Dogs in agriculture

About 9,000 years ago, having established this mutually beneficial relationship, humans began to trust dogs to help with agricultural work. Getting used to a more settled than nomadic existence, instead of moving to follow herds of animals for hunting, they started to domesticate and breed sheep and goats, and later pigs (boar) and cattle (wild oxen). They later included horses and this gave an added advantage of providing transport. Just as dogs were capable of protecting humans, they also helped protect herds of domesticated animals from predators.

For many centuries dogs have been used by farmers to help in agriculture. Up to the last few centuries, this was the main driving force behind the relationship between dogs and humans. Into our homes, into our hearts In many paintings of the upper classes over the last few hundred years, we can see the dog moving from an outdoor, functional addition to a household to having close involvement in human society.

Over the last 100 years, dogs have crept further and further into human homes, lovingly invited. Dogs have always shown the genetic potential to adapt easily to a range of new environments but their remarkable adaptation to living within a human family and society is still a source of wonder and endearment to dog lovers everywhere! Dog owners know there’s something unexplainable about the connection between us. Their willingness to please us, love us and share fun with us is one of life’s joys.

The domestication of cats is a similar story to that of dogs, though every cat owner knows they are an entirely different kettle of fish than dogs! They similarly evolved by keeping close to humans. They hunted the small vermin that would have been attracted to the storage of grains and vegetables which formed a symbiotic relationship with us. However, they kept more of a distance and retained more of their wild instincts. While dogs have quite willingly given up their hunting instinct to a large degree, cats still retain the minds of wild hunters. Millions of cats worldwide are not pets but feral scavengers and hunters - wild.

Cats are the most popular species of pet, outnumbering pet dogs by about three to one. About one third of US households and one quarter of UK homes have one or more.

Their relationship with humans is different than that of dogs, showing their differing nature. They show plenty of affection, but retain a self reliance that’s unique. Studies of generations of cats show they very quickly return from domestication to wild once out of direct human contact.

There’s also evidence of cats being kept as pets in the distant past, such as in ancient Egypt, but not as much as of dogs. They haven’t been subjected to the same level of breeding either; hence the smaller number of varieties that exist and their closer resemblance to their wild ancestors.