Dogs & Humans: A History

At Russian River Dog Walkers & Pet Sitters we love all pets. We have taken care of birds, cats, pigs, Pan the Goat, and of course dogs. We are working on a tortise but it hasn’t happened yet. We understand that every animal plays an important part in the community and in their family. However, the relationship between dogs & humans is intimidating to try to comprehend. Before writing, before agriculture, before livestock, back when we were a very minor nomadic species there was a bond between humans & dogs. The story of how dogs became man’s best friend is complex, nuanced, and not always positive. Dogs have sailed the high seas with pirates, helped to build the pyramids, marched with Roman armies, fought in every war, traveled to space, trudged across the great plains with the early American settlers, and ridden on the backs of Hell’s Angels Harleys. The ancestors of the modern dog hunted humans, we (humans) have used dogs as food, as a way to make money, and for entertainment, and as sacrificial lambs. How did this relationship form? How have humans shaped dogs & dogs shaped humans?

Lets go back 252 million years. Earth is looking very bleak and post-apocalyptic. For the last 100,000 or so years volcanoes in what now is Siberia had wreaked havoc on earth for 100,000 years and caused the largest extinction event in history. However, life on earth is resilient. A few hardy, well-adapted, and lucky souls were able to survive. One of the animals to emerge from the Permian Extinction was Lystrosaurus. The size of a medium dog, it lived in burrows, ate a lot of roots, toobers, and other plants that were close to the ground. Lystrosaurus (and animals similar to it) are the ancestors of dinosaurs, birds, and mammals.

Primary Source:

Documentary “Life on earth” Netflix. 2023.