The origin of dogs: history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Four-legged friends are an integral part of our life. It is difficult to imagine how humanity would live without such faithful helpers. The origin of dogs is a question to which there is still no clear answer. There are a huge number of versions, more than a thousand genetic experiments and examinations have been carried out, but the question remains open. Let's try to understand the existing hypotheses and find out why there are so many secrets around the domestication of our four-legged friends.

Evolutionary theory

A dog is a carnivorous mammal of the canine family. According to evolutionary theory, in the first epoch of the Paleogene period - the Paleocene (about 50 million years ago), there already existed a detachment of carnivores, which, in turn, was divided into two suborders: cat-like and canine. One of the first representatives of the second suborder is considered such an animal as progesterocion. Having carefully studied itfossil remains, we can conclude that it looked like a dog: a wide mouth, sharp fangs, high paws, a long body. Over time, this suborder was divided into three more groups.

The first group included representatives of the descendants of the progesperocion, the second - the family of borophages, and the third - wolves. It is the last family and the origin of dogs that are closely related, because, according to evolutionary theory, our four-legged friends descended from wolves.

Character Darwin's Assumptions

Charcoal Darwin's expeditions on the ship "Beagle" allowed him to travel to different countries. He, like no one else, studied the origin of dogs and tried to find out the truth. Charles Darwin established an interesting pattern, which consisted in the fact that dog breeds in certain territories are very similar in their external features to the representatives of the Wolves genus living there. So, for example, in one region, a domestic dog was very similar to foxes living in the same region, and in another - to jackals. Dog breeds similar to local predators actually lived in various territories.

So, some scientists believe that the origin of dogs is due to the fact that, as part of uncontrolled breeding, various animals were crossed: foxes, wolves, jackals, coyotes (since each representative has 39 pairs of chromosomes, they can indeed have a hybrid generation). As a result, each breed had common features of similarity with one or another species, but at the same time differed significantly. From him. Indeed, some breeds are very similar to foxes, and some to jackals. And if we add selection and artificial selection to this, then perhaps the origin of dog breeds is connected precisely with the crossing of animals of the same family.

Alternative viewpoint

Despite the fact that the dog still belongs to the species Wolves, some scientists believe that it is descended from the "proto-dog". Perhaps 30-40 million years ago there was another order of predators, which is the progenitor of the domestic dog. There is evidence that the remains of ancient animals similar to dogs were found in the excavations. However, there is no scientific basis and evidence for this point of view.

Canine phenotype and dog breeding

As we have already found out, the history of the origin of dogs has not been fully studied. It is difficult to say with absolute certainty who they came from. But even more interesting lies in artificial selection and selection. There are about four hundred different breeds of dogs. They differ in height, weight, color, shape of ears and tail, and many other markers of domestication.

An activity whose main purpose is to breed and improve dog breeds is called dog breeding. Selective selection is primarily based on the purpose of breeding a particular breed of dog. There are three directions: decorative, hunting and service. There are certain requirements for everyone: weight, height, head, muzzle, nose, etc.

Interesting information

The mosta small breed of dog is, of course, a chihuahua. One of its representatives Boo Boo weighs 600 grams and has a height of 10 centimeters. Chuhuahua is a cute companion animal. They are very shy, curious and observant. But the largest dog (a breed of Great Dane) - Zeus, has a height of 110 cm and a weight of about 70 kg. This giant dog breed is very kind and playful, but only towards the owners. Representatives of this species are often trained as bodyguards.

The origin of the word "dog" is also covered in many secrets and mysteries. In Russian, it appeared in the 12th century. There are a huge number of versions about the origin of this word. Someone believes that it comes from the Turkic "kobyak", which translates as "domesticated predatory animal." Over time, the Slavs turned it into the more easily pronounced "dog". A more scientific version, favored by scholars such as Miller and Vasmer, is that the word "dog" comes from the Iranian sabāka, which translates as "quick". Until the 12th century, the animal was called "dog" or "hort". Moreover, it is interesting that "dog" was used for dogs with thick hair, but "hort", on the contrary, for smooth-haired breeds.