A science blog with Eric Berger

Dogs may have been Man’s Best Friend for long time



The Altai republic. (PLOS One)








Categories: General
Eric Berger

139 Responses

  1. Lori says:

    Eric, have you read the article in one of the more recent issues of National Geographic on domesticating foxes? It’s in line with what you posted today, and is really interesting!

  2. cxd says:

    I too have NEVER been a dog person, until I had kids and they brought home this two-day old mutt asking, can we keep him?

    Well here I am stuck with him and he’s 23 years old going on two. We are like velcro, once I walk in the door….

    • Anrkist says:

      23 is impressive unless you mean dog years. That would put it in the top 14 of oldest known dogs to have ever lived.

    • cxd says:

      He is in the top then.

      You’d never know it to meet him. I promise.

    • Good2BMe says:

      Incredibly touching! Thank you so much for sharing that!!!

    • jason says:

      Wow 23 is a ripe old age for a dog. Does he eat home cooked food, premium dog food or just regular grocery store food? My sister has a cat who is over 23 years old. The cat has eaten mainly grocery store brands of cat food over her life time. She has lost a lot of weight due to age, and recently has started having health problems but 23 is of course very old for a cat as well.

  3. Pat says:

    Let your poor dog live inside the house.

    • Alisonymous says:

      This issue resonates with me. I do love dogs but was raised “old school” in which dog houses were for dogs and people houses were for people. Initially I was totally opposed to having an “inside dog” for this reason which primarily revolved around the issue of cleanliness.

      Well, because of the heat and parasites and other issues in Houston, and also the fact that many people now only have one dog instead of two or more, it’s impractical in many cases to keep a dog outdoors and have that dog be emotionally stable. They get lonely and bored and arguably, many of them need to be inside because they’ll get into bad behavior patterns and mischief if they are not fully integrated into the family pack (we have become Cesar Millan fans).

      In order to have our dog live inside, the compromises I made with my family were as follows.

      We first installed all-solid flooring throughout 100% our house before we even picked out a dog. I could not bear the thought of wall-to-wall carpeting smelling like dog. Ugh. I drew the line at that. We use wool area rugs on the solid floor and we throw a large blanket atop the livingroom rug, which is the main one our dog comes in contact with (we have dog beds strategically placed throughout the rest of the house). I pick up and wash that blanket about every two weeks so that it stays fresh. I also wash the dog beds frequently.

      Additionally, our dog gets shaved and shampoo’d about every three or four weeks. We bought our own professional clippers and do most of her maintenance ourselves, because dog grooming is very expensive. The dog is also strictly disciplined not to jump on no beds or furniture, and she never does.

      It’s been three years now and everyone is completely satisfied by the structure of these compromises. The dog is well-adjusted, parasite-free, the house doesn’t smell, and none of us would be happy if she were not an indoor dog. She spends most of her days two feet from my keyboard snoozing on one of her doggie beds as I work from home. I no longer feel right when she’s not beside me, whether we are indoors or outdoors.

    • fishwrap says:

      alisonymous-your home sounds like a fun place-lol-I feel a little sorry for your dogs(and your kids)

    • Alisonymous says:

      Actually, fishwrap, “fun” is not the word I would use to describe our family dog situation. “Joyous” would be more accurate. We made such great progress training her to be a good canine citizen that we now participate in an animal therapy program with her. She went from being on Death Row at the county animal shelter to being not only a great family pet, but a valuable four-legged community volunteer as well. And she loves her job.

    • Brazos says:

      Plz let the dog live inside the house. In this city it just makes sense. Dogs want to be with the family unit. Unless you’re raising hunting animals, etc plz let let them in and be part of the pack.

  4. Dust Bunny says:

    Why does your dog “only come in when it’s cold”? I’m a cat person, but I’d never have an outdoor pet. Does she come in when it’s HOT, because the heat in Houston is a lot more dangerous than the cold?

  5. Mark says:

    It appears that at some point in history, the dogs from central Asia migrated east, crossing the Bering Straight on ice flows, coming through Alaska, down to North and South America. This is indeed an interesting article on the migration patterns of canines.

    • Jim says:

      I really don’t like the idea that man or dog rode ice flows or walked
      across the Bering Straits. Considering how quickly he reached southern
      south America, I believe man used boats.
      And the domestic dog, besides being warm and cuddly, allowed men
      to miss fish, birds, and deer and still have a convenient, self-transporting, high protein food source at the end of a tent mallet.

