Does the dog come from the wolf?

In the 90s, multiple DNA studies were carried out to clarify the origin of the dog. All these studies concluded that wolves and dogs had a common ancestor, and therefore, belonged to the same species. In fact, in 1993 the scientific name of the dog of Canis Familiaris was changed to Canis Lupus Familiaris since it was considered a domestic variant of the wolf.

On whether the dog is a subspecies of the wolf there is much controversy since some authors understand that domestication has turned the dog into a different species, which means that at the level of behavior they are considered different species. If we compare how dogs and wolves act, we understand that there are great differences at the level of behavior thanks to the domestication and adaptation of the dog to the human environment. Keep in mind that there are fossil evidence of dogs domesticated 31,700 years ago, which may explain these differences in behavior.

The majority of social patterns of both species are identical and are designed to satisfy their needs, both external and internal, although in dogs they are much less rigid since it is more malleable in their instinctive behavior than the wolf. There lies the main difference with the wolf, the learning ability is very superior in the dog and therefore, is able to adapt to new situations with great ease.

Evidently, in a process of domestication so long in which the environment of man has varied so much, it is inevitable that the dog has had to evolve also to adapt. During this long process, dogs have been modifying their patterns of species based on the close relationship that has been emerging with man, which has enriched him emotionally and has increasingly differentiated him from the wolf.

Therefore, we must be careful when explaining the behavior of the dog as analogous to that of the wolf since studies show that throughout evolution, dog and wolf separated and acquired different patterns of behavior.