The dog restrains its knowledge with man
It is believed that during thousands of years, packs of dogs would follow the footsteps of people to look through the food waste or leftovers. During a long time, dogs kept a prudent distance, however those which ventured in coming into closer contact with man did so with enough keenness that did not allow it to be trapped and killed, these were the ones that had more possibilities in finding food, surviving and multiplying as a breed. Judging on the discoveries of fossils, we now with certitude that there was a time in which man ate dog meat. The bones had been well grinded by human teeth and the skulls had been split to extract the brain. However, taking into account how common hunting was during those times, it is unlikely that man would have had dogs to simply sacrifice, perhaps to have spare food in case the hunters returned empty handed. Certainly, women that had lost children would often take in a puppy.
The purpose of sheep dog is to keep the flock together, leading them to the desired direction. They also have to be able to retrieve scattered sheep, leading them towards the flock. Nowadays, most of the sheep dogs are of border collie breed.
The adoptions between the species were not rare, and in the case of some primitive tribes the women would breast feed the puppies as if they were children. The dog is considered an important animal due to its sense of smell and a dog that has been breast fed by a woman and has absorbed the human smell through the milk that it has drunk, thinks of himself as a part of the human flock.
It is unlikely that the most important function of the dog was to aid in hunting, since hunting with a dog, even in its simplest forms, requires certain training of the animal or, at least, some cooperation from the dog. It is most probable that the dog was useful to man as a guardian. For the primitive man, darkness was its most dangerous enemy. At night, beyond the circle of light that was projected by the campfire, lurked real dangers and imaginary risks, wild animals and evil spirits, the latter were not any less worrisome then the first because they were immune to any physical attack. That is where the sensory perception, so sharply developed in the dog, was so useful. There is no doubt that man soon understood that the dog could warn them of the closeness of their enemies even more so than the watchful human eye. When the dogs with their hairs on end would move about restlessly and growl at the darkness of the night, it was believed that they could see the enemy with their supposed second sight, which man associated to the small group of hairs located over their eyes, which distinguishes dogs of a certain color. Even now there are primitive people who consider that this group of hairs is an important characteristic.
Undoubtedly, the first aspect that man exploited in the dog was its skill to give warning when they were close to the presence of hunting bait. Through its highly developed skills, specifically its sense of smell and hearing, the dog was able to perceive the nearness of danger much sooner than man could, thus in turn allowed the townspeople to prepare for the attack. The role of the dog as guardian was a given.
As man acquired other domestic animals, the dog was counted on to protect them and to keep them together, which in turn made it the shepherd. Since then the dog has been progressively used as a service to the community and the individual. Different breeds have been created for different purposes, to the point, that in many cases, the specializing process has crossed unimaginable terrain.