    • scott38 says:

      It is very likely that early man and his canine companions used boats to hop along the shore, but also bear in mind that during the last ice age there was a land bridge between Russia and Alaska called Beringia (pardon the spelling). It allowed people and animals to move pretty easily between the two land masses.

  6. Allison says:

    Dogs are companion animals. They live indoors with us. Even working dogs come inside at night. I’ve always enjoyed your column, and have now lost all respect for you. Sad.

    • Gage Creed says:

      I’m sure he’s all broken up about that Allison.

    • npreader says:

      Me too Allison.

    • ScientistMike says:

      Poor Allison, doesn’t want to be Eric’s best friend. I’ll bet that tears him up. :)

    • Ridge says:

      Now that is pretty short-sighted. Always respected and appreciated his articles until you found out he does something different than you? Wow. Doesn’t sound to me like Eric has the problem here.

    • Kevin M. says:

      Tally Allison in your “Readers Lost” column.

    • Cassius says:

      Get a grip, Allie.

    • Kaye Langehennig Wong says:

      Domestic animals, especially elderly ones, should be given a safe and comfortable place to call their own inside the home. The one commenter’s description of how to make arrangements in the home so that the pet is easily integrated is very helpful. Please bring that old dog inside.

    • Kaye Langehennig Wong says:

      I meant to post the previous comment under the main section, but I do understand how Allison feels. To people who really care about animals, someone so cavalier about leaving them out seems heartless.

    • michelle says:

      Im with you Allison. But I think that’s typical of most men. Until a woman comes along and shows them how to treat a pet. Evidently, Eric needs a little more training.

    • Amy says:

      I wouldn’t say I’ve lost all respect for this writer, but I will say that if I were dating a guy who said that *my* dog would be living outside if we got married, I would promptly break up with him.

    • Just Me says:

      Amy, I agree with you. I’m more of a cat person, and they live in the house. A companion animal doesn’t give or receive much companionship alone in a yard. Eric, you write a fine column, but I’m disappointed in your not letting the dog be more of a part of the family. I would never ask someone to make their pet live outdoors for me. If someone’s pet were intolerable to me, I’d break off the relationship.

    • Joe says:

      Amy and michelle, my ex wife “told” me 15 years ago that we “are” getting a cat from a friend, and it “will” be staying inside the house”.

      Notice how I said ex-wife. I got rid of her and the cat and kept the house, which hasn’t stunk since the day her and that selfish stinky little feline left.

  7. Saved says:

    “Their DNA analysis showed that the remains more closely resembled modern dogs than wolves”
    First off what exactly does that mean? Knowing the desire of some in the scientific arena with their attempt to discredit the 6 day creation such a statement with no mention of what “more closely” means is not evidence of this particular claim. The bottom line is they are of the same species and within species there is different DNA. That happens even within the human race and every other species so I am not so sure how this is any great find where any great claim can be made.
    That being said the idea that dogs came from wolves most likely is not true. Just because they are able to cross bread does not mean they are the same family. Just like horses did not come from Zebras or vice a versa there is no scientific reason to believe that dogs came from wolves. No matter how many generations of wolves one breads they never turn into a domesticated dog. A wolf is a wolf. So this so called find does not show any kind of evolution/change or relationship with modern day dogs.

    • Jon C says:

      “Saved”, don’t be silly. Just because you choose to ignore it, evolution doesn’t go away. Of course there is strong evidence to show a link between domestic dogs and wolves. Go learn something and look it up.

    • Rp says:

      Your view is Religious Dogma, and flys in the face of all scientific findings. Go back to school and read

    • Sterling Minor says:

      Yes, you make perfect sense when confining your beginning conclusion to a six day period. Meanwhile, the rest of the world may not start with a conclusion, and so its discussions may be reported from time to time.

    • Will says:

      I suppose Pomeranians weren’t bred into useless yappers using elements of evolution but were in fact God’s idea of a joke. Noah must have muzzled it.

    • Saved says:

      Guys there is no scientific evidence of evolution wolf to dog, and stating there is, is not evidence, nor is speculation evidence.

    • girlie_girl2 says:

      Saved, I have come to the conclusion that you must be a troll who is trying to make creationists look like idiots, which IMO they are. Your posts are so outrageously ignorant as to be laughable.

    • JohnD says:

      First off what exactly does that mean?

      Read the article and find out.


      Which is something that the authors take into account:
      “In order to perform Likelihood mapping, network, and phylogenetic tree reconstructions, we incorporated the sequence of the Altai specimen into an alignment of 72 dogs (70 known breeds), 30 wolves and four coyotes (Table S2). In addition to contemporary dogs and wolves, we further included sequence information from 35 prehistoric New World canid specimens.”


