How did dogs and their breeds appear?

The domestic dog biologically belongs to mammals of the order of predators. Researchers are still arguing about who is the progenitor of the dog. While most people believe dogs are domesticated wolves, scientific reasoning is far from straightforward. It should be said right away: the final point in research on this topic has not been set.

The two main theories of the origin of dogs include monophyletic and polyphyletic. The first means that the animal came from one ancestor, while the second suggests that the dog's ancestors were different animals. Researchers who are supporters of monophilia are sure that it is the wild wolf that is the ancestor of the dog. The wolf's skull and outward features are indeed similar to that of a dog, and the process of domestication (domestication) has changed the animal's cranial bones.

According to the evolutionary hypothesis, domestication took place in a specific place, and only then dogs began to settle everywhere on Earth... True, even supporters of monophilia did not agree that the wolf is still the "great-grandfather" of the dog. - some scientists are sure that dogs originated from a coyote or a jackal.

Howbeit, the dog is considered the first domesticated animal. Archaeological excavations made it clear that this happened back in the Stone Age, when people had not yet taken up agriculture and cattle breeding, but a wild animal was hunted. In 1862, on the Swiss lakes, researchers found the remains of a dog, they were attributed to the Neolithic period. It was a small animal, it was called a peat (or marsh) dog.

It is believed that human evolution required evolutionary development from a domesticated beast.As soon as our ancestors began to lead a sedentary lifestyle, as soon as they began to engage in agriculture and cattle breeding, the requirements for a domesticated dog increased. And this was the first impetus to breed breeding.

If you read Lorentz's monograph, you can conclude: all dogs appeared from the wolf and jackal, and there are “jackal” breeds, and there are “wolf” breeds... And this no longer fits into the concept of the monophyletic theory.

1859 was a great year for world natural science and science in general. Charles Darwin presented the world with the work "The Origin of Species", in which he outlined the theory of natural selection. In particular, it says the following about dogs: they were selected according to the artificial principle, the key force of selection was people who abducted wolf cubs from the den and then tamed them. This point of view led to the conclusion: people united with wolves in a mutually beneficial alliance, from the human side they used the mind, from the side of the wolf - the skills of a predator.

But if you read the work of the researcher carefully, we can say that Darwin shared the polyphyletic hypotheses. To be more precise, Darwin allowed polyphilia. Domestic dog breeds in specific countries are similar to wild representatives of the genus Canis. But today it is unreasonable to rely only on Darwin in studies of the origin of dogs. The researcher himself could not know much, since at that time systematics and history were not sufficiently developed to draw confident conclusions.

The polyphyletic theory actually has more adherents. Its supporters, who have more argumentation and scientific substantiation than Darwin at one time, suggest that a kayoto-like representative of the ancient animal world could have become the ancestor of the dog, but interspecific hybridization was not at all excluded. However, they agree with Darwin on the main point: there was an artificial selection, the main criterion of which was an increase in loyalty to a person.

Researchers today look more broadly, but more cautiously, at the question of the origin of the dog. So, more and more often in the scientific press, works began to appear, indicating that the wolf and the dog are not at all an ancestor and descendant, but, to be more precise, "cousins." Found that they separated from the common progenitor in the interval of 11-34 thousand years ago. This particular theory is being developed by the scientist Adam Friedman and his associates from the Chicago laboratory.

To come to such conclusions, experts examined the genomes of a number of dog breeds from areas where wolves do not live today. Wolves, on the other hand, have been genetically studied those that live in places where the domestication of dogs supposedly started. As an external group (this means, a species close to the one that is being investigated), they took ordinary jackals.

So experts suggested that at a certain historical moment (when exactly is unknown) wolves and dogs detached themselves from a common ancestor, but did not lose the ability to interbreed with each other. And these crosses, probably, led scientists to a false idea, because initially geneticists decided that the wolf genes in a dog are evidence of the formation of a dog from a wolf. Californian scientists, who also conducted research on the same topic, agreed with their Chicago colleagues.So, today, the opinion of the scientific community, although sometimes divided, tends to the fact that dogs and wolves are not direct relatives.

Interestingly, modern researchers were able to identify an important point: the percentage of produced amylase (an enzyme that helps in the processing of starch) in dogs is produced in greater quantities. Only Siberian huskies and dingoes have less enzyme than wolves. This is direct evidence that dogs domesticated by man included plant foods in their diet.

