The experts at Alaska Dog Works identified 50 key moments in the history of dogs that define the species in a chronological timeline.
15,000–40,000 years ago: Dogs become humanity’s first domestic animal
Scientists can’t agree on exactly why or when, but at some point in the late Stone Age before the Agricultural Revolution, human hunter/gatherers formed a symbiotic partnership with the direct descendants of one of their oldest rivals. With loyal dogs at their sides, Homo sapiens with modern human brains could now leverage the senses and instincts of wild wolves. The moment stands with the domestication of fire as one of the most important milestones in human history that helped take the species out of the food chain—humans and their dogs would soon rule the world.
