Why: how did a dog make friends with a man?

A dog is an animal that has been walking hand in hand with man since time immemorial. Now it would be difficult to imagine life without this wonderful creature. But how did it happen that it was the dog that became so strongly associated with devotion and helping people?

Scientists say that this happened during driven hunts in primitive times. The ancestors of the modern dog were certain breeds of wolves, which were excellent at driving the victim into a dead end, but poorly reacted in order to deliver a decisive blow. In people, the situation was the opposite, because the tools they created at that time could cope with the murder, but it was much more difficult to run away from the evil predators that lay in wait at any moment.

Wolves and humans had similar queries about where to live and what to eat. It was profitable for some to feast on the leftovers left after the hunt, skillfully driving the prey, and for others to get more food because of this. Mutually beneficial cooperation between a wolf and a man stretched out for centuries, and if at first people ate slow-moving wolves (their crushed bones found at excavations testify to this), then over time, so much prey was obtained from joint hunting that it was enough for everyone.

Gradually dogs left together with people from the places of the common ancestral home. There were more and more of them, and people selected the most devoted, intelligent and courageous representatives, taking them into their tribe and taking care of them. People began to take care of the puppies, because they should grow up to be worthy dogs. So, without knowing it, people turned the dog into the first pet, constantly selecting the best puppies and raising them to suit their needs.