The Dog  

A Thousand Facts About Your Dog.

  And The Wolf 

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    Updated: 06/08/10 13:21      

The Dog

Species Canis familiaris

A domesticated mammal of the family Canidae, of the order Carnivora

It is closely related to Wild Dogs, Wolves, Foxes, Dingoes, Hyenas and Jackals and may have well evolved from the Wolf.

The dog is one of the two most common and popular domestic animals in the world, the other being the moggy, or domestic cat.

The dog has evolved, or been bred from similar, that is other fur-bearing mammals into more than 700 distinct domestic breeds; ironically, though not known by Early Man, dogs and humans share 74% of their DNA, and once about three hundred million years ago during the Devonian period, had the same ancestor, or were indeed the same animal.

For up to 100,000 years the dog, or the wolf, has been involved with, or actually lived with mankind, as food, fur, a hunting companion, protector, object of disrespect, or adoration, and of course as a friend.

Although details about the evolution of dogs are uncertain, the first dogs were natural hunters with keen senses of sight and smell, and they ran in packs. For the first few thousand years, humans may have first followed hunting wolf-packs and then stole the kill that they had made.  No doubt they would have killed wolves as well for food, as wolves must have also killed humans. It is just a natural progression that Early Man would have taken in lone dogs into their camp, just because they could, and also due to the fact that dogs are very social creatures and hate to be alone.

Humans played the main role then, in creating canines that fulfil distinct tailored needs. By utilising the most basic forms of genetic engineering, and or quite complex mixing, dogs have been bred to accentuate or emphasize size, strength, colors, instincts, and talents. Traits that was obvious to some, from their earliest encounters with humans.

 It has been said that all domestic dogs stem from one pregnant female, that wandered into some ancient camp over 100,000 years ago; studies have traced back the matrilineal descent or Mitochondrial DNA of domestic dogs that not only lead back to wolves, but also just to that one female.

Some dogs are subservient by nature, whilst other are sometimes aggressively destined to be the pack leader; humans may well have killed an aggressive dog but could have invited a calm dog into their midst. Humans then inadvertently developed the various traits and created new breeds as need or desire arose. This occurrence would have been the very first action to the domestication of many animals, such as cattle and sheep.

Man at first must have just tolerated the intrusion. Later they found that they could use the dogs as an early warning system and as valuable guards against attacking marauders, such as the Neanderthals, or even other more ferocious predators such as large cats, or bears.

They were also obviously developed into companions of sorts, baby-sitters even and of course food. The dogs first came to scavenge and were either greeted openly, suspiciously or chased off.  When both parties reached some amiable point of toleration, the dog began its domestication. However, these wolf-like creatures were wild animals and in the early days, it must have been clearly a love-hate relationship.

The first real step to domestication was developed with Early Man’s relationship with puppies; any young animal’s first line in defence is that they look cute, a bear would not have bothered with this, but a cute subservient little bundle of fur was a great amusement to the people of the time. The aggressive puppy though was probably dealt a deadly blow and fed to his siblings, or older dogs. This inadvertently moved servile domestication further along the road to what we have today. Any aggressive attributes were killed off with the dog, a dog with happy genes lived to love another day.

A group of scientists recently took Wild Dogs from Africa, and bred them. All puppies that showed any sign of aggression were returned to the wild, all lees or non aggressive puppies were kept to breed on. Within about 10 generations this new species of Wild Dog was as placid as the next domestic dog of today. The wild had simply been bred out.

Dogs are regarded differently in different parts of the world. Western civilization has given the relationship between human and dog great importance, but, in some of the developing nations and in many areas of Asia, dogs are not held in the same esteem.

In some areas of the world, dogs are used as guards or beasts of burden or even for food, some people ill-treat dogs without thought and have no comprehension of cruelty, whereas, in the United States and Europe, dogs are protected and admired. In ancient Egypt during the days of the Pharaohs, dogs were considered to be sacred, and thus worshipped.

Characteristics of loyalty, friendship, protectiveness, and affection have earned dogs an important position in Western society, particularly the United States and Europe. Their care and feeding has become a multibillion-dollar business.

Dogs have played an important role in the history of human civilization and were the first domesticated animal. They were important in hunter-gatherer societies as hunting allies and bodyguards against predators. When livestock were eventually domesticated about 7,000 to 9,000 years ago, dogs served as herders and guardians of sheep, goats, and cattle. And today, even if a herding dog has never before seen a sheep, he will still naturally have that herding instinct.

Today, dogs are employed as guides for the blind and deaf; they are used to assist the disabled and helping in police work. Dogs are even used for therapy in nursing homes, and hospitals to encorage patients toward recovery.

Humans have bred a wide range of different dogs adapted to serve a variety of functions. This has been enhanced by improvements in veterinary care and animal husbandry. Today the dog far out numbers the human population that first encountered them, surely a great chapter in survival and evolution.

© Roy G Symonds BA 1995 /  ©  Foogle Business 2009

 

The Gray Wolf

Today the Wolf is described as being dog-like, even though the dog evolved from the wolf due to human intervention. However, both species are generally carnivores of the family Canidae, which means carnivore.

The Gray, or Timber Wolf, also known as the Canis lupus, is the best-known living species. It is the largest wild member of the dog family and still inhabits large areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The Red Wolf, or Canis Rufus, is smaller and covers a much more restricted range. The fur of the Gray Wolf is dense, long, and soft; this attribute has historically led to it being put under pressure by Early Man, who would hunt this lupine for food and its fur; ironically sometimes accompanied by the now domesticated dog.

