There is no inconsistency in the idea that, in the earliest settlement of this world, man became the friend and companion of some aboriginal representative of our modern dog, and that in return for his assistance in guarding against wild beasts, and when guarding his sheep and goats, he gave them a share of his food, a corner in his dwelling and began to trust him and take care of him. Probably the animal was originally nothing more than an unusually gentle jackal or a sickly wolf, driven from its wild marauding pack by its companions to seek shelter in a foreign environment. One can well imagine the possibility that the partnership would begin in a situation where some helpless young would be brought home by the first hunters to be cared for and raised by women and children. Dogs brought into the home as toys for children would come to see themselves as members of the family and be treated as members of the family.
Traces of the aboriginal dog family are found in almost all parts of the world, the only exceptions being the West Indies, Madagascar, the eastern islands of the Malay Archipelago, New Zealand, and the Polynesian Islands, where there is no indication that the dog, wolf, or fox existed as a true aboriginal animal. In the ancient Oriental countries, and generally among the early Mongols, the dog remained for centuries wild and neglected, roaming in packs, emaciated and wolf-like, as it is today prowled through the streets and under the walls of every Eastern city. No attempt was made to attract her to human society or to improve her obedience. It is not until we come to examine the records of the higher civilizations of Assyria and Egypt that we discover any distinct kinds of canine forms.
The dog was not much esteemed in Palestine and is commonly spoken of with disdain and disdain as an "unclean animal" in both the Old and New Testaments. Even the familiar reference to the sheepdog in the Book of Job: "But now they that are younger than I mock me, whose fathers I would have scorned to stand with the dogs of my flock" is not without a hint of contempt. significantly, the only biblical allusion to the dog as a recognized companion of man occurs in the apocryphal Book of Tobit (v. 16), "So they both went out, and the young man's dog with them."
A large number of different breeds of dogs and the huge differences in their size, axes, and general appearance are facts that make it difficult to believe that they could have a common ancestor. One thinks of the difference between the Mastiff and the Japanese Spaniel, the Deerhound and the fashionable Pomeranian, Saint Bernard and the Miniature Black and Tan Terrier, and is puzzled to consider the possibility that they may have descended from a common ancestor. Yet the difference is no greater than that between the Shire horse and the Shetland pony, the Shorthorn and the Kerry cattle, or the Patagonian and the Pygmy; and all dog breeders know how easy it is to produce a variety of types and sizes by studying selection.
To properly understand this question, it is necessary to first consider the identity of structure in the wolf and the dog. This identity of structure can best be studied by comparing the skeletal system or skeletons of two animals that resemble each other so closely that their transposition would not be easily detected.
A dog's spine consists of seven vertebrae in the neck, thirteen in the back, seven in the hips, three sacral vertebrae, and twenty to twenty-two in the tail. Both the dog and the wolf have thirteen pairs of ribs, nine true and four false. Each has forty-two teeth. Both have five fore and four hind toes, while the common wolf has so much the external appearance of a large, bare-boned dog that the popular description of one would do for the other.
Their habits are no different either. A wolf's natural voice is a loud howl, but when confined to dogs it learns to bark. Although he is a carnivore, he will also eat vegetables and nibble on grass when he is sick. In this case, the pack of wolves will divide into groups, one of which will follow the track of the quarry, the other will try to intercept its retreat, employing a considerable amount of strategy, a quality which many of our sporting dogs and terriers display when hunting in teams.
Another important point of similarity between Canis lupus and Canis familiaris lies in the fact that the gestation period of both species is sixty-three days. There are from three to nine cubs in a wolf litter, which are blind for twenty-one days. They are nursed for two months, but at the end of this time, they can eat the half-digested meat that their mother or even father regurgitates for them.
There is no inconsistency in the idea that, in the earliest settlement of this world, man became the friend and companion of some aboriginal representative of our modern dog, and that in return for his assistance in guarding against wild beasts, and when guarding his sheep and goats, he gave them a share of his food, a corner in his dwelling and began to trust him and take care of him. Probably the animal was originally nothing more than an unusually gentle jackal or a sickly wolf, driven from its wild marauding pack by its companions to seek shelter in a foreign environment. One can well imagine the possibility that the partnership would begin in a situation where some helpless young would be brought home by the first hunters to be cared for and raised by women and children. Dogs brought into the home as toys for children would come to see themselves as members of the family and be treated as members of the family.
Traces of the aboriginal dog family are found in almost all parts of the world, the only exceptions being the West Indies, Madagascar, the eastern islands of the Malay Archipelago, New Zealand, and the Polynesian Islands, where there is no indication that the dog, wolf, or fox existed as a true aboriginal animal. In the ancient Oriental countries, and generally among the early Mongols, the dog remained for centuries wild and neglected, roaming in packs, emaciated and wolf-like, as it is today prowled through the streets and under the walls of every Eastern city. No attempt was made to attract her to human society or to improve her obedience. It is not until we come to examine the records of the higher civilizations of Assyria and Egypt that we discover any distinct kinds of canine forms.
The dog was not much esteemed in Palestine and is commonly spoken of with disdain and disdain as an "unclean animal" in both the Old and New Testaments. Even the familiar reference to the sheepdog in the Book of Job: "But now they that are younger than I mock me, whose fathers I would have scorned to stand with the dogs of my flock" is not without a hint of contempt. it is marked.
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