The first ‘pets’

The first wild animals tamed by humans were dogs. This happened in Europe about 10000 years ago.

These first ‘dogs’ were not like what we have now. They may have been small wolves. Or they may have been a breed of dog like Australian dingo.

These dogs probably came near humans to steal scraps of food. Some of their puppies were ‘adopted’ by people and grew up with them. These pups were quite tame as they grow up. They thought the humans were part of their ‘pack’!

Humans realised the dogs were a help to them in a number of ways. The dogs helped them to hunt. They could smell and hear danger before people could. They helped keep people warm on cold nights. They were fun to have!

Over a long time, people were able to breed dogs for different jobs. Some were for hunting; some for herding; and some just for pets. These dogs looked quite different from each other. For example, a German Shepherd looks a lot different from a Yorkshire terrier!

Now, of course, there are many different types of dogs. Dog breeders think there are more than 400 different breeds. That numbers keep increasing with new breeds.

Since those early days, humans and dogs have always been together. Today, dogs depend on humans for their survival more than any other animal.