      No, but the mitochondrial analysis is pretty conclusive.

      Just like horses did not come from Zebras or vice a versa

      No, but horses and zebras share a common ancestor.


      You obviously are unfamiliar with modern work on domestication.

    • Someone says:


      Well, as long as you start your analysis assuming a 6 day creation, and discard any evidence to the contrary as non-scientific, I suppose you might have a point. By redefining terms to fit your worldview, up can become down.

      Me, I’ll keep falling up into the ground due to gravity and stare at the red sky.

    • Glenn Beak says:

      Here is a link to the paper’s DNA comparisons of the new find with other dog and wolf samples. It won’t help you.

      Dogs and wolves could have been created on the same day with DNA so similar they can interbreed. Same for Great Danes and Chihuahuas. They could have all been created this morning along with memories and fossils and this blog. Science can’t disprove those things. That’s why Creationism is religion and not science.

    • Saved says:

      JognD you are correct that you can cause a certain measure of domestication in a wolf just like it can be done in a lion or bear or some other wild animal, but they remain a wolf or a lion or what ever. Their instincts remain intact and if let loose they will automatically return to their created actions. Dogs on the other hand will never return to acting like wolves. There is simply no scientific evidence that dogs evolved from wolves. If there were it would be posted and speculation and unsubstantiated claims are not evidence.

    • Saved says:

      Glenn Beak, well stated!

    • JohnD says:


      No, they don’t.

    • girlie_girl2 says:

      Saved, it might help you if you looked up mitochondrial DNA.

      Many animals share a common ancestor and branched off from there. Think of a tree trunk with many branches. Humans and apes share a common ancestor. See how that works? Seems very simple to me and I don’t understand why you can’t wrap your brain around it.

    • JohnGalt says:

      Saved wrote, “There is simply no scientific evidence that dogs evolved from wolves.”

      Actually, Saved, this is one of the few things you have gotten right, but not for the reason you think. There’s no evidence, because dogs didn’t evolve from wolves. Dogs and wolves are in the same species (Canis lupus). They will interbreed to produce fertile offspring, which is an imperfect definition of a species. The original animal was the wolf, however, and the domestication of dogs from wolves is supported by irrefutable scientific evidence.

    • Buzzby says:

      Actually, if you selectively breed wild canines based on the traits that make them useful companion animals, those traits are reinforced and the “wild” traits are diminished. This was proved in Russia when they tried to breed foxes for the fur trade that would be easier to work with. After only a few generations, the foxes became quite dog-like in their behavior. Unfortunately for the breeders, the genes linked to dog-like behavior also changed the foxes’ coats, making them unfit for the fur trade. Breeding for behavior traits thus changed other aspects of the animals physiology. A similar scenario applies to the wolf/dog evolution. The fact that dogs and wolves can successfully breed points to their common origin.

    • Jim says:

      While up tending the fire last night I came upon a wonderful term
      in a note about the use of lenses by the ancients written by Robert Temple:
      CONSENSUS BLINDNESS. Saved seems to have it.
      First, Saved, if you had taken a serious interest in biology, you would
      know that species of the same genus have the potential to interbreed.
      That puts them in the same family by default.
      And FYI, Temple was using the term, consensus blindness, in reference to men
      who consider themselves scientists. He was a little exuberant. Real scientists
      have that.

    • Glenn Beak says:

      Glenn Beak, well stated!

      Science can never disprove a miracle, because by definition the natural rules of cause and effect no longer apply. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that dogs evolved from wolves. Either they did or some magic happened that made it look that way.

  8. Nathan says:

    I don’t care that you’re not a dog person.. but at the same time, claiming you’d lose half your readership for professing that seems like a thinly veiled swipe at “dog people”. Do you really think we are a bunch of closed minded people who base our reading of scientific columns based on the author’s affinity to canines?

    • Eric Berger says:

      Nathan, no insult was intended.

    • Anrkist says:

      You should read Allison’s reply above, Nathan.

    • TXSFRED says:


      Can we agree that Allison is just AS entitled to her own personal caninical beliefs in The United States of America as is Eric? If not, you are well self named and shall be ignored, forthwith as you must be a “liberal” and therefore…aren’t. :-})

  9. maxineclonexine says:

    Eric-I really do not care if you are not a “dog person.” We all have different strokes. I do care that your elder dog lives outside. The dog is old and needs creature comforts now-more than when she was young. Give the senior a more one on one time-you may even become a dog person. {grin}

    • Eric Berger says:

      My dog is perfectly comfortable outside. She has a big backyard, protection from the elements and a nice bed. She has never lived inside.

