the HISTORY of dogs

Dogs are probably the descendants of the gray wolf. The first demonstrable signs of relationships between man and wolves date back 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. It's not certain whether man approached the wolf, or vice versa. Both profited from the new situation: people used wolves during the hunt, for keeping flocks together and to warn against approaching enemies. Man in turn, made sure his wolves were fed. Wolves are very social animals. Like humans, they live in groups (called packs) with social ranks, in which some wolves claim leadership. This made this animal suitable and attractive as a companion, because wolves accepted man as their leader. Requirements with regard to behavior and appearance of wolves started to change.

During the Middle Ages, people started seeing dogs as status symbols. The number of dog breeds started to increase enormously. Dogs were bred for size, length, color, face, behavior and strokability (this is still happening today).

Today's dogs come in all shapes and sizes. There are now over 400 dog breeds. They still all belong to the same species, which means that all breeds can be crossbred and still have fertile offspring.