From Mummified Dogs to a Nascar Dog Collar

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Today, many pet owners enjoy spoiling their dog rotten. Nothing could please them more than delicious doggie treats and a brand new Nascar dog collar. There is actually quite a growing trend of sports-themed apparel for dogs, from NFL dog collars and NCAA dog collars to themed leashes, jerseys, food and water bowls, etc. While it likely seems perfectly natural to you that these delightful canine animals live in our homes, eat in our kitchens and accompany us on long walks and vacations, if you stop to think about it- while dogs have been with us for thousands of years, it hasn't always been that way.

In the beginning, well, ok, pretty long after the beginning- the dinosaurs are long dead when we start this tale- wolves and humans existed separately. It was not unknown for the two to prey on each other, not as a source of food for either one, but in a competitive two-dangerous-animals-meet-in-the-woods-unexpectedly type way. Both groups of animals were also remarkably similar. They had a strong sense of hierarchy with a ruling male whose female mate held the second-most powerful role. They both have an inclination to be group oriented and friendly to others in their pack/society and deeply suspicious of outsiders. Both wolves and humans are very good at reading each other's moods, body language and/or expressions.

So, why cultivate a relationship with wolves? Why domesticate a dangerous animal, creating, over the thousands of years, animals that are not only used for hunting and protection, but also as caregivers, beloved pets and constant companions? Likely, it was the hunt that did it. For humans, using dogs to help in the hunt meant that they had ferocious allies that were faster and stronger than they. Humans could stand safely back while dogs used their impressively powerful sense of smell to track down the hunted animal. The dogs, on the other hand, benefited from the more advanced weaponry of humans which led to a quick and safe (for humans and dogs) kill. In return for their services as trackers and guards, the dogs were provided shelter and food.

For mutual benefit, it would seem, humans and dogs bonded. Over the years, that bond strengthened, and as wolves, dog's predecessors possessed a keen sense of hierarchy; dogs were able to fit right into human society and, most importantly, understand their place. While today we may pamper and spoil them, it was a long time before humans reached that kind of relationship with the canine species.