New Research Sheds Light On the Evolution of Dogs

Hugh Pickens writes writes "The first dogs descended from wolves about 14,000 years ago but according to Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods humans didn't domesticate dogs — dogs sought out humans and domesticated us. Humans have a long history of eradicating wolves, rather than trying to adopt them which raises the question: How was the wolf tolerated by humans long enough to evolve into the domestic dog? 'The short version is that we often think of evolution as being the survival of the fittest, where the strong and the dominant survive and the soft and weak perish. But essentially, far from the survival of the leanest and meanest, the success of dogs comes down to survival of the friendliest.' Most likely, it was wolves that approached us, not the other way around, probably while they were scavenging around garbage dumps on the edge of human settlements. The wolves that were bold but aggressive would have been killed by humans, and so only the ones that were bold and friendly would have been tolerated. In a few generations, these friendly wolves became distinctive from their more aggressive relatives with splotchy coats, floppy ears, wagging tails. But the changes did not just affect their looks but their psychology. Protodogs evolved the ability to read human gestures. 'As dog owners, we take for granted that we can point to a ball or toy and our dog will bound off to get it,' write Hare and Woods. 'But the ability of dogs to read human gestures is remarkable. Even our closest relatives — chimpanzees and bonobos — can't read our gestures as readily as dogs can. 'With this new ability, these protodogs were worth knowing. People who had dogs during a hunt would likely have had an advantage over those who didn't. Finally when times were tough, dogs could have served as an emergency food supply and once humans realized the usefulness of keeping dogs as emergency food, it was not a huge jump to realize plants could be used in a similar way.' This is the secret to the genius of dogs: It's when dogs join forces with us that they become special," conclude Hare and Woods. 'Dogs may even have been the catalyst for our civilization.'"

Comments

Re:Credit where it's due

[DarkOx]

Not quite useless. In colder climates we call them "Self propelled hot water bottles." Get a good ( a matter of luck mostly ) and it will come when its called.

Cats also can be very effective detection systems. Mine will let me know about a dripping faucet, tree branch that has started rubbing the side the house etc; and anything making a new noise. She is very effective pre-diagnostic tool. Also at least a few times over the past years made her self useful as pest control.

Once last summer I opened the porch door to the outside an a mouse ran in (I think they live in garden ). I called the cat pointed at the mouse. She had it in my hand in 5min. I tossed it back into the garden to go about his business. It was unharmed; well physically anyway I am sure it was traumatic. Had I had to corner that mouse myself I would have been moving tables and generally tearing the place apart. The cat just basically watched it for moment and and then pounced.

Now I will readily concede that a dog could have probably do all these things just as well or better as the cat does; even the mousing. That said the cat is very low maintenance by comparison. I have had both. I don't have to walk the cat, I can leave an little extra food down; if I am not coming home some evening. The cat can handle herself for at least 48 hours. Same goes if you actually want to travel with your pet. Dogs on log (14+ hour) road trips are pain.

Re:NOT from wolves.

[dywolf]

it's not a mystery. Dogs ARE wolves. gray wolves specifically.

the gray wolf as a species is one of the most historically successful of all animals, having at one time ranged across the entire planet, on every landmass, not just the cold northern reaches. one of the few single species that has done so besides humans. and also therefore came into constant contact with humans.

the genetic tests have been done and known for years. canines within the same family can crossbreed (hence some coyote hybridization, but the coyote itself could be a descendent of hte gray wolf), but dogs are subspecies of the gray wolf. dogs and wolves are like the races of man in terms of genetics. they are the same species even if the local populations look rather different.

the "wild dogs" you speak of fall into 2 types:

-most are properly called feral dogs; they are descendents of dogs that left human society. Dingos are the ultimate example, and the only one considered by science to be truly "wild" rather than feral. but it still descended from the wolf via domestication that is has since evolved sufficiently to erase

-there are a few species called "dog" that are NOT descended from any breed of dog, and thus not descended from wolves. they are also not related in any way to the domestic dog. they simply got called "dog".
--the Dhole is most closely related to the Jackel family.
--the african cape hunting dog is a distinct canine lineage, seperate from foxes and wolves and jackals. like the Maned Wolf (also a distinct lineage unrelated to any other) it is essentially the only surviving member of its lineage, the rest having gone extinct millions of years ago. 2nd largest canine in the world, nearly the size of the gray wolf.
--Bush dog is another seperate lineage, closest genetic relative is the Maned Wolf, though the link is very slim, given the large difference between the two, and the fact both are their own lineages. they are simply closer tied to each other, than to the rest of canines
--Short-eared dog: a very early offshoot of the fox lineage, splitting off before the actual foxes came to be