The Domestication of Dogs

Modern dogs, which have descended from a now-extinct lineage of wolves, are often called “man’s best friend”. But their friendly relationships with humans took tens of thousands of years to develop before they we were able to regularly live amongst each other, and us. While an exact time and place for domestication is still unknown, it is believed this process began when wolves would follow Eurasian hunters and eat food they left behind, with evidence suggesting that dogs began acting as herders as recently as 9000 years ago. Today, along with being one of the most adored house pets in the world, dogs serve a variety of human needs including therapy and police work.