The Encyclopedia of the
Dog
by Bruce Fogle, D.V.M.
INTRODUCTION
For thousands of years the dog's closest relative,
the wolf, followed human groups and scavenged from the remains
of their kills. However, when our distant ancestors settled into
semipermanent homesites, something unique in the history of evolution
occurred. One intelligent social carnivore actively chose to
live in close proximity to another. So began a fruitful relationship
that still exists today. It is so frequently written that it
has become cliche, but it is true — the dog is our best
friend. Without its help in protecting campsites, assisting on
the hunt, guarding our flocks, and pulling our loads, we probably
would not have evolved in the way that we have. It is also unlikely
that we would have survived in many parts of the world.
As the most dominant
and powerful species in the world, we naturally assume that our
ancestors actively chose to domesticate the wolf and create the
obedient canine. It is more likely that, like the domestic cat,
the dog is self-domesticated, that 1,000 generations ago, its
ancestors were adaptable enough to see the advantages of living
in the territory that surrounded semipermanent human campsites.
The dog invaded this new ecological niche, and with time its
fear and distrust of humans diminished. The relationship began
well over 15,000 years ago, and by 12,000 years ago the modified
wolf — what we now call the dog — had evolved. Smaller
than the wolf, the primitive dog also had a head that was more
domed and more puppy-like than that of the wolf, and teeth that
were smaller and more crowded. it was more playful, more obedient,
and even had a shorter intestinal tract than the wolf.
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MIGRATIONS
OF THE DOG'S ANCESTORS
While the ancestors of today's carnivores were
evolving in North America, similar carnivore evolution was occurring
in Eurasia. A group of carnivores called Amphicyon dominated
Eurasia for millions of years — the Cynodictis was
once thought to be an ancestor of the dog, but the Amphicyon
probably died out, leaving the Hesperocyon, a member of
another family, to develop into today's carnivores. A canine
(Canis davisi) evolved from this genus 10 million years
ago, and migrated across the Bering land bridge, radiating throughout
Asia, Europe, and Africa. During the next eight million years,
it spread throughout Eurasia, diverging into the ancestors of
today's canines. Having completed this evolution, several of
the new species returned to North America.
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PRIMITIVE
DOGS
The label "primitive" is an arbitrary
one applied to a small group of dogs that are descended from
the Indian Plains Wolf, Canis lupus pallipes. Some members of
this group, such as the Dingo, the Carolina Dog and New Guinea
Singing Dog, are genuinely primitive, in that they are at an
early or at least an arrested stage of domestication. others,
such as the Mexican Hairless and Basenji, although they are descended
from the same root stock, have been dramatically affected by
human intervention in their breeding.
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FIRST
MIGRATIONS
Experts are quite certain that wandering humans
spread out of southwestern Asia between 10,000 and 15,000 years
ago, accompanied by pariah dogs The dog had reached the Middle
East and North Africa at least 5,000 years ago, through migration
and trade. Images of the oldest recorded breed, the Pharaoh Hound,
grace the tombs of ancient Egyptian pharaohs. This dog was probably
a, descendant of the breed known as the Phoenician Hound the
Phoenicians traded dogs throughout the Mediterranean, introducing
the breeds that are today known as the Canaan Dog, Cirneco dell'Etna,
and Ibizan Hound.
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EARLY
EVOLUTION
Dogs eventually spread into the heart of Africa,
and although the Basenji is the only primitive African breed
commonly recognized today, there were until recently many other
similar breeds. The Liberian Dog, a terrier-like, neat, small,
reddish brown dog evolved in West Africa. In Kenya, the East
African Dog, a larger, more powerfully muzzled dog, found a niche
as a scavenger and hunter's companion. The Bagirmi Dog was of
similar size and shape to the East African Dog; the Bantu Dog,
which was used for hunting and as a watchdog, was much more slender,
with a pointed muzzle. In South Africa, the small, powerful,
fawn-colored, square-muzzled Zulu Dog also acted as a guard and
hunter. In Zaire, the pygmies kept the long-headed, prick-eared
Bush Dog, and the Hottentots owned a bushy tailed, spitz-like
breed. The fox-like Kabyle, or Douar Dog, acted as a herder and
guard, while the ring-tailed, longer limbed Baganda Dog functioned
as a pack dog. All of these related breeds existed in pure form
until this century. While some pariah dogs migrated westward,
others accompanied people as they journeyed eastward. Many accompanied
humans as they traversed the land bridge to the Americas, across
what are now the Bering Straits. A number of these Asian pariah
dogs interbred with North American Wolves, but fossil records
indicate that unsullied, distinctly Dingo-like dogs spread first
to the southwest of North America, to what is now Arizona, and
then on to the southeast, to what are now the states of Georgia
and South Carolina. The Canadian Tahltan Bear Dog, which became
extinct only recently, might be part of that chain.
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