The fur of the Gray Wolf, on the upper body though usually gray, can also be brown, reddish, black, or whitish, while the under parts and legs are usually yellow-white.

The Gray Wolf once had the largest natural distribution of all mammals. It, in earlier times, inhabited all of North America from Alaska and Arctic Canada, down to central Mexico and parts of South America.

It also could be found throughout Europe and Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of India and China. It lived in every type of habitat in the Northern Hemisphere, but never occupied tropical forests or deserts, due to its thick coat and inability to sweat. Today, the Human is far more prevalent and this has killed off several species and placed many wolves near to extinction. The Gray Wolf has been pushed out from much of its original range, and its numbers are dwindling in many areas. In North America it is now found primarily in remote parts of Canada and Alaska, with much smaller numbers in Minnesota and Mexico.

In 1995 wolves were reintroduced in wilderness areas of the northern Rocky Mountains, and such is the effort to nurture these dogs, that the breed is diversifying so much that it is being called the Rocky Mountain Wolf.

Large numbers of Gray Wolves still live in isolated parts of Southern Europe and Scandinavia, and in Russia, with much smaller populations in neighboring countries.

The Gray Wolf is a powerful and dominant animal with a broad head, robust limbs, large padded feet, and deep but narrow chest. Except for some certain domestic breeds of dog, it is naturally the largest living canid. A big male, including the bushy 50-centimetre tail can be about 2 m, or 6.5 feet, long, and weigh 80 kg, or 180 pounds.

The dog has evolved, or been bred from the wolf into more than 700 distinct domestic breeds; ironically, though not known by Early Man, dogs and humans share 74% of their DNA, and once about three hundred million years ago during the Devonian period, had the same ancestor. So this must attribute to the bond that has grown and developed over thousands of years.

The wolf and of course the dog, is an intelligent, social animal that is admired by most of us. The wolf generally lives in packs of a few up to over 30 individuals individuals. A pack is basically a family unit, and most times act as just one unit, with most members knowing their place within the team. Within this, are the Alpha pair, the male and female who control the others, along with their offspring?

There is a clear and well defined overriding hierarchy in the pack, with only the alpha pair possessing the right to mate. They are usually the parents of most of the other pack members.

Gray wolves breed between January and April, and a litter of 3 to 7 pups can be achieved in the spring after a gestation period of about 60 days. The pups are reared in a den consisting of a natural hole or a burrow, usually in a hillside, or under the roots of a large tree. Most, if not all of the pack care unselfishly for the young, who are breast-fed not only by the mother but by other females who have false-pregnancies, and also produce milk. As they are weaned off they are fed with meat regurgitated by the Alpha–pair and others, after a hunt within their home range. This territory can amount to a few square miles to several hundred square miles. This province is aggressively defended against neighboring packs, and many battles are fought on border areas.

Whilst the main group go off to hunt, some members stay behind to babysit the youngsters, who wait patiently for the return. Before a hunt, the Alpha pair whip up their horde into a frenzy and this group howling and barking serves to solidify a pack's social structure and not only signals its presence to neighboring areas, but prepares them for the chase. Domestic dog owners will notice that a dog will instantly and instinctively know when you are going to take them for a walk; dogs become highly exited as it is in their genes to do so.

Wolves move and hunt mostly at night or when it is getting dark or light. Wolves feed primarily on large herbivores such as deer, moose, and caribou, which it catches not unlike the Lion, by stalking and then chasing, though, unlike the Lion, several animals are needed to successfully bring down a big animal. The Wolf carries out an important purpose here in controlling the numbers of large herbivores and weeding out the old and less fit for survival. This in fact, as part of evolution, makes the herd stronger and thus better able to survive. In fact it has been seen that most herbivores have their off-spring almost all on the same day. This gives the new born a better chance of survival; the predators will have a good day and eat well but they can only eat so much, so the majority of them will be left alone.

As a kill might be days apart, food is gorged when available, reducing the carcass to hair and a few large bones. Unfortunately, like all big predators on occasions it will attack domestic livestock and has thus undergone persecution by humans. There have been historically few, if any, confirmed wolf attacks on humans in North America, but such attacks, though unusual, have occurred in Eurasia, sometimes resulting in death.

Juveniles remain with the pack until they reach sexual maturity at around two years, after which they may leave to search for a mate and establish new territories. However, the Alpha male is often challenged for his place within the group, and he may keep his position or not. As he gets older he might not be able to fight off a younger stronger male, and will lose his leadership; hence the expression, every dog has his day. At this point, the once king is demoted to the lowest of the low, as is his mate; both are either forced to leave the area or become subservient to all other members, being last in the hunt run, and last to feed. Nevertheless, usually the victorious challenger is not so closely related to the old dog and this then brings in new blood and a new era for this pack.

The largest known wolf, the now extinct Dire Wolf, or Canis dirus, was common in western North America and South America, during the Pleistocene period; it was half again as large as the modern Gray Wolf, weighing up to 200 pounds. It was the Pit-Bull of the wolf world, being much stockier and stronger, with larger teeth but smaller brain.

 

© Roy G Symonds BA 1995 /  ©  Foogle Business 2010

 

Wolves, dogs and jackals

Wolves have acquired a genetic mutation for dark coat colour through mating with domestic dogs, scientists report.

  All suburls are, © copyright of Foogle Business 2010 

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