When Did Humans and Dogs First Become Companions?

When did humans and dogs first become companions? Scientists have wrestled with this question for years, but new research offers a clearer answer.

Dogs were living alongside humans more than 14,000 years ago, a discovery that changes our understanding of one of the oldest friendships on Earth.

A human-dog friendship from the Ice Age

The relationship between humans and dogs began in the last Ice Age.

According to recent research, dogs probably diverged from wolves more than 15,000 years ago. Previous studies found it hard to demonstrate this conclusively because the bones of early dogs and wolves looked almost identical, making them difficult to tell apart.

“We have long believed dogs evolved from grey wolves during the last Ice Age, but physical evidence of their association with humans has been difficult to confirm,” said Professor Oliver Craig from the University of York.

“During the earliest stages of domestication, dogs and wolves looked almost identical, and behavioural differences do not show up in the archaeological record.”

Finding the earliest dogs

Researchers examined ancient remains from sites including Gough’s Cave in the UK and Pınarbaşı in Türkiye. The remains are more than 14,000 years old, and genetic analysis established that the animals were dogs rather than wolves.

The study identified an older dog from Türkiye too, dating to about 15,800 years ago. It is among the earliest dogs ever identified.

Dr William Marsh from the Natural History Museum said the discoveries show that dogs were already living across extensive regions. Early dogs have been discovered in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe.

DNA resolves the mystery

Earlier studies depended on the shape of bones, an approach that often led to confusion. For the new research, scientists instead used advanced DNA methods to examine complete genomes rather than small fragments.

This allowed them to distinguish dogs from wolves. An animal from Belgium, for instance, had previously been thought to be a dog, but genetic testing revealed it was a wolf.

Genetic tools changed the picture

“Without using these advanced genetic tools, we wouldn’t be able to confidently distinguish dogs from wolves based on skeletal evidence alone,” said Anders Bergström from the University of East Anglia.

The finding demonstrates the importance of modern DNA techniques in resolving longstanding scientific mysteries.

“We also wouldn’t have been able to put together such a comprehensive view of their evolution. As the Kesslerloch dog, at 14,200 years old, was already more similar to later dogs in Europe than those in Asia, dogs must have been domesticated well before this point, giving time for these genetic differences to emerge,” explained Bergström.

“Yet, many questions remain: we’re still researching where and how dogs spread across Europe after likely domestication somewhere in Asia. Each piece of evidence is a step forward in this journey.”

Dogs spread alongside humans

Dogs were not confined to a single location, the study shows. Between about 18,500 and 14,000 years ago, one dog population spread through Europe and parts of Asia.

These dogs lived alongside different groups of people, including Magdalenian and Epigravettian hunter-gatherers. Although the human groups differed, their dogs were similar.

This points to the possibility that people exchanged dogs, with the animals moving between groups even when the humans themselves mixed very little.

Dogs and humans lived closely together

Dogs were more than animals that simply lived nearby. Evidence indicates that they lived closely with people, whose diets researchers compared with those of dogs by examining chemical markers in bones.

At sites such as Gough’s Cave, humans and dogs ate similar foods, suggesting that people shared meals with their domesticated animals.

“A key finding came from Pınarbaşı, where the data showed that domestic dogs consumed a diet rich in fish, closely matching that of local humans,” added Lizzie Hodgson from the University of York.

“It is unlikely dogs were catching significant amounts of fish themselves, suggesting they were being actively fed by people.”

This indicates that people cared for dogs even at a very early stage.

More than partners in survival

The human-dog relationship may have extended beyond survival. Dog remains at some sites received treatment similar to that given to human remains.

At Gough’s Cave, for example, human and dog bones showed signs of similar treatment after death. At Pınarbaşı, young dogs were buried close to human burials.

This suggests that dogs may have held emotional or cultural importance thousands of years ago.

Dogs were probably domesticated first

Dogs were likely the first animal to be domesticated by humans, long before the start of farming. That makes them unique among domestic animals.

“Dogs were the only domesticated animal to predate farming, so their evolution can help us understand how a big shift in lifestyle shaped our own history,” said Pontus Skoglund from the Francis Crick Institute.

“It’s fascinating that dogs living before the era of agriculture contributed substantially to the genetics of farming and present-day European dogs. Dogs were clearly important to our ancestors, as the first farmers seem to have adopted previous hunter-gatherer dogs into their groups as they moved into Europe,” Skoglund added.

A legacy that continues today

The research also reveals how early dogs influenced modern breeds. Genes from these ancient animals remain present in many European dogs today.

Dr Lachie Scarsbrook from LMU Munich explained that distinct dog lineages already existed in the distant past. “Dogs with very different ancestries already existed across Eurasia, from Somerset to Siberia,” he noted.

“This study reveals the beginnings of a human-canine bond that continues to this day. It’s a narrative that began towards the end of the Ice Age but was foundational to many of the modern breeds we see today,” added Dr Sophy Charlton from the University of York.

The research tells a powerful story of a strong connection formed between humans and dogs thousands of years ago, one that has endured and continues to shape our lives.

Scientists from the University of York, the Natural History Museum, the Francis Crick Institute and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology collaborated to investigate this history.