Ive had a clean up on the history pages, as i thought it would be best to find out how our dogs came about,  Starting with the family tree of the Tomarctus and the Gray Wolf ect ect. This is what ive found on the web any one of you can look this up just as i did. There’s so much history on the Wolf and the dogs of today. Ive managed to find articles on all the dogs if this family tree just to show you where they come from and what roles they play in the modern dog of today. Ive put the website links on the articles so you can visit their website.

THE FIRST DOG WAS A TOMARCTUS,

A genus whose name means “almost a bear.” It roamed the plains and grasslands of North America some ten to fifteen million years ago. The entire family of Canidae -- including wolves, jackals, coyotes, and dholes -- are descendants of Tomarctus. Sceintists believe that the immediate ancestor of the domestic dog Canis familiaris is Canis lupus, the wolf. Dogs have been an integral part of indigenous cultures around the world. The Aborigines respected and tamed wild dingos. The dogs would snuggle up to Aborigines and sleep with them as bed-warmers – this the origin of the term “two-dog night”. The domestic dog as we know it today is likely an evolution between humans and wolves. Wolf and man were competing predators in the same hunting territories. Man may have seen in the wolf the potential of a hunting ally, and expert in hunting and sniffing and an animal upon whom he could depend for information about the wild. Perhaps man first trapped orphan cubs, and then, by a process of careful selection, produces changes over a few generations to breed for the traits that suited his needs. Dogs were useful to early humans in a variety of ways. It could assist in hunting and guard other animals or possessions. It could be eaten for food, it’s fur could provide warmth. Today, dogs have other benefits, particularly as a companion animal. Once established, the emotional bond between human and animal is exceptionally strong. Dogs see for the blind, hear for the deaf, and help heal mental illness. Dogs give us love and affection and receive ours in return. Even though our domesticated pets are completely dependent on us for their survival, they still retain their wild nature. And so, what is best for them is for us, as agents of Nature, to give them, as much as possible, what Nature would provide.

The Gray Wolf

The Evolutionary history of the wolf is not totaly clear, but many biologists believe that the wolf developed from primitive carnivores known as miacids. Miacids ranged from gopher-sized to dog-sized animals, and appeared in the Lower Tertiary about fifty two million years ago. Miacids in turn had evolved from Cretaceous insectivores. The direct descendants of miacids today are animals called viverrids, which include the genet of Africa.

Relatively late in the evolutionary history of miacids came the appearance of the first canid (Cynodictis), one of these was called the dawn-wolf, this creature had a long body and looked like a enlongated fox, it could live and climb in trees, it was also thought to possibly related to feline species. Some authorities believe that canids originated in North America and then spread to Asia and South America, while others ascribe that a small type of wolf crossed into siberia from alaska, where it eventually developed into the larger, present-day grey wolf. The grey wolf then migrated to North America, where it populated what is now Canada and the United States, except for the southeastern section of the latter country. that area was populated by the smaller red wolf(C. rufus). Still Others believe that the dog family originated in North America, migrated to Asia, and then returned

Wolf ancestors began to develop in the Paleocene, about sixty million years ago. By the Miocene, about twenty million years ago, canines and felines had branched into two separate families. In one ancestor of the wolf,Tomarctus, the fifth toe on the hind leg became vestigal and is evidenced today by the dew claw on both wolves and dogs.

Research of wolf history by Robert Wayne at the University of California suggests that a number of wolflike canids diverged from a common ancestor about two to three million years ago. The first gray wolf,(Canis Lupis), probably appeared in Eurasia sometime in the early Pleistocene period about a million years ago. Around 750,000 years ago, it is though to have migrated to North America.

The Dire Wolf,(Canis Dirus), larger and heavier than the gray wolf, evolved earlier and the two co existed in North America for about 400,000 years. As prey became extinct around 16,000 years ago due to climatic change, the dire wolf gradually became extinct itself. Around 7,000 years ago the gray wolf became the prime canine predator in North America

The Dire Wolf

The dire wolf was a large canine that exhibited hyena like characteristics. Like thehyena, the dire wolf hunted and scavenged for food. Researchers suspect that dire wolves, due to their scavenging nature, scattered the bones of animals they killed or that were killed by other prey.

The dire wolf was not quite like any animal we have today. It was similar in overall size and mass to a large modern gray wolf.

(A popular misconception is that dire wolf dwarfed the modern day grey wolf)

It was about 1.5 meters (5 feet) long and weighed about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) on average. The dire wolf looked fairly similar to the modern gray wolf; however, there were several important differences. The dire wolf had a larger, broader head and shorter, more sturdy legs than its modern relative. The teeth of dire wolf much larger and more massive than those of the gray wolf. The braincase of the dire wolf is also smaller than that of a similarly-sized gray wolf. The fact that the lower part of the legs of the dire wolf are proportionally shorter than those of the gray wolf, indicates that the dire wolf was probably not a good a runner as the gray wolf.

