We all know dogs, the cute, fluffy animals that love to play fetch, but do we know how they became man’s best friend? From hunting to our house, how have wild wolves been trained to become the playful pups we know and love today?
According to Dog Tired Adventures, “Domestication happened between 27,000-40,000 years ago, when it is believed a line of wolves split off from the rest of the pack and started following humans to eat the scraps they left behind.” Then, somewhere between 12,000 and 14,000 years ago, humans realized that wolf pups could be trained to help them herd, hunt, and guard. While its believed some high-class societies treated dogs with respect, they were still mostly work animals at this time.
Then in many ancient civilizations, dogs started to become more than just working animals. “In ancient Greece, dogs were kept as co-therapists in healing temples for their perceived ability to cure illness” (Pedigree). In ancient Egypt, murals depict pharaohs sitting next to dogs and cats, and in ancient China, many emperors had dogs, who had their own servants. Later in medieval times, dogs were trained to help men hunt.
Now, dogs are our best friends. They play with us, walk with us, and eat with us. Plus, some breeds have been trained to help blind people, others work with police to track down missing people, and there are even trained therapy dogs to help people with stress.
Today, Dogs are a symbol of friendship and love between humans and animals. So whether you are throwing the ball, or cuddling on the couch, just remember the long history these pups had to go through to become man’s best friend.