The process of dog domestication is no less interesting. The most likely period in history when the socialization of the animal took place is the border of the Upper Neolithic and Mesolithic, that is, about 15 thousand years ago. Assuming that a person took a predatory animal to tame it, the scenarios for this taming were still different. More precisely, the person himself was not always the initiator. It is believed that in certain areas, individuals tolerant to humans appeared in wolf packs. It sounds implausible, but scientists do not repudiate this version.

The experiment with foxes by Dmitry Belyaev became interesting for science (and very valuable). At one Siberian fur farm, Belyaev conducted an experiment for several decades, designed to answer the main questions of animal domestication. The scientist is no longer there, and his followers are continuing his research.

What is the essence of the study: at the fur farm for breeding red foxes, Belyaev had 2 populations. In the first, foxes were selected randomly, without reference to certain qualities. But in the second group, the hit was organized by conducting a special test. Seven-month-old cubs were tested for their relationship with a person: a person approached the cage, tried to touch the animal, to come into contact with it. If the fox showed aggression, fear, it was not included in the experimental sample.

The result of the experiment confirmed the long-standing guesses of scientists: after several generations of such a selection, a group of animals that have undergone domestication is formed. This means that the ancient man also, probably, selected animals loyal to him. And so the dog appeared.

Interesting Domestication Facts:

• numerous genetic analyzes have shown: the homeland of the ancient dog is Europe, not India (as was thought before);
• an animal that later became a domestic animal could come to a person to smell food, from these visits the person gained benefit;
• it probably took more than one century for a wild animal to become a dog, but today the process of domestication is faster, since the breeding rules are clearly regulated;
• Academician Pavlov believed that it was the dog that made man a man, partly she led him to a settled lifestyle, and even to cattle breeding and agriculture;
• domestication is not equal to domestication, the former preceded the latter.

Inseparable from this question, the essence of which is - selection, and the question of the emergence of dog breeds.

Today, there are about 4 hundred officially registered dog breeds in the world. The first dogs were, one might say, versatile, performed different functions, they took one dog for hunting, but another for the shepherd's service. So people noticed that animals cope with their duties in different ways, they began to single out those who better protect or hunt. The first division of dogs appeared: guard and hunting dogs appeared.

Subsequently, the similarities and differences in the exterior also became the reason for the separation of the dogs. The target use of the dog was also narrowed by humans: among hunting breeds, hounds, burrows, and cops appeared. Each breed was bred with a definite, completely clear purpose.

Heredity and variability are properties of genes that genetics studies, and these properties help a person to breed a breed according to given qualities... For example, to hunt burrowing animals, a man brought out a dachshund - short legs and an extended format were supposed to help the dachshund get the animal out of the hole. The shortened paws could be obtained due to chondrodystrophy - individuals with this ailment interbred with each other, and the desired trait was fixed.

The process of the formation of new breeds is still going on. For example, the Russian steppe greyhound was formed only in the second half of the last century as an aboriginal breed. Breeds in a sense live their own lives: some disappear, others appear. For this reason UNESCO has declared existing breeds of domestic animals to be the heritage of mankind. Naturally, the attitude to selection and breeding has been criticized by animal rights activists for many years: some of them consider the actions of the breeders to be fascist.

This question lies in the ethical plane. On the one hand, a person really, in his own interests, conducts experiments on animals, carries out interbreeding and selection, rejects the weak. Animal rights activists consider dog shows, competitions to be mockery of animals and inhuman opposition of a strong creature to a weak one.

On the other hand, a dog is not just a friend of man, it is a domesticated animal that can live with and serve man. To this end, she was tamed and domesticated, and for a dog - the meaning of life is to be near the owner and serve him. And this means that a person has the moral right to engage in selection and breeding of breeds. Disputes are ongoing, and will continue for a long time, since the truth is somewhere in between. One thing is clear for sure: if you have a dog, you are responsible for it, and you have no right to cancel this responsibility.

No matter what breed the dog is, no matter what circumstances push you to refuse the dog, from the day she appeared at your home, you have no right to betray her.

You will learn about the history of the origin of dogs in the video below.