Many paleontologists think that the dire wolf may have used its relatively large, massive teeth to crush bone. This idea is supported by the fact that dire wolf teeth frequently have large amounts of wear on their crowns. Several people have suggested that dire wolves may have made their living in similar ways to the modern hyenas. Wolves and coyotes are relatively common large carnivores found in Ice Age sites. In fact, several thousand dire wolves have been found in the asphalt pits at Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles, CA. The coyote, gray wolf, and dire wolf have all been found in paleontological sites in the midwestern U.S.

The first specimen of a dire wolf was found at near Evansville, Indiana. Clark Kimberling of the University of Evansville has traced the very interesting history of this specimen.

The Evolution of the Genus Canis

The genus Canis underwent a mixed fate at the end of the Pleistocene. The gray wolf and coyote survived the extinction thatoccurred approximately 10,000 years ago. The dire wolf, however, was one of the animals that did not survive. Perhaps the dire wolf depended on scavenging the remains of the large herbivores of the last Ice Age. The extinction of these herbivores may have then led to the extinction of the dire wolf. Scientists do not know if this is the case; however, they continue to search for the reason that many kinds of mammals went extinct about 10,000 years ago.

The evolution of these three species of canids is very interesting. Paleontologists think that, although all three of the species were found in the same area at the same time, each comes from a different evolutionary lineage within the genus Canis. That is, none of these three species is the direct ancestor of either of the other two species.

The grey wolf was well was established in North America by the time the first Native American and Inuit Peoples came across the Beringia, about eighteen thousand years ago.

The Evolution of the domestic dog is still a matter of much debate. Some Believe that the dog is descended from the wolf, while others think they are evolved separately from a common ancestor. Recently the American Society of Mammologist recommended that the domestic dog be reclassified as a new subspecies of wolf, Canis lupus familiaris. There is some genetic evidence that the dog is descendent from the wolf and that the domestication of the dog took place several times over the course of history.

http://www.dog-names.org.uk/history-evolution-dogs.htm

Domestication history of the dog

The dog is part of a family of similar animals that include wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals and wild hunting dogs such as the Dingo and African Wild Hunting Dog, who all share common characteristics. Many of these wild dogs have been claimed to be the domestic dog's wild ancestor but the exact origins of the dog and domestication history of the dog are uncertain. Paleontologists and archaeologists have determined that Miacis, a weasel-like animal, is the ancestor of the canids as well as other families such as bears, raccoons, civets, hyenas and cats. From Miacis evolved Cynodictis, a dog-like animal from which later evolved the dog family.

All canids share common characteristics - they bear live young, have similar dental structures, walk on their toes rather than the soles of their feet, and are homeothermic (able to maintain their body temperature at a constant level).

The domestic dog has been represented in art for many years with the earliest being sculptures of dogs found in Iraq and dating back to 6500 BC. Dog bones have been discovered dated at around 8300 BC in the USA, 7500 BC in the UK with similar finds in Czechoslovakia. One thing is certain, the domestic dog spread rapidly all over the world.

The dog's natural hunting instincts have been used by humans over the years to hunt a variety of prey in different environments and this led to the development of different groups of dogs, and ultimately to different dog breeds.

"Sight Hounds" or "Gaze Hounds" were an early group of dogs developed whose characteristics included a deep chest, long legs and a keen sense of sight. These dogs were used to spot prey from a distance and then to sprint swiftly and silently to run down prey in open, treeless countries. From this group dog breeds such as the Afghan, Saluki and Greyhound emerged.

"Scent Hounds" with an exceptional sense of smell provided by large noses with well opened nostrils were later developed in Europe. These dogs were not bred for speed but stamina, and were used to track and hunt prey over long periods of time. From this group of hounds dog breeds such as the Otter hound, Elkhound, Basset Hound and Dachshund emerged.

Hunting dogs were also developed, mostly in Britain, to hunt burrowing prey such as badgers, foxes and rabbits, and to control many types of vermin. These dogs needed to be feisty and energetic and so the group of dogs known as Terriers were developed. Most breeds of Terrier are descended from the Old English Black and Tan Terrier and the White English Terrier, both now extinct. Over the years two distinct types of terrier developed: smaller earth terriers with short legs who would go to ground after badgers, foxes and rabbits and larger terriers for hunting otters, water rats and wildlife that lived near rivers and around farms. Today many breeds of Terrier exist and these include the Fox Terrier, Welsh Terrier, Airedale Terrier and West Highland White Terrier.

Following the invention of the gun, dogs with sensitive noses were developed to locate and indicate the location of prey, to flush out prey or retrieve the prey once shot which required a soft mouth. For this purpose Pointers and Retrievers were developed.

Although hunting has been responsible for the development of many dog breeds, dogs were also used to aid humans in protecting and working with other domesticated animals kept by man and so guard dogs and herding dogs were developed. In addition breeds were also developed to aid humans in other activities such as sled dogs, war dogs, dogs of burden, guide and rescue dogs and toy dogs developed as small companion dogs.

As a result of the wide diversity of roles in which the dog has been selectively bred to perform over the years many different breeds of dog emerged throughout the world and exist

http://www.petwebsite.com/dogs/dog_history.htm