by Scottie Westfall

Created on: July 18, 2008   Last Updated: September 09, 2008

Of all the large predatory mammals on earth, only one, the domestic dog, can safely live in an intimate relationship with humans. All other mammals of this type are likely to see humans as a food source or grow too temperamental as their wild instincts come to the fore as they mature. Dogs are different. They see humans as their leaders, as their partners, and as their teachers, and because dogs place so much trust in us, we cannot help but love them as if they were our best friends. This relationship has its basis in the evolution of the dog from the wolf. The dog would later develop certain adaptations to allow it to endear itself more closely to humans. It is because of these adaptations that the dog became man's best friend. One wonders, though, as we both become more and more estranged from nature, if we are truly being the dog's best friend.

Dogs have been selected for thousands of years to bond as strongly with people as they do with other members of their species. Some dogs even prefer people to other dogs. The first wolves that came in contact with our hunter-gatherer ancestors were probably curious about us. Later, as we became efficient hunters, some of these wolves learned to scavenge off our wastes. A population of wolves grew up dependant upon humans for their sustenance, and it is from these wolves that domestic dogs evolved.

Those wolves that were more curious about humans and took an interest in their daily lives were rewarded with more nutritious food, like whole pieces of meat and marrow-filled bones. These wolves were probably treated in the way Carl Lumholtz, a Norwegian ethnographer, described the relationship between the dingo, a semi-wild breed of dog, and the indigenous people of Queensland, Australia. These people cherished their dingoes, keeping several as pets. They groomed their dingoes from fleas and even kissed them. The dingoes hunted for their own food but still hung around their camps, searching for food and soliciting affection from the native people. It stands to reason that the wolves that eventually became dogs were much like these dingoes, hunting for their own food but still remaining deeply attached to humans who were beginning to love them.

As agriculture gave rise to civilization, dogs were selected to do certain tasks and to follow directions and rules. Dogs that could do this were rewarded with more food and better opportunities to breed. What humans were actually selecting for in choosing dogs for these tasks was the

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