THE ORIGIN OF DOGS

Where did man's best friend come from...

10 000 - 40 000 years ago

Domestication from the 'Late Pleitoscene Wolf' is believed to have started

THE GREY WOLF - dogs closest living ancestor

The extinct 'Late Pleitoscene Wolf' is the ancestor to both the grey wolf and dog

Domestication

Opportunistic wolves scavenged and followed humans. Eating scraps of left over foods. Friendlier wolves became favored as humans noticed the benefits of having them around.

Selective breeding

As humans started selecting for friendlier, trainable, protective and loyal companions. The domestic dog arose.

19th Century

By this time, dog breeders were formalized and boomed. Breeders bred for aesthetics or work-related traits or both. Character traits and physical traits became grouped. There are around 450 known breeds of dogs.

Closest breeds to their wolf ancestor

Siberian Husky Alaskan Husky Alaskan Malamute Basenji

From wolf to pug

This process did not occur over night. After thousands of years of selective breeding for desirable traits, there are many breeds of dog.