There is no contradiction in the idea that in the earliest times of human habitation on this earth he made friends and companions of some kind of aboriginal representative of our modern dog, and that because of its help in protecting him from wild beasts, and when he guarded his sheep and goats, he grew up to trust and care for her. Perhaps the animal was originally just an unusually gentle fox, or a sick wolf driven by its companions out of a pack of wild predators in search of a place to hide. One would think that the relationship may have begun with the fact that some helpless lambs were brought in by early hunters to be cared for and raised by women and children. Dogs introduced into the home as children's toys will grow up to look after them, and to be considered family members.
In almost every part of the world, traces of indigenous dogs are found, the only extraterrestrial sites in the West Indian Islands, Madagascar, the eastern islands of the Malay Archipelago, New Zealand, and the Polynesian Islands, where there is no indication that a dog, wolf, or fox was present. In the ancient lands of the East, and often among the first Mongols, the dog remained cruel and neglected for centuries, roaming the pack, gaunt and wolf-like, as it roams today on the streets and under the walls of all Eastern cities. No effort is ever made to entice a person to a relationship or to develop it in a kind way. Until we came to check the records of the high civilizations of Assyria and Egypt where we found any species of canine.
The dog was relatively rare in Palestine, and in both the Old and New Testaments it is commonly referred to as the “unclean beast.” Even the common saying of the herd dog in the Book of Job "But now the younger of them that take care of me, the fathers of my flock I have not despised," and it is noteworthy that the only Biblical reference to a dog as a friend of a well-known both of them went out, and the young man with the dog. ”
The vast majority of different dog breeds and the vast differences in size, points, and general appearance are facts that make it hard to believe that they could have had a single ancestor. One thinks the difference between Mastiff and Japanese Spaniel, Deerhound and Pomeranian fashion, St. Bernard and the Miniature Black and Tan Terrier, and he is puzzled as he wonders if they may have come from the same ancestor. Yet the difference is not greater between the Shire horse and the Shetland horse, the Shothorn and Kerry cattle, or the Patagonian and Pygmies; and all dog breeders know how easy it is to produce a variety of breeds and sizes with tested experiments.
To properly understand this question it is necessary to first consider the property ownership of the wolf and the dog. This structure may be better studied in comparison with the osseous system, or bones, of two animals, so closely aligned that their flexibility would not be apparent.
The dog's spine consists of seven vertebrae in the neck, thirteen at the back, seven at the waist, three sacral vertebrae, and twenty to twenty-two tails. In both dogs and wolves there are thirteen pairs of ribs, nine true and four false. Each has forty-two teeth. Both have five front and four toes on the back, while on the outside the common wolf has the appearance of a large, boneless dog, so that a popular description of this may work for another.
And their habits are no different. The wolf's natural voice is a loud howl, but when confined with dogs it will learn to bark. Although he eats meat, he will also eat vegetables, and when he is sick he will eat grass. In the chase, a pack of wolves will split into groups, one following in the footsteps of the herd, one trying to stop its retreat, using a multi-strategy, a feature displayed by many of our sport dogs and dogs when hunting in groups.
Another important point of similarity between Canis lupus and Canis familiaris lies in the fact that the gestation period in both species is sixty-three days. There are three to nine lambs in the wolf's waste, and they are blind for twenty-one days. They are breastfed for two months, but at the end of that time they can eat minced meat partly because of their dam or color.
The native dogs of all regions are about the same size, color, shape, and character of the native wolf of those areas. In this very important situation there are too many situations that allow us to be considered a mere coincidence. Sir John Richardson, writing in 1829, noted that “the similarities between the North American wolf and the Indian dogs are so great that the size and strength of the wolf seems to be the only difference.
It has been suggested that the one irrefutable argument against the lupine dog relationship is the fact that all domesticated dogs bark, while all wild Canidae express their feelings only by barking. But the difficulty here is not so great as it seems, as we know that foxes, wild dogs, and wolf puppies that grow on the grass easily find this practice. On the other hand, pet dogs are allowed to run and forget to bark, while some have not yet learned to express themselves.
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