This infographic details the long standing relationship between dog, wolf and man. Though no-one knows for sure, this infographic details the popular theory that humans domesticated wolves by feeding them and raising groups of wolf cubs. Wolf pups would then grow to be more comfortable around humans. Semi-tame wolves would have brought a great deal of value to human groups, acting as hunting companions and instinctively alerting the group to danger or prey.
Having adapted to a diet richer in starches, these wolf pups would have been selected and bred to encourage or reduce certain traits in their offspring (e.g. their size, acuity or aggressivenesss). The result over thousands of years is the amazingly diverse selection of dog breeds we know and love today.
The infographic also shares interesting research data from the kennel club on ownership statistics over the last 100 years (a trend away from ‘working dogs to companion animals) along with some insight on why man’s best friend excels at interpreting human behavior. You can see the original post on invisiblefence.com here.
The Evolution of the Dog – An infographic by the team at InvisibleFence.com