The Geography of Dogs!

Who here knew that the household dog is considered to be the oldest domesticated animal in history? And that dogs are considered to be the oldest domestic animal that are also accepted as being an ancestor of the wolf!

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Have you ever wondered what the oldest breed of dog in the world is? I have... But it’s actually not known what the oldest breed of dog ever is. As there is no evidence relating to one particular breed! This is mainly due to the fact that dogs have been cross-bred and then cross-bred again and again so many times over the centuries, that you can’t isolate their original genes!

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Also, who knew that dogs have been domesticated and tamed for over 16,000 years? But we've only been keeping them as our household pets for about 10,000 years? How cool, but weird is that!? This is because dogs were used for certain jobs or duties at first!

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The top five oldest known breeds are:

1. Saluki

2. Chinese Shar-Pei

3. Akita

4. Afghan Hound

5. Alaskan Malamute

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Dogs are one of the first ever animals to have ever become tame. They have lived with humans for just over 10,000 years and many scientists’ nowadays, associate dogs, both domestic and wild, to be an ancestor of the wolf.

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These days, humans have bred new species of dogs, whom could never survive on their own in the wild. There are so many new shapes and sizes of domestic dogs created every year. But sadly, due to such extreme measures people go to, to these create new breeds, many dogs have to suffer from severe problems, such as respiration, sight, joint or growth disorders.

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Pugs are a perfect example of both respiration (breathing), and sight difficulties. Due to dogs being bred without people thinking of all the possible problems which may arise, 95% of pugs have bad breathing and sight difficulties, many becoming partially blind by the age of six.

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However, some domestic dogs still share many behaviours with their wild relatives. This is most commonly shown through their actions and or temperaments. An example of an action, are dogs burying bones or favourite toys for their future use, just as their wild relatives!