      I’m not sure what the problem is.

    • Saved says:

      Eric I agree. My dogs all live outside no matter how cold or hot it gets. I will say that I have built a dog house that is climate controled 24/7 with heat and air, but they do not always seek to use it so they will continue to stay outdoors.

    • Bob says:

      It’s not for me to judge if a family choses to have an indoor or outdoor dog. Our reasoning for having an indoor dog was “Whats the point of even having a dog if it’s only going to be an outdoor dog.” There was a certain element of feeling selfish with an outdoor dog because it would feel like the dog is only there for times when it’s convenient for you to pay him/her attention. We felt like if we had a dog it needed to really be part of the family and that would only happen if he/she was an indoor dog. Other reasonable people come to different conclusions but that was our reasoning.

    • Alisonymous says:

      Eric’s dog appears to want outside. Sometimes animals are like that. Before we had our dog, we attempted to claim a stray cat. We tried and tried, but he would not adjust to life indoors. By the time he came to us, he was at least five years on the hoof, and he was set in his ways. He was as happy as a clam – as long as we left him sitting right where he wanted to be, which was in the middle of our front lawn. We’d arrive home every evening after work, and the cat would be grinning from ear to ear in our driveway, and this pattern repeated for the better part of seven years. I could occasionally get hold of him long enough to take him to the vet for shots, but he would not tolerate the inside of the house.

  10. Primo Roy says:

    Don’t write about hamsters and 5th Avenue!
    It will be the end of the advertising business as we know it!

  11. Rp says:

    My dog stays outside, where all dogs belong

  12. WriterDude says:

    I was expecting a totally different article. Not long ago, I heard a story that some geneticists had discovered that some wolves have a gene (or set of genes) that are associated with “cowering.” This shyness, or cowering was the the key to wolves being domesticated. These genes are more prevalent in dogs.

    Cavemen threw out food and bones which attracted wolves and other animals, and some wolves kept coming back and were then captured and domesticated. Then, a mutual relationship and dependancy grew from that. Dogs are great to have around when hunting, and dogs like being fed and cared for.

    • Glenn Beak says:

      Dogs also evolved to digest starches thrown out by humans. Here’s a study looking for genetic differences between dogs and wolves.



    • scott38 says:

      So dogs actually adapted their digesitve tract to better process the foods we provided?
      I am a long term dog person and that is the first I have hear of that. Thanks Glenn.

  13. bg says:

    Look Eric, I can overlook these droughts you keep letting slip by, but hating on a canine ; inexcusable. You need to let that pup in, dogs are pack animals and your familia is the pack. It’s just cruel to stick the poor thing outdoors.

  14. John says:

    Dogs are probably not descended from wolves. Their eyes are very different. Wolves have vertical irises like cats. Dogs have orund irises. It is much more likely that they share a common ancestor.

  15. Will says:

    You werent kidding Eric. People care more about how you treat your dog than the fascinating facts you’ve presented in this article.

  16. DipsoFacto says:

    Eric. Can you recommend a primer on DNA analysis, maybe with an emphasis on genealogy. It’s incomprehensible to me how it can be averred from DNA analysis that the Falklands wolf separated from its mainland cousin 16000 years ago.

    • Glenn Beak says:

      The Falkland Wolf study used Mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down by mother to child. The only way this type of DNA changes is by mutation. Because mutations happen at random they accumulate over time. The more generations since two animals had a common ancestor, the more the mitochondrial DNA differs between them. That makes the mutations a molecular clock.

      Mitochondrial DNA from the most similar species on the mainland was compared to DNA from the Falklands Wolf. Dated specimens were used to determine the mutation rate. The results found the common ancestor most likely lived 16 thousand years ago with the margin of error putting the date between 8–31 thousand years in the past.

  17. OIF VET says:

    My pit is my best friend and has really helped me cope with PTSD. He’s a monster, but he is an inside dog for life.

    • Ridge says:

      I can certainly understand and appreciate this relationship. Thanks for your (and your canine’s) service. :)

    • kay massey says:

      OIF VET….Thank you with all my heart for your service to our country. I have every respect for you and hope your PT can be eased to the point that it does not hurt you so badly as time passes. S A L U T E !!! Thank goodness for your Pittie Buddy too! :) Old Mama Kay

  18. Ridge says:

    As long as you’re not a cat person it’s all good. I guess by your definition I’m not a dog person either. I enjoy having one around and in the house for the most part and do consider them to become part of the family, but not completely a family member.

