When Were Dogs Domesticated?

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, giant mammoths still roamed the earth. The world was covered with dense forests. Men lived in caves. They dressed with the skin of wild beasts. The dog became man’s friend.

The dog followed Alien on their hunting expeditions. Men would hunt and the dog shared the kill. The instinct for companionship in the dog made him adopt man as his leader. The man trained the dog to help them in the hunt. The dogs carried loads and guarded firesides. This happened during the period, for which we have no recorded evidence. This is guesswork. We find in caves the bones of primitive dogs lying close to those of men. It happened in Stone Age.

The history of dogs dates back to hundreds of thousands of years. It cannot very exactly be traced. The scientists believe that the mating of jackals and wolves gave us dogs. Other scientists believe that some dogs descended from wolves, other dogs from jackals, another from coyotes, and some from foxes. A widely held theory is that modern dogs. and the wolves descended from a very remote common ancestor.

This theory explains the difference in size, appearance, species of various breeds of dogs and also throws light on their habits. A dog normally burns around three times before settling down to sleep. It may be for the reason that his remote ancestors had to beat down a nest in the forest leaves or jungle grasses. The build of their bodies is another evidence of their wild ancestor. This is naturally adapted for strength and speed. They have been scent and quick hearing qualities as well. All these qualifies collectively put together make us believe that these were the first essentials when they were wild hunters.

Since the time, permanent records have been about man’s history, the dog has been mentioned. Egyptian tombs as old as 5,000 years show pictures of dogs. The Egyptians even considered the animal as sacred. The entire family mourned the death of a dog. The dog has been loved and respected by most people in the world. There are certain exceptions too. The Hindus still consider the day unclear and the Mohammedans despise dogs.