The Dog: The Evolution Of The Dog

Evolution of the dog

Evolution is the process of which an animal will change and develop to adapt to better suit its environment over many generations. The dog has evolved from the wolf mainly from domestication but all in different ways. Dogs have been bred and domesticated to fulfil different purposes for example a terrier has been breed to hunt small rodents hence their size and agility, however the great dane was breed to hunt larger animals like boars. This is done by artificial selection rather than natural selection. But it is not only the physical appearances that these dogs have been bred for, it is also key that they have the correct behaviour to suit the purpose for example sheep dogs need to be obedient whereas hunting dogs need …show more content…
Morphological adaptation has caused the dog to suit its environment allowing it to fulfil many more jobs in a variety of different places, this helped with domestication as we may have bred the dog to do a certain job but natural selection made the dog perfect for the environment it was working in without humans having to discard dogs that may have been perfect for the job but couldn 't deal with the conditions, for example a dog was needed to hunt rodents in a dense forest, a large dog with a long furry tail would not be able to cope as it would not be able to smoothly navigate through the undergrowth without getting caught up in the foliage, however a small dog with a short fur coat and a short stubby tail would be able to swiftly navigate through the undergrowth without any problems, this would cause the larger dog to starve as it would not be able to hunt, kill and eat and of the rodents whereas the smaller dog would thrive as it could eat well . Another external factor is competition for resources as in the wild, the wolf would have to compete for resources driving the species to become more independent and clever, whereas the dog does not need to compete as humans give them everything they need, this has caused the dog to become more docile and sociable than the wolf as well as less intelligent. this has caused the dogs brain to become smaller than the wolves as …show more content…
this can affect the way a dog reacts to others around them as if they feel threatened they made become more aggressive or very timid however they are more likely to run or hide from the threat whereas the wolf would usually become aggressive and stand its ground. If they are having trouble with hormones they may over react or try to mate with other animals or objects. Hormones may also cause a male dog to scent on objects even if they have been taught not to or in female dogs cause fake pregnancies. However this behaviour has been dramatically decreased in domesticated dogs as owners will have their dogs fixed so that they are calmer and not as unpredictable. Stress is another internal factor tat can change a dog 's behaviour and make them unpredictable however the reaction to certain types of stress has been reduced compared to the wolf and other have been escalated, for example a wolf is used to wide open spaces and is allowed freedom and if it is confined it may become very strassed causing health issues whereas the domestic dog is used to confined spaces like a house, garden or even cage and would not experience that amount of stress. however if a dog goes without food for a certain amount of time it could become stressed easily whereas a wolf would cope as it is used to irregular eating