  19. Janna says:

    Last week we had to put down our 12 year old Malamute/Wolf. He exhibited traits of both breeds; loyal, lovable companion / skittish, howling. He was an inside dog and I would not have wanted it any other way as he was part of our family and I don’t think he could have handled the Houston heat.

    • craig says:

      My sister had a Wolf/Dog (I think it was 95% wolf) that weighed over 100 lbs for nearly 10 years. A really special animal. I swear it could read your thoughts. Losing it was very hard for her.

    • Joe says:

      Anybody can read your thoughts craig…pretty simple.

  20. Jenny says:

    “If she had her way”? I see your marriage is an unconventional one.

  21. lil ol me says:

    It’s ok, Eric, a tolerant not-dog-person is just one step closer to evolving into a dog-person. My wife wasn’t until we got our 1st (for the boys….).

    The 2nd dog SHE researched, located and obtained……

  22. hare2share says:

    Let your wife’s dog in the house. Put in a dog door. Dogs are emotional creatures and just because you are jealous of your wife’s affection for Scarlett doesn’t mean she should be punished and banned to the back yard. Oh and NOT to mention the fact that she is elderly now and needs some extra TLC. Shame on you Eric Berger! :0(

  23. Angei says:

    Naturally the dog lovers will chime in. The title we clicked on was the bond humans have with dogs. For those of us with dogs that are companions, and not just pets, its odd to see that the sci-guy doesn’t have that kind of bond we expected to read more about. That’s all.

    If she’s lived outside her whole life, then she’s got a good life and she’s used to it and happy. Good for her.

    Us dog lovers, on the other hand, would never isolate our companions outside, and we’ll keep clicking on articles that attempt to explain why we treat them like our children.

  24. Cowboy says:

    Animals live OUTSIDE. Humans live INSIDE…..Period. And the definition of “dogs” sure has been dilluted over the years. Most so-called trembling, urinating, snotty-nosed “dogs” that fit in your pocket today, are nothing more than a cat on steroids.

    • JohnD says:

      Humans are animals.

    • Cowboy says:

      Maybe in YOUR family lineage.

    • JohnD says:

      Unless you are a plant, fungus, bacterium, or archean, YOU are an animal, too.

    • Cynthia says:

      Don’t worry, JohnD – the line to tie Cowboy to a tree to ride out the next hurricane is a long one. Since he thinks all weather reports are overblown (pun intended), he should have a fine old time out there.

      During Ike, when Garden Oaks/Oak Forest had no power/alarm systems for over a month, we left our plantation windows open all night, thanks to our indoor dogs. If anyone even paused at the end of our driveway, they’d wake the echos. Any looters moved on to a less-attended house.

      That being said, with the dressing-down Eric gave to the moron who asked if the dog would be OK tied to a tree during the storm, I don’t think his dog is neglected. Scarlett’s regular vet is probably the best judge of whether she should be an inside dog at this point or not. If she’s anything like my mother-in-law, a day under 90 degrees is the dead of winter and calls for a sweater.

    • Cowboy says:

      Homo sapiens.

    • JohnD says:

      And homo sapiens is genus homo, order primate, class mammalia (mammals), phylum chordata (critters with backbones), kingdom animalia (animals). Thus, by your own admission, you are an animal.

    • Cowboy says:

      Definition of homosapien: “walks upright”..”large brain capacity”..”Uses language”..”Uses tools”..etc. etc. etc. latin word for “original man”…..Let me know when you dog who needs to STAY OUTSIDE, fits this description?

    • JohnD says:


      None of which precludes homo sap. from being animals. Indeed, there are other animals with each of those traits.

      (BTW, “sapiens” means “wise”, not “original”.)

    • Cowboy says:

      Nice try…..”Each” maybe, but NOT all the traits.

    • JohnD says:

      Cowboy, which of those traits that you listed exclude homo sapiens from the Kingdom Animalia (animals)?

      Or are you claiming that any critter with all of those traits is not an animal? If so, then please let me introduce you to the common crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). It walks upright, it uses tools, it has a language, and has a large brain capacity.

      Perhaps we should be calling you “Crowboy”…

    • Cowboy says:

      Well now, this explains everything…..You think a crow is comparable to a human.

    • JohnD says:

      You think a crow is comparable to a human.

      In that they are both animals, yes I do. And, given that a crow matches the definition that you gave for a human, you are obviously of the “featherless biped” persuasion.

