102 dalmatians History of the domestic dog

The domestic dog and the dalmatians we know and love today descended from the Gray Wolf (Canis Iupus). Wolves have thought to have evolved around 7 million years ago. You may be thinking how all the different breeds of dog evolved? But, Wolves did vary in size colour depending where they were from. There were several ancestral lines of the domestic dog. Domestication of the dog began at least 12,000 years ago. Although, it probably started much earlier.

The Greyhound is thought to have descended from the Sight hound. The Sight hound is thought to of originated from Egypt and North Africa. Large breeds such as the Mastiff are thought to have originated from Asia. Small dog breeds were developed around 2,000 years ago. It is thought that the small breeds were produced by breeding off the runts. This over time would have reduced the size of a particular breed. The breeding programs that were put into place 2,000 years ago would not have been as strict as they are today. We have only really started breeding well-defined breeds over the last century or so. dogs This is due to competitive dog showing. Some people would certainly argue that the inter-breeding of the pure breeds have gone too far now. With pure breeds having their fair share of health issues because of this. Prior to breeding show dogs, they would have been called proto-breeds. The proto-breeds were inter-bred for specific tasks.

For example the Labrador was developed on the island of Newfoundland, was used by fishermen to help carry in the nets from the water. In return for helping the fishermen the Labradors were fed on fish scraps. For more information on Labradors go to www.yourlabradors.com

Another example would be the Bernese Mountain Dog. They have been associated with the area of Berne in the Swiss Alps. The Mountain Dog was bred for pulling carts carrying agricultural produce, such as milk, for the cheese making industry of the region.