Domestication Vs Dog Evolution

The anatomy of dogs, when compared to their wolf ancestors, share many similarities and differences. Scientists have been able to “compare skull and teeth to modern wolves and dogs to prove its origin” (Terlach 2016). By utilizing the study of the shapes of teeth and skulls from wolves, scientists were able to relate how drastically dogs has evolved and distanced themselves from wolves. However, researchers have a difficult time determining the characteristics of dog evolution immediately when dogs domesticated: “bones of animals in the process of domestication generally do not reveal intermediate steps between wild forebears and modern domestic animals” (Cohn 1997). Therefore, studies that researchers conduct must be taken over a wide period …show more content…
According to a study conducted while examining the physical aspects of changes in canine appearance over time, “dogs are a clue for how rapid morphological change might take place in a natural population” (Cohn 1997). Quickly after integrating themselves into the hunter-gatherer society, canines adapted to the needs of humans in order to maintain a mutualistic relationship with them. Another adaptation that resulted in the physical change of canines appeared when studying North American dog fossils: “North American dog fossils… suggest that the evolutionary path of whole groups of predators can be a direct consequence of climate change” (Orenstein 2015). When tracing the path of canines after domestication, researchers found that climate change affected where hunter-gatherers brought the dogs after changes in societal structure. In order to keep up with the new agricultural and physical demand of humans, the muscles in canines changed over time in order to best benefit them for the work they needed to …show more content…
Instead of allowing natural selection to occur for canines, scientists have developed many new means of selection methods to choose specific traits that they desire to have for future offspring (Brennan 2016; Kelly 2014). For example, one laboratory has created the first genetically engineered beagle that doubled the muscle mass of the dog, giving it a much larger physique. Additionally, the technique of “crispr” allows researchers to “quickly and precisely modify DNA by cutting out undesired genes and pasting in new ones” (Brennan 2016). By utilizing this technique, scientists can create many different new dog breeds without too much difficulty pertaining to scientific