Just Finished Reading: The Wolf Within – The Astonishing Evolution of Man’s Best Friend by Bryan Sykes (FP: 2018) [259pp]

I’ve always thought, despite being at heart a cat person, that dogs are something special. I don’t remember our first dog, a German Shepard, but my sister had a dog growing up who was a lot of fun. Not only was he bat-shit crazy at times (and therefore hilariously entertaining at times) he was incredibly loyal both to my sister and her kids and I honestly think he would have died for them if he saw a need to. That kind of loyalty is rare in people but all too common in dogs. So, where do dogs come from and why do they have such a special place in the lives of humans – even cat lovers like me.

It seems obvious on first glance that dogs must be descended from wolves but such a link was only confirmed comparatively recently. Charles Darwin, much interested in dog breeding, thought that we might never know for certain where the ancestors of dogs came from, but that was long before the discovery of DNA and investigations into the canine genome. That, genetics and the compilation of the canine family tree, is the focus of this interesting book. Starting with a rather (admitted by the author) romantic musing of the origins of how man and wolf met and ended up co-operating with each other the author moves onto discussing the sparse but fascinating evidence for the incorporation of the dog into human society to the mutual advantage of both. I particularly liked the speculation around two sets of footprints in the rear of a cave in France. Side by side, in what must have been a darkened part of a cave complex are imprints of a child’s footprints next to those of what is obviously a dog or dog-like creature. Although dating both prints to exactly the same time is difficult if not impossible it appears to be clear that the dog/wolf was not actually hunting the child. It’s easy to imagine a parent watching the child wander off and telling a nearby resting dog to ‘go with’ the child to keep a watchful eye on them. After all it’s what it would do for one of its own pack mate’s cubs.

Wolves and humans have broadly similar social structures and comparable hunting styles so it’s understandable that a wolf/dog would have an easier time of fitting into a ‘pack’ hierarchy than many other creatures. You really couldn’t see this happening with lions for example. Of course once they started being integrated you’d get specialisation – hunting dogs, guard dogs and war dogs. From there the diversity exploded across the world as wherever we went our dogs would go with us. It’s a fascinating story which is at least touched on here, from evolution to breeding and from owner’s relationships with their animals (both pets and working dogs) to the idea of cloning dogs for a kind of immortality. Being the person I am I enjoyed owner stories somewhat less than the studies of canine genetics and evolutionary family trees but there’s something for everyone here. It has certainly given me some interesting insights into my second favourite ‘pet’ and I think any dog owner will find it at least as interesting. Recommended. More on wolves to come!