is 7,000 years, in Karelia 10,900 years before present, in lake Baikal 7,000 years before present, and in North America, they found sample 4,000 years before present
Causes of dogs domestication
There are many reasons for dog domestication. The modern expert thinks that people may take wolf kids from their holes or caves; later, they trained and fed these tiny cubs in their homes. All this happened with the rise of agriculture about 10,000 years ago.
Experts think wolves evolved themselves; it occurred when man lived in villages during the ice age at least 15000 years ago. Many fossils prove that when the villages’ rapid expansion occurred, wolves came near the human villages for food during cold winters. It is said that when these dogs depend on the hunters, then passive wolves may steal more food.
This process increased, and these wolves made progress and became very friendly to the humans as dogs. About 20,000 years Europe was an icy and dangerous place. Due to the lack of prey, they have to depend on humans in such a dangerous and cold place.
Domestication of animals, especially dogs, is considered one of the most critical transactions in human history. And this process occurred more than 15,000 years ago between wolves and hunter-gatherers. It is said that the dog was the first and largest carnivore who became domesticated in human history. With the increase of agriculture in human history, the domestication of dogs also increased.
Effects of dog domestication
Dogs have been man’s best friends since. Dogs always remain hopeful and faithful to humans; they help the man in solving many difficulties. There are 400 million dogs all over the world. They are divided into more than 400 known species or breeds.
Dogs have a strong and historical relationship with humans. They have changed their behaviour and appearance, made very many variations in their colour, size, and shape. Dogs are morphologically diverse mammalian species. These domestic dogs have been the best friends of humans for the last 15000 years ago.
The dog is a faithful animal. Its faithfulness and love with its owner can not be measured with any other domestic animal. They help for thousands of years, and they help us as good guides; dogs are the best hunters and help man in many hunting activities; they work with the man as a shepherd and a protector because they have always protected the man.
Man and dog are best friends forever. They have solid emotional relations. Domestication is beneficial for dogs because they are in horrible condition before it becomes domestic, especially during long winter seasons. They are in terrible shape for food. When a man gives food to the wolf, they become human friends. They read human signals in a better way and more than other pets like chimpanzees. All these good qualities made dogs the best friend of humans.
Evolution of the dogs
It is said that dogs evolved from grey wolves. Today dogs have 400 different breeds. Man has played an essential role in evolution by fulfilling dogs’ basic needs in winter or unfavourable conditions. First of all, dogs were hunters with fast sight and a sense of smell. Man developed these dogs for his benefit and by crossing different species and producing new breeds for his needs or desires.
There are different kinds of dogs in other parts of the world, but their characteristics like loyalty, faithfulness, and protectiveness are the same worldwide; in western society, dogs have an essential status due to their characters. In old times in Egypt, dogs were considered holy. From ancient times these dogs were used for different purposes.
Man used them as a guard, protector, hunter. In the past, dogs were used as food in many countries of the world. It is proven that dogs evolved from wolves. And scientists think that the first evolution occurred in northern Eurasia between 27,000 and 29,000 years ago.
It is said that wolves become self-domestic by adopting the traits of humans and by eating the remaining food by the hunters that they left behind after prey. In this way, dogs come near and near to humans and start a new period.
The evolution of dogs has taken thousands of years to occur. The dogs and wolves lived in the same region for thousands of years there; they breed with each other, slowly changing their traits and changing genetically by each other. It is also said that some dog species also evolved from the jackal. These species of dogs can be found in Africa.
Timeline about the domestication of dogs
The exact timing of the domestication of dogs is still unknown. But some genetic proof indicates that dogs were split from their wolf forefather between 27,000 and 40,000 years ago. But the oldest found skull of the dog was 14,200 years ago. And believe that they were taken as pets by then. It is proof that the domestication of dogs occurred in northern Eurasia between 14,000 and 29,000 years ago.
How did domestication changes the dogs
Many domestic animals, including dogs, have quite different qualities and traits, differentiating them from their wild ancestors. These traits change in fur colour and appearance, the shape of ear and tail, its length and bow, change in eye colour and facial structures, wolves mostly howl while dogs bark their feet and nails are different from each other, the sitting style and walking style are also unlike the dogs from wolves. The cubs of the dogs are different from their old ancestors.
These are some main traits that make dogs different from their wild wolf ancestors. The variation of genes and DNA also differentiate the dogs from wolves. Behaviour change is the most important for any domestication. Dogs mate with wolves for thousands of years, and this has taken a very long time to change the behaviour of dogs that evolved from wolves. These produced more animals, and with time the behaviour became more friendly with humans.
It takes a long period to change a wild creature into a domestic animal. Today dog has become an essential part of human life. Now they are becoming so trained that they could not survive mostly without humans. Nowadays, they depend on a man for food, shelter, and survival. And all these services provide them without any effort. If dogs were left in the wild, maybe they would survive but very poorly.
Food of the dogs
Food is essential for living for both animals and humans. It is impossible to survive without food. The dog food will change from doggy to doggy. But remember that the food you will give your dog must be full of nutrition necessary for health. You can connect with your veterinary doctor for the best food for your dog. Always choose food according to the stage of your dog. Give food to you according to weight, height, and age. Meat is the favourite food of dogs. You can feed them artificial food which is full of nutrition.
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