  25. James Williams says:

    Everyone please lighten up. Not all dogs should or need to live in the house with their owners. My dad had a pointer. He was an outdoor dog and would never have been able to adapt to a life indoors. If he didn’t have room to run he would have gone nuts, not to mention torn up the house. I am a dog lover, but there are many dogs, many people and many situations where having the dog live in the house is just wrong for the dog as well as the owner. :-)

  26. I Love Luci says:

    The link below is a NOVA presentation which includes some fascinating 20th century Russian research with foxes which were domesticated in only three or four generations, if i remember the show correctly. It did NOT take more than five generations and as with all breeding processes it was a “pick of the litter” process to achieve domestication. The curling of tails and the elimination of solid color fur were the immediate results of the breeding. The domesticated creatures will also establish eye contact with the master as opposed to the foxes which never do.

    click on Transcripts and scroll down 20 pages for the research presentation.

  27. Glenn Beak says:

    Just because dogs had split from wolves 33,000 years ago, it doesn’t mean they were man’s best friend back then. It’s likely that dogs evolved to feed from human trash piles a long time before they were seen as anything more than rats with wagging tails.

    • Jim says:

      I know this is experience in the 20th century, and not from some
      30 millennia back, but it was not uncommon to chase coyotes with
      dogs from the 1920′s on up to the 1950′s. Sometimes the “hunters”
      found a coyote den. Every once in a while the den would have coyote
      pups that did not yet have their eyes open. One of those pups
      ended up at our house. It was just like a dog as far as I remember.

      That transition took only one generation.

      Dogs were not just hunting buddies, they were pack animals for the
      two-footed in the days before the horse. If they lost their load
      it was not uncommon for them to end up in the cooking pot.

  28. KM says:

    You said it yourself: Dogs evolved as COMPANION ANIMALS. They are not meant to live outside alone. It is extremely cruel of you to leave your dog by herself outside all the time.

    Why would you get a dog if you’re not going to spend time with it?

  29. b says:

    Never a fan of keeping a pet outside. There are coyotes that will kill you animal and if small enough, birds of prey. Additionally, leaving a pet outside in Houston heat is just torture. I had the very unfortunate experience of watching a dog perish from heat stroke ( called on an emergency call and couldn’t bring his temp down) it’s sad and cruel. I really hope you have plenty of shade, drinking water and some type of pool so the dog can get their feet wet to cool down, as they don’t have sweat glands like us and only cool through their feet and panting.

    Off my soap box now. You should watch Dogs Decoded on PBS if you have further interest. It’s fairly easy to domesticate over a relatively short period of time thru selective bredding programs. You start with breeding the wild animals that don’t snarl, lunge, etc..

  30. craig says:

    It sure works better if both husband and wife have similar levels, perferably high, of affection for any pet they have. My thought is that people especially in residential living conditions should keep their dogs inside most of the time not just for the dog’s best situation but for the neighbors as well. In my neighborhood too many people have what I call yard dogs, that never go inside. This means these dogs can bark at any time of the day or night to the point of becomming a ligitimate neighborhood nusiance. By the way I am a dog owner and lover. If my dog would get along with a cat I’d have one as well. I think people who can’t really appreciate owning and caring for a pet are missing out on something worthwhile. It would seem some from the findings here that elements of that thinking go back a long time. Unless you live on a farm or ranch with a warm dry place for you dogs to retreat when they want to keep them inside.

  31. JohnGalt says:

    Actually, Eric, there is some existing evidence that dogs were domesticated earlier than 10,000 years ago. This paper, for instance, dates a morphologically distinctive dog to 31,700 years ago, so this new paper does not push the date much further back. The sample in the paper you describe was from western Asia, and this one was from the Ukraine, so not that far away.

    The mtDNA evidence strongly supports what is generally believed, that wolves were domesticated multiple times in several different places.

  32. Rodger says:

    Even your chihuahua and maltese have DNA that is 99.6 percent identical to wolves. Just read a great book that broached the theory that the dog pretty much donesticated itself. They came from non-aggressive wolves that served as garbage collectors and reliable watchman for ancient man. They started following men on the hunt to take care of any scraps left behind. It’s not a streach to see them actually hanging out in the paths of villages and the doorways of homes (or caves). The dogs you see now weren’t even around 160 years ago. That’s when people started breeding dogs for looks instead of talent. The dingo can be considered a kind of proto-dog in looks and habits.

  33. scott says:

    The Siberian fox experiment is a very important study with profound implications for not only did they researchers find that selecting for ‘tameness’ alter the animals physical appearance ( the foxes ears became droopy and their fur coloration was no longer uniform white) but also left them immature and less intelligent than their wild brethren.

