It’s no secret that it’s dogs that hold the title of man’s best friend, and they have for quite some time now. But before they became the lazy, unbearably cute and seemingly always snackish creatures we now share our sofas with, they were animals confidently roaming the wild. (Yes, that’s probably difficult to imagine looking at your dog trying to break free of yet another weird position or place it found itself stuck in.)
Nowadays, every dog owner’s camera roll is brimming with proof of said critter being a human’s loyal companion. But if you’d like to see some images dating tens if not hundreds of years back, scroll down to find some of the best posts shared by ‘A History Of Dogs’ Instagram account, and enjoy.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interviews with the creator of the Instagram account, as well as the professor and chair of Florida Gulf Coast University’s department of Biological Sciences, Charles Gunnels, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about domesticated animals.
#1 This Is The Official Nasa Portrait For Now Retired Astronaut Leland Melvin
#2 An Award Winning Photographer, Piccoli Is A Master At Capturing Dogs In Motion
#3 A Caribou Inuit Girl Holds Her Canadian Eskimo Puppy
Created roughly five years ago, ‘A History Of Dogs’ has already amassed close to 140k followers on Instagram, who enjoy seeing fun dog pictures from different time periods pop up in their feed. If you’re curious to learn how it all started, the reason was pretty simple—the mastermind behind the account simply put together the two things they love most.
“I’m a dog lover and history buff so combining the two was fun for me,” they told Bored Panda in a recent interview. “I enjoy the storytelling and research involved in each post. I wish I had more time to do it.”
#4 The Final Exam For German Police Service Dogs To Remain Calm In Front Of A Cat, 1987
#5 The TV Reporter Gerd Ruge Interviews Bastian, The English Basset Belonging To West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, In Front Of The West German Parliament In Bonn, Germany, On June 4, 1972
Discussing the possible reasons why people seem to enjoy browsing historical pictures of dogs, the creator of the Instagram account suggested that netizens like learning something new. “Many didn’t know there were dogs on the Titanic, or that there’s a dog mummy at the Egyptian Museum, or that Reykjavík banned dogs for 60 years,” they pointed out.
#6 “Kitten And Foster Mother” Photo Postcard C. 1915
#7 “All Ears.” NYC, 1980
#8 Tatler Magazine, London, May 16, 1928
It will likely come as no surprise, but the dog enthusiast creator of the Instagram account is a dog owner themselves. “Dogs are the best,” they said, adding one of their favorite stories about their pet:
“I used to have a terrible boss. When I brought my well-trained, fully potty-trained dog to my boss’s studio for the first time, he walked in and immediately took a piss on my boss’s personal bag. I was apologetic, but I know why my dog did it. Who else would do that? No one. Definitely not my cat, even though I love him a lot too.”
#9 Knife Grinders In France In The Early 1900s. The Workers Laid Face Down To Save Their Backs From Being Hunched Over All Day. They Brought Their Dogs To Lay On Their Legs For Warmth
#10 Fully-Packed Londoners Leave Town, Carrying Golf Clubs And A Happy Dog, For An Easter Holiday Break In 1930
#11 Betty White At Home With Her Dog, 1957
Any dog owner would likely agree that even when their critter finds themself in some sort of a pickle or does something they shouldn’t have done (like peeing on their boss’s bag, for instance), they can look awfully cute. According to the biology professor Dr. Charles Gunnels, we often find animals’ goofy behavior to be quite adorable because we have co-evolved to domestic animals the same way domestic animals have evolved to us.
“Much of the research has focused on domestic animals having evolved to us. For example, a recent study found that dogs—and not wolves—evolