Doggie Style

Doggie style. Do our canine friends, the dogs, deserve all the credit here? Do we humans learn from dogs just as the dogs learn from us? I believe you biology/history buffs out there will enjoy evolutionary history of man's best friend. Let's narrow things down a bit: The kingdom, Animalia; phylum, Chordata; class, Mammalia; order, Carnivora; family, Canidae; and finally the genus, Canis. "Where does this leave us?" you might ask...well this would be the split between familiaris (dog) and lupus (wolf). Dogs and wolves are not only similar physically, but they also have a few behavioral characteristics between the two. For example, they are very social animals. I'm not saying you should start a conversation with a grey wolf anytime soon, but they live in packs for a reason. Dogs don't necessarily work together for the hunt like their cousins, the wolves, would. In fact, they may fight each other off just to get a dead bird. Dogs, however, work a little better with humans. Their domestication is the big separator between grey wolves and dogs.


Their similarities are not a coincidence as some of you may know. In fact, all dogs that we know and love today come from the grey wolf. This is just the beginning of dog ancestry. So where do the grey wolves come from? Well, wolves and dogs, along with jackals, foxes and coyotes are all a part of the group called the Canids. Canids were much different back 35 million years ago. Their were more than 40 species ranging in their morphology. Some look like hyenas, others like cats, and even a few were more like bears. The carnivorous family, which includes the dogs, goes back at least another 20 million years. The animal I am speaking about is none other than the Miacis. The Miacis were a very diverse species ranging in shape and size but for the most part, had a dog-like appearance to them. They were most likely forest dwellers, feeding on insects, eggs and even small mammals. So, in case you haven't realized, we may need to start changing the name of doggie style to Miacis-style. A little much, I would agree, but it's only fair considering they were around first.

Miacis

 Now that we found out how it started, let's recap quickly: Miacis was the early ancestors to the group of carnivores, the canids, from which the grey wolves come from and are the ancestors to all domesticated dogs. This brings us back to about 15,000 years ago when experts believed wolves and dogs separated. (By "separation," I mean they became domesticated.) It's up for debate on how this domestication of dogs all started. Some believe man hunted dog as a food source and took home the litters of puppies to raise and train. Others think it was the dog that would tolerate the humans enough to sneak around their settlements and eat the scraps. Either way, it's easy to see that both man and dog have benefited from this relationship. Not only were the dogs getting shelter and food from man, but the dogs act similarly to the way many dogs do today. Some were guard dogs, protecting the home from predators, not to mention they were already the best hunters and could hear prey miles away, which allows man to hunt more easily. This connection between humans and dogs began happening all over the world in a short time frame. Dogs are a diverse species and have evolved to adapt to just about any environment.

References

"Dog." Life Of Dog. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

"Dog Wallpaper 18." Wallpapermint. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

"Miacis (extinct Mammal Genus)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Crivello, Jacqueline. "Timber Wolves." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 13 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Rose, Autumn L. "The Differences and Similarities Between Dogs and Wolves."EzineArticles. SparkNET, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Strauss, Bob. "Prehistoric Dogs - The Story of Dog Evolution." About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

White, Simon. "One Man and His Dog." Flickr. Yahoo!, 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.