    Dogs, foxes and humans have a lot of ‘junk DNA’ which seems to allow for the creation of lots of ‘breeds’ within a single species. Further traits, once thought to not be heritable can, in fact, be passed on. A Irish Setter, e.g., does not learn to ‘point’ at game animals from its mother, it will do this because it is part of its breed. Try to teach a beagle or Chihuahua to do the same and it will be futile.

    The implications for what this heritability of traits implies for human breeds is not congruent with much of our socio-political ideology.

  34. Brenda says:

    My cat and I are sitting here shaking our heads and wondering why anyone would want a needy ol’ dog.

    • YellowRose says:

      I got cats as well as dogs. My cats run and hide when someone knocks on the door, but my dogs stand at full alert.

      My cats expect me to wait on them hand and foot! They expect me to clean up their litter boxes and demand food by hollering all over the place one to two hours before their dinnertime.

      My dogs, on the other hand, sit at the door and go crazy wagging their tail when I come home jumping all over the place like I am the greatest person in the world. And they hold their business until I let them outside to do it, although I did get a doggy door last year so they don’t have to wait for me no more.

      Maybe someday you will experience the joy of a dog, and maybe you won’t. As long as you are an animal lover, you’re an ace in my book!

    • IANVS says:

      re: “As long as you are an animal lover, you’re an ace in my book!”

      Besides, you can use them to mop the floor.

    • Brenda says:

      YellowRose, I’ve lived with three dogs and five cats in my life. I prefer cats.

    • IANVS says:

      Making a dog hold his crap ’til you get home is nothing short of inhumane. Just wait ’til he gets Montezuma’s Revenge.

  35. Mac says:

    Well, Eric, I suspect from what you have confessed that you are still usurping the alpha role in your pack from the poor dog. Everyone knows, (I think it is in the Bible.) that animals are susposed to live in your house and most enlightened people yield the alpha role to the animal best suited to perform it in their household. Furthermore, it is clear to me that these evil scientists are creating the universe in a manner to be at odds with the true word. What else could explain the differences in the real world and in our infaliable dogma?

  36. kay massey says:

    I still love ya Eric! :)

  37. Bradyfan says:

    Dude let your wifes dog inside the house and stop being a sissy about a dog inside the house !
    If its the Dog smell that you dont like ,,there are numerous shampoos to eliminate those issues and a dog needs a bath regularly ,,,i have a 100 lb Black Lab and he has just as good of manners as most humans that come over.
    He stays indoors when we are indoors and like most dogs ,,,they WANT to be with family or “their Pack”.
    Get a Clue Stargazer !!! geez

    • I Love Luci says:

      “Black Lab and he has just as good of manners as most humans that come over…”

      We classify some of our acquaintances as indoor and outdoor company.

  38. IANVS says:

    When Chewy (half Chow, half horse) & the boys were pups, we kept him in the garage. But when he chewed off the car bumper, it was the great outdoors for him.

    However, the sissy-boy Maltese has command of the house.

    • craig says:

      Chewed off the car bumper? Well that is a bit of a hurdle but all dogs go through a teething stage when young. Get past that and usually there is no problem unless you leave the dog alone so much it gets bored to tears.

      We got our dog when she was a little less than a year old. We left it in the house when we went out to the store for brief periods. After the ends got chewed off of several rocking chair rockers we got worried but almost as soon as this behavior started it ended and nothing else has been chewed on since, expcept her toys. This experience and her penchant (to this day) for chewing up and eating branches out in the yard convinced us though that this dog must have been a termite in a previous life.

  39. BT says:

    That bond doesn’t surprise me at all. I’m an Aspie, and while I’ve never been able to figure out what PEOPLE mean by words, gestures and expressions I can read dogs like I read books. And they are far more complicated than most believe. They have very human like emotions. They love, grieve, dislike, feel joy & emotional pain. I have always assumed they come by those emotions due to their close association with humans. I believe they have experienced evolution right along side man. No matter how “tame” a lion, you’d never place absolute trust in him not to turn on you. With dogs, people can and do.

  40. Fred says:

    I bet your neighbors LOVE your outside only dog. With how close houses are these days, it should be MANDATORY that dogs be kept inside during normal sleeping hours.

  41. Ann says:

    Dogs schmogs. What about cats? =^.^=

  42. HowieOhio says:

    Havn’t seen anyone comment on the change from 10,000 years ago to now 33,000 years ago.

