We don’t know why dogs became man’s best friend, but we have some ideas.  And those ideas take us back anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago.They are perhaps the perfect visual example when it comes to witnessing the power of the gene pool and how a selection process, whether natural or artificial, can affect it. 

Evolution Talk is also a book! You can find links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others on the front page of EvolutionTalk.com, or call your local bookstore and ask them to order a copy.

Works Cited

  • “Charles Darwin’s Theory of Pangenesis | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia.” Https://Embryo.Asu.Edu, embryo.asu.edu/pages/charles-darwins-theory-pangenesis. Accessed 26 Mar. 2021.

  • Charlesworth, Brian. “Darwin And.” Genetics, 1 Nov. 2009, www.genetics.org/content/183/3/757.

  • “From Wolves to Pugs & Great Danes – the Evolution of Man’s Best Friend.” Morrison Animal Foundation, www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/article/evolution-of-dogs. Accessed 26 Mar. 2021.

  • Kevin Folta. “Talking Biotech 062 — DNA Evidence of Dog Domestication.” YouTube, uploaded by Talking Biotech, 17 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCEyaYjT8-k.

  • Mcavoy, John Wilson. “From the Wolf to the Chihuahua | SiOWfa15: Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy.” Https://Sites.Psu.Edu, 4 Dec. 2015, sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/12/04/from-the-wolf-to-the-chihuahua.

  • “Natural History Museum.” Natural History Museum, www.nhm.ac.uk/galleries/galleries-home/treasures/specimens/darwin-pigeons. Accessed 26 Mar. 2021.

  • Team, Ben. “What Did Chihuahuas Evolve From?” Dog Care – Daily Puppy, 19 Nov. 2020, dogcare.dailypuppy.com/did-chihuahuas-evolve-from-8203.html.

  • University of California Television (UCTV). “CARTA: Domestication and Human Evolution – Robert Wayne: The Transformation of Wolf to Dog.” YouTube, uploaded by UCTV, 7 Dec. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCnT2pEMBbM.

  • Wardrobe, Chihuahua. “History of the Chihuahua Breed.” Chihuahua Clothes and Accessories at The Chihuahua Wardrobe!, 5 Oct. 2017, www.chihuahuawardrobe.com/history-of-the-chihuahua-breed.

  • Wikipedia contributors. “Selective Breeding.” Wikipedia, 24 Mar. 2003, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_breeding.

  • Wilcox, Christie, and Christie Wilcox. “Observations | Evolution: The Curious Case of Dogs.” Scientific American Blog Network, 13 Nov. 2011, blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/observations-evolution-the-curious-case-of-dogs.

  • Yong, Ed. “The Origin of Dogs: When, Where, and How Many Times Were They Domesticated?” The Atlantic, 3 June 2016, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/06/the-origin-of-dogs/484976.

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