The Effects of Domestication on Dogs

Exactly how the creatures we now call companion dogs evolved and were domesticated isn̵7;t known. There are many theories, the most popular being that early humans took wild wolf puppies, raised them, bred them, trained them and gave them jobs. This work included hunting and protecting the people from predators. Over thousands of years of breeding, the animal we now call "dog" is believed to have come into existence. Domestication has changed dogs from their wild canid ancestors in multiple ways.

  1. Appearance

    • A dog has a significantly smaller head than a wolf of the same size. In addition to head size, the effects of domestication on dogs include teeth that are smaller than those of wolves, a muzzle that is shorter and eyes that are rounder and more forward-looking.

    Behavior

    • As a result of domestication, dogs retain behavioral characteristics exhibited by juvenile wolves. For example, adult dogs whine and continue to play, while adult wolves rarely do either.

    Communication

    • As most dog guardians know, domesticated canines bark to raise an alarm and at almost any perceived threat. Only wolf puppies bark regularly, and adult wolves remain mostly silent.

    Prey Drive

    • While many domestic dogs have a strong prey drive and will pursue and even kill another animal, an effect of domestication on dogs is that they no longer know how to feed themselves by hunting. While wild canids rely upon their hunting skills to eat, domestic dogs do not generally know what to do with their prey once they have caught and/or killed it.

    Human Relationships

    • Dogs can easily be socialized to humans between the ages of five and 12 weeks. Dogs who haven̵7;t been socialized become fearful of people after about 12 weeks of age; however, in wolves the stage at which puppies become fearful of people begins as early as six weeks of age.

    Understanding

    • A study conducted at Harvard University in 2002 found that dogs--even those who are untrained and had little contact with people--are exceptionally good at understanding signals from humans. On the other hand, wolves are much better at watching canids̵7; bodies to interpret signals about what the other animal is thinking.

    Reproduction

    • Dogs are sexually mature at seven to 10 months of age, mate with multiple partners and have biannual heat cycles. Wolves do not sexually mature until they are nearly two years old, are most often monogamous and breed only once a year.