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Any dog owner will watch the above video and immediately understand the connection that this amazing dog owner and soldier has with his beloved dog. But what is it that brought the bond of dogs and humans together and made us friends instead of foes? The bond that dog owners have with their dogs is just like the bond that family members have between each other. It is no secret that the dog is called “man’s best friend” and that is very apparent in the above video. But how did this bond start?
How Dogs And Humans Came To Be Friends
The exact story about how dogs and humans became friends is a bit of a mystery. We know that ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians had wolves and dogs as pets. But how did this all come to be? Why did humans begin to befriend dogs versus any other animal?
The most widely accepted theory is that wolves and humans became friends after each species discovered that they could help each other honks and acquire necessities such as food and water. Wolves might make a kill but humans would come and take the kill before the wolves could consume the carcass. In exchange, humans would share the scraps and leftovers with the wolves who originally got the kill. Instead of turning against humans, wolves decided to befriend humans and simply accept the scraps that were given to them. This is what is believed to be the beginning of the dog and human relationship. As dogs and humans spends more time with each other, humans began to realize that they could train dogs to help them with hunting and protection. Wolves and dogs back then were happy to perform these duties because they knew that their food, water, and shelter needs would be handled by their human counterparts.
- Recommended E-Book: What’s a Dog For?: The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man’s Best Friend
How Dogs Became Our Family Members
Over the course of thousands of years, the human and dog relationship seems to have gotten stronger and stronger. Even dog houses are becoming very rare as people just allow their dogs to be inside the home and become a part of the family. The doggy daycare industry is thriving as people do not even want to leave their dogs home alone anymore.
The argument could be made that dogs are the most intelligent animals on the planet because they have found out how to befriend the animals at the top of the food chain (that’s us!). All of their needs are handled by us and they do not even need to hunt or work for their food, water, or shelter. This is amazing and dogs are one of the only animals who have been able to achieve this.
The Future Of The Human & Dog Relationship
It does not look like the human and dog relationship will be ending anytime soon. As a matter of fact, the pet industry is absolutely thriving and that is mostly due to the increase in dog ownership over the years. As more retired individuals are quitting their careers the number of people seeking dogs is increasing rapidly. People are spending more time and money on their dogs than ever before and it is hard to see this ending anytime soon.
It is truly incredible the relationship and bond that dogs and humans have been able to form with each other and it will be very interesting to see how strong this bond gets in the future. There doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.
