Small Dogs Originated in the Middle East

[n2doc]

These miniature mutts were the descendants of gray wolves, which also happen to be smaller than many other wolves.

By Jennifer Viegas | Tue Feb 23, 2010 07:01

Small dogs the world over can all trace their ancestry back to the Middle East, where the first diminutive canines emerged more than 12,000 years ago.

A new study, which appears in BMC Biology, focused on a single gene responsible for size in dogs. Researchers found that the version of the gene IGF1 that is a major determinant of small size in dogs probably originated as a result of domestication of the Middle Eastern gray wolf, which also happens to be smaller than many other wolves.

In terms of which came first, big dogs or small dogs, the answer is now the former.

"Archaeological studies suggest that ancient (dog) remains found in Belgium, Germany and Western Russia, which date to 13,000-31,000 years ago, were most similar in body size to the Great Dane, while those from the Middle East dating to about 12,000 years ago were most similar to a small terrier," lead author Melissa Gray told Discovery News.

more

http://news.discovery.com/animals/small-dogs-middle-east.html

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Very interesting

It makes me wonder about a related issue...

Cats and dogs have both been domesticated for a long time. Selective breeding has produced a wide range of sizes among dogs - from the mastiff to the chihuaua. Cats, however, fall into a very narrow size range. Why the difference? I'm not sure I'd want a giant kitteh, even if one were bred into existence, but I'd still like to know why it can't be done.

[n2doc]

2. Probably because it is much easier to train dogs to work

Cats tend to do their own thing.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Granted

but I'm convinced that if it were possible to breed a giant housecat into existence, it would have been done - regardless of whether such an endeavor would produce an animal suited to work or not. After all, lots of dog types were bred without regard to their usefulness as workers or hunters. I bet some breeders have tried to produce giant housecats, if for no other reason than scientific curiosity. There must be something about the physiology of cats that limits their size - something that dogs obviously don't share.

[n2doc]

4. Savannah Cats

Savannahs are considered one of the larger breeds of domesticated cats. The savannah's tall and slim build gives the appearance of greater size than their actual weight.<4> Size is very dependent on generation and sex, with F1 hybrid male cats usually being the largest. F1 hybrid and F2 hybrids are usually the largest, due to the stronger genetic influence of the African Serval ancestor. A female F1 Savannah Cat named "Scarlett's Magic," measuring 43.43 centimeters or 17.1 inches from shoulder to toe, is the tallest cat in the world, according to the Guiness Book of World Records. <5> She is owned by Kimberly and Lee Draper, owners of Bella Gattini Cattery and The Savannah Cat Shoppe in Corona, Calif.<6> Male Savannahs tend to be larger than females. It is possible for early generation Savannahs to weigh up to 20lbs or more, with the higher weight usually attributed to the F2 or F3 neutered males, though this is not the norm. Later generation Savannahs are usually between 10 to 15lbs. Because of the random factors in Savannah hybrid genetics, there can be significant variation in size, even in one litter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_(cat)
I'm not sure I'd want a lion sized house cat, even if domesticated. My cats periodically take a chomp on my leg, and that would not be something I'd like to have happen with a huge cat. Play or not.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. No, I wouldn't want a super-sized housecat either

but with human nature being how it is, it seems likely that if a giant cat could have been bred, it would have been attempted sometime, somewhere, by someone.

[SPedigrees]

12. Nor I. I had a Maine coon cat mix with the spirit of warrior.

She was smallish unlike the breed she resembled, but I still have scars. She would attack without warning and grip with her front claws while biting down to the bone on the arm of an unwary person which often was me. I loved her and was in awe of her ferociousness, but it might have been fatal had she been tiger-sized.

RIP Ms Fluffy, 1983-2005

[Quantess]

18. The Maine Coon Cats and their genetically-watered-down offspring

are typically very assertive, affectionate, and use their claws and teeth playfully, and often seriously and ferociously.

My boy found me at a nearby grocery store, where he was hiding under the aisles. When I walked into the store, the cashier was on the floor, trying to lure him with beef jerky, and on impulse, I took him home. I assumed he was a nearly full-grown cat, but I was wrong. He kept on growing and growing, bigger and fatter!

He's a good mouser, and he has also killed a young chicken, which is unusual for a cat.

[Quantess]

13. I remember reading that dogs have a huge range of variability in their genes.

But anyway, have you ever seen a Maine Coon Cat? They are big, hulking domestic cats.

