Canis familiaris; Laterality of the Dog

Abstract

The modern dog, Canis familiaris, comes in all shapes and sizes but for thousands of years has served one main purpose, as man's best friend. This bond, established between human and dog, dates back tens of thousands of years, and established a relationship of mutualism, both giving and receiving care from one another. Archeological, genetic and genomic studies provided insight into how the modern dog evolved from their ancestral origin dating back to the gray wolf. Evolution is defined changes in heritable characteristics over time, giving rise to biodiversity in all living things. These changes over time are driven by mutation, alteration of a gene; natural selection, a varied path resulting in survival of the current fittest; and genetic drift, random variation of genotypic frequencies in small populations. However, through thousands of years of domestication, Canis familiaris has been further sculpted to fit individual needs whether it be cosmetic, accessory, working or protection purposes. Sharing the same newly adapted environment as humans with similar medical care makes them models for genetic research. Given that humans, Homo sapiens sapiens, are just a small notch on the evolutionary tree, it should be of no surprise the extraordinary similarities we have to all vertebrates (and even invertebrates). Ongoing research of early development, molecular biology, genetics and genomics bridges gaps in what is known about the animal kingdom. My study focused on the lateralization of Canis familiarisin comparison to other vertebrate lateralization, specifically on preferential pawedness.