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CHAPTER TWELVE
CANIS FAMILIARIS, THE DOMESTIC DOG
12.1 The Living Animal
12.1.1 Zoology
The domestic dog is basically like the other members of the dog family;
actually, the name of the family is derived from that of the dog. This
means that the domestic dog has a long pointed muzzle, large ears, a
deep-chested muscular body, slender and sinewy limbs, short and blunt
claws on their small and compact feet, soft pads below the feet. They
walk on their toes.1
As is generally the case in a domestic species, many breeds occur,
varying in size, colour and other characteristics, partly according to the
purpose for which they were bred. The major difference with its closest
wild relatives, the golden jackal and the Indian wolf are its drooping
ears; this is never seen in wild canids. The tail may be curled over the
back, and is often not bushy at all. The shape of the muzzle varies. Very
common in India are the medium-sized, slender dogs with drooping
ears, either with a pointed muzzle (g. 176) or a broader, more blunt
muzzle. Other differences with wild members of the dog family are
found mainly in behaviour: domestic dogs are less aggressive, more
docile and humble than both wolves and jackals, dogs wag their tail
when pleased—wolves don’t, jackals do—, dogs can make a smiling
grimace—wolves don’t, jackals do—, dogs hide a bone—wolves don’t,
jackals do—, dogs turn round before sitting down—jackals don’t, wolves
do—, dogs bark—wolves do, though rarely, jackals don’t—. Wolves
and jackals both interbreed regularly with domestic dogs in India, and
both species appear to have left their stamp on some of the Indian
domestic breeds.
1
See further section 11.1.1.
© Alexandra van der Geer, 2008 | doi:10.1163/9789047443568_014

This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
160 CANIS FAMILIARIS
Dogs occur everywhere where there are humans, and rely on them
for food to varying degrees. Village dogs often have to find food in the
forest and from scavenging at waste; they are hardly fed by humans.
Trained domestic dogs generally do not hunt on their own, though
they sometimes kill poultry and small animals.
12.1.2 Role of Dogs in Society

Domestic dogs typically occur in human settlements, but whether their
ancestors were originally domesticated for some use or just came to
roam the village border is still a matter of debate. Also the first onset
of domestication or taming is unknown, and estimates range from well
before 10,000 B.C.E. in Iraq2 to a more modest 5,000 B.C.E. in eastern
Europe,3 but these claims are based on fragmented and incomplete skull
parts or lower jaws. More recent studies, taking into account a wider
range of comparative material and individual variation, shed doubts
on the early claims. By the time of the Neolithic period, differences
between remains of wolf and dog begin to be substantial. As far as
South Asia is concerned, domestic dogs were certainly present at the
time of the Indus Valley civilization. Bones and teeth were recovered
from the ancient site Lothal in Gujarat (2,300–1,750 B.C.E.).4 Dog bones
were also excavated at Mohenjo-daro, along with terra-cotta images
of dogs (fig. 177). These figurines resemble modern Indian domestic
dog very closely, and have nothing to do with jackals or wolves. One
such terra-cotta figurine5 bears a prey in its mouth, which may indicate
its use as a hunting dog.6 The small figurine of a ‘watchdog’, earlier
labelled a mastiff,7 however represents a lion (fig. 409).
In the early stage of domestication and possibly earlier, dogs were
likely kept for their meat as well. The eating of dogs today is limited
to East Asia and to some tribal areas of India, but was certainly more
wide-spread in prehistoric times. For example, the Vlasac site along
2
P. Turnbull and C. Reed, “The fauna from the terminal Pleistocene of Palegawra
Cave, a Zarzian occupation site in north-eastern Iraq,” Fieldiana Anthropology 63, 3
(1974), 81–146.
3
Clutton-Brock, op. cit. (1981).
4
Nath, op. cit. (1968), 1–63; Chitalwala and Thomas, op. cit. (1977–8), 14.
5
Harappa Museum, cat. no. 13.413.
6
Ardeleanu-Jansen, op. cit. (1987), 182.
7
J. Marshall, Mohenjo-daro and the Indus civilization, 3 vols (London: Arthur Probsthain,
1931), 348.

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CHAPTER TWELVE

CANIS FAMILIARIS, THE DOMESTIC DOG

12.1 The Living Animal

© Alexandra van der Geer, 2008 | doi:10.1163/9789047443568_014

12.1.2 Role of Dogs in Society

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