[krispos42]

14. Mine's not, thank god.

She's awfully fluffy, though. :-)

[Quantess]

16. I think mine is part Maine Coon. He's pretty big.

Some of it is hulking mass, and some is just smoke and mirrors, with the fur and all.

[SPedigrees]

19. That's because the breed resulted from housecat/lynx crosses. nt

[SPedigrees]

5. Dogs have some sort of plastic gene that allows for wide variation

in size and other features such as coat length, ear shape, body size, etc. It's pretty easy to selectively breed a canine that differs drastically from its progenitor, the wolf. Not so with felines or most other animals.

[pokerfan]

8. cite?

I've heard this before (and phrased exactly the same way: "plastic") but have never seen a scholarly source. Is there something unique about the canine genome or is it just a matter of the dog (due to their innate social behavior) being more useful to us than any other species?

[SPedigrees]

9. Here is a news story of identification of canine "plastic" gene.

note: I have heard that while most species have duplicate sequences of dna designed to prevent overly wide mutation, it is speculated that the canine species lacks this duplication, lending itself to greater manipulation by artificial selection.

another note: While behavioral characteristics are discussed in the article below, diversity of physical traits in various breeds of dogs is something not achieved in horses or cats. And certainly the equine and feline species' genes have been toyed with just as much as dogs' without any resulting drastic variations in physical traits even approaching those seen in the canine species. The social instincts of the canine species do not influence the physical transformation from a long-coated fleet wolf with prick ears to a short legged, short-haired dachshund with long, droopy ears through selective breeding. And for that matter, like dogs, horses are extremely social in nature, and apart from size (ponies to draft horses,) not much real variation in physical attributes has been achieved by centuries of breeding.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080622225503.htm

DNA Study Unlocks Mystery To Diverse Traits In Dogs

Originally dogs have evolved from the wolf more than 15,000 years ago owing to selective breeding with physical and behavioural traits that were well suited to the needs or desires of their human owners, such as herding or hunting ability, coat colour and body and skull shape and size. This caused the massive variance seen among the more than 350 distinct breeds that make up today’s dog population. And till date scientists wonder how and why the difference in physical and behavioural traits in dogs changed so rapidly from its wolf origins.

[pokerfan]

10. Thanks!

ETA: I followed the links and the complete journal entry is available here:

http://www.genetics.org/cgi/reprint/179/2/1033

[SPedigrees]

11. No prob. It was educational.

I've read references to the canine "plastic gene" for years in books and heard it referenced in documentaries, but finding it online took some searching. Perhaps until 2008, all of this was in fact speculation.

I don't doubt though, as another poster intimated, that if a long eared, short necked horse and/or a housecat the size of a tiger with a curly tail could have been bred, they would have been by now. During the Victorian age in particular, humankind had become interested in science and had a lot of time on their hands to play with the genetic makeup of their pets.

[TZ]

6. Cats have also been domesticated for far less time than dogs

They are much closer to their wild type ancestors than dogs. Thats why the phrase "stroking the tiger" is often used when talking about pet cats.

[montanto]

17. There are giant kittehs.

Tigers can weight up to 1000 pounds. Some dogs are probably larger than the wolves they originally came from, but probably not that much larger. Most house cats are about the same size as the wild cats they came from, but some house cat breeds can be much larger that the wild cats that house cats came from. Maine coons come to mind as cats that can reach over 30 pounds with ease when the middle eastern cats they came from probably weighed around fifteen. Maybe what you are thinking of is docility in bigger cats? After all, dogs can be big AND docile while cats are not, to which I would argue that house cats are barely civilized as they are. Dogs have long served a purpose to man at all sizes, while cats only really provide a service at the size they are when we keep them in the house. They kill rats and mice which is good for us. If a cat weighed 120 pounds it would kill livestock and kids and old people. Not good. Cross breeding wild cats with house cats does happen, but the resulting kittehs are hard to control. Can you imagine an 80 pound cat upset because you didn't come home to feed him at 5 o'clock? All the furniture in the house destroyed, cabinets clawed through, trips to the hospital to have your fingers re-attached after a "love bite?"

[krispos42]

15. So we can blame the Middle East for small, yappy dogs then?

:D

[Codeine]

20. Fear the Chihuahua Jihad! nt