    I tend to believe that intelligent man is much older than our current timeline lends itself to. As in the NOVA special I’ve watched, genetic selection has to occur for dogs to have existed. Given their traits, I believe this to be a direct involvement of humans that had, extra food, and needed the utility (and companionship i’m sure) of the dog.

    So does this new information also support that we were smarter ealier than we thought, giving more credability to the underwater cities found off the coasts?

    • Glenn Beak says:

      DNA analysis in 1997 suggested the last common ancestor between dogs and wolves lived 130,000 years ago. You don’t need Atlanteans for dogs to have an older past. Natural selection changed dogs while it changed archaic humans into modern humans.

  43. Catalina says:

    I do not care where they came from , fact is they are here , my 4 pups live mostly indoors , nobody in our family objects, otherwise if you do not like dogs then you
    should not come and visit.

  44. Dee says:

    My dog and two cats are inside and the dog is on a leash when outside. I love my animals and so does my husband. I think more of my animals than I do of most people. And I would never had married a person who felt different than I do about inside animals.

    • ScientistMike says:

      Dee says, “I think more of my animals than I do of most people. “.

      You know, don’t you, that is a pretty weird point of view. But I have found it among a number of pet lovers, and it really is a sickness. We have pets, d we care for them very well, but there is no way we would ever consider them on par with any person we know.

  45. Someone says:

    I have a pair of dogs that are pretty much full time outside. They both have plenty of water and shade. One of them, the rescue dog picked up off the street at 1 year old, is claustrophobic and won’t stay in the house, or even in an open garage. Sitting with them, playing with them, and letting them interact takes care of socialization.

    The big problems come with indoor or indoor/outdoor dogs suddenly put out into the summer heat. Just as with people, acclimitizing by being out frequently as the temperature warms prevents problems later on.

  46. YellowRose says:

    I have 4 dogs and all of them have access inside our house. They are 2 medium (45-55 lbs) and 2 large (75 and 90 lbs).

    Here is the way I see it: They are our alarm system as well as our protectors.

    They sleep in our bedroom with us and I even go so far as to make them their own “wet” food. They only get grain free kibble, and every night as we make our way to the bedroom, they each get a milkbone to clean their teeth.

    I have had many unsavory charactors knock on my door trying to sell everything from alarm systems to cleaning products to cable to food, but after my natural “alarm” system goes off, they walk away and never look back!

    And it sure is nice not having to worry about anyone trying to break into my house!

    We finally installed a doggy door last summer, and the dogs are thrilled to be able to come in and out as they please. We do lock it up at night so no opossums or snakes get inside. Best investment we ever made!

    • bkbirge says:

      My dog makes his own wet dog food. He takes the dry food from his bowl and shifts it to the water bowl with his nose, waits until it’s good and mushy, and then eats it. Pretty funny to watch. Wish he was a bit better at getting it all in the bowl though, his success rate is like 75%.

    • BR says:

      YellowRose you have it right! I have two inside dogs who are small (8 and 14 lbs) and the are the best burgular alarms around, announcing any knock, doorbell ring, or strange noise. Very important, since I’m hearing impaired.

  47. bkbirge says:

    “…Their DNA analysis showed that the remains more closely resembled modern dogs than wolves….”
    Now there is an alternate explanation, this dog was part of a time traveling adventure team from the future that met an unfortunate accident in the past. Occam’s Law or Murphy’s Razor says it must be so, can’t be bothered to figure out which. Ruh-roh!

    • BT says:

      I once tried to borrow Occam’s razor and the stingy old *** wouldn’t lend it to me. The simplest and easiest solution was to get my own. So I did.

  48. bkbirge says:

    Oh and by the way, if anyone wants a really good classic sci-fi read about what happens to dogs in the far flung future, read City by Clifford D. Simak.

  49. michelle says:

    I will admit that my respect for you has taken a hit as well, finding out you make that poor dog stay outside unless its “very cold”.
    My husband was the same way until we moved into an apartment with our big dog. When we got another house, Nash was inside with us.
    Dogs are part of the family. Would you stick your kid outside all the time unless it was ‘very cold’?
    Besides…if someone breaks into the house…your dog can’t do much to protect you if he’s outside. And a thief who hears a dog inside a house isn’t going to break into that house because the dog is there. Whereas if the dog is outside, unless there’s a doggie door, it isn’t a risk.
    They’re supposed to be your companions…..not a toy you play with only if its cold outside.

  50. PDQPete says:

    I’m just charmed by the names on the map: “Gorno-Altaisk?” Does the Necromancer live there? Because he totally should.