How dogs became part of our lives

Dogs are the first animals ever domesticated by humans. And although their distant ancestors — ancient wolves — have long since disappeared, the closest modern relatives of dogs still roam in the wild. But how did a once dangerous predator become our best friend? Science still

For a long time, it was believed that dogs descended from two different wolf populations that lived far apart from each other. But a 2017 study of ancient dog DNA showed that all modern dogs almost certainly evolved 20–40 thousand years ago from a single point in Europe.

The exact mechanism is still debated. There are two main theories:

Humans deliberately domesticated wolves

Ancient hunters selected the calmest and least aggressive pups, raised them, and used them in hunting.

Wolves domesticated themselves

Less fearful wolves began approaching human camps in search of food. People noticed the benefits — the “bold” predators could guard the territory, and in return they received a steady source of food.

This mutual benefit became the starting point of our millennia-long friendship.