From Wolves to Dogs

Following is a possible scenario for how our modern day dogs came to be such a part of our human existance.

Some scientists say it began over 10,000 years ago. Somewhere, someplace an early human found a litter of wolf puppies she simply couldn't pass up. In the litter was one cute wolf puppy with those proverbial "puppy dog eyes". Home she went with the 4 week old pup.

Upon returning to camp, the others said she should take it back. It had been tried before with no success. Wolves were wild and could not be raised by humans. It would bite the babies when it got older. It would, in fact, bite the hand that fed it. But she kept the puppy.

Skip ahead a few months and things were far different than predicted. The pup was growing into a full grown wolf but was very social. It seemed to appreciate and relish the attention and never bit the children. Quite the contrary, it spent countless hours playing chase, tug of war, and hide and go seek with the human kids. This wolf pup was different to say the least.

At one year of age, the wolf had become the camp mascot so to speak. Every member of the camp was approving and appreciative of the wolf's presence. Of course nature would take its course and before long, adult male wolves were approaching the scent of the she wolf. In order to keep the peace, the she wolf left camp to see the males on their turf. But every morning she would return to camp.

In a few months, nature again took its course and a litter of wolf pups were born in camp. It was a party to be sure for the six new members of camp.

Of the six, only 2 remained with their Mother in the camp. The other 4 did not have the same mix of genes; nature's call was too strong for them as they returned to the wild. But the two remaining then made a total of three wolves who were now friendly to humans and had what it took to coexist in a symbiotic relationship.

Then, as nature returned, the entire process repeated itself over an over in the coming decades and centuries. In only a matter of a few hundred years, wolf pups were common in camps far and wide and soon were to be known as "dogs". Over time, a great divide between dogs and wolves formed but there was, and still is, no mistaking their ability to adapt and assimilate with humans.

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