HISTORY OF THE Dog By Millymo12
The dog is a part of a family of similar animals that includes wolfs, jackals, dingos and the African Hunting dog, that all share conman characteristics. Many of these animals have been claimed to be the domestic dogs wild ancestor but the exact origins of the domestic dog and domestication history remain uncertain. Palaeontologists and archaeologists are sure that the small weasel-like animal Miacis is the ancestor of the canids family as well as other families such as the bear, raccoons, civets, hyenas and cats. From Miacis evolved Cynodicts, a dog like animal from which later evolved the dog family. All canids have similar characteristics – they give birth to live young, have similar dental structures, walk on their toes rather than soles and are homoeothermic (able to maintain their body temperature at a constant level). Dogs have been represented in art for many years with the earliest sculptures found in Iraq and dating back to 6500 BC. Dog bones have been found dated at around 8300 BC in the USA, 7500 BC in the UK with similar
finds in Czechoslovakia. One thing is certain, the domestic dog spread spread rapidly all over the world. The dogs natural hunting instincts have been used by humans over the years to hunt a variety of prey in different environments and this led to the development of different groups of dogs, and ultimately to different dog breeds. “Sight Hounds” or “Gaze Hounds” were an early group of dogs developed whose characteristics included a deep chest, long legs and a keen sense of sight. These dogs were used to spot prey from a distance and then to sprint swiftly and silently to run down the prey in open, treeless countries. From this group dog breeds such as the Afghan, Suluki and Greyhound emerged. Hunting dogs were also developed, mostly in Britain, to hunt burrowing prey such as badgers, foxes and rabbits, and to control many types of vermin. These dogs needed to be feisty and energetic and so the group of dogs know as Terriers were developed. Most breeds of Terrier descended from the Old English Black and Tan Terrier and the White English Terrier, both now extinct. Over the years two distinct types of Terrier developed: smaller earth terriers with short legs who would go to ground after badgers, foxes and rabbits and larger terriers for hunting otters, water rats and wildlife that lived near rivers and around farms. Today many breeds of Terrier exist and there include the Fox Terrier, Welsh Terrier,
Airedale Terrier and West Highland White Terrier. Following the invention of the gun, dogs with sensitive noses were developed to locate and indicate the location prey, to flush out prey or retrieve prey once shot which required a soft mouth. For this purpose Pointers and Retrievers were developed. Although hunting has been responsible for the development of many dog breeds, dogs were also used to aid humans in protecting and working with other domesticated animals kept by man and so guard dogs and herding dogs were developed. In addition breeds were also developed to aid humans in other activities such as sled dogs, was dogs, dogs of burden, guide and rescue dogs and toy dogs developed as small companion dogs. As a result of the wide diversity of roles in which the dog has been selectively bred to perform over the years many different breed of dog emerged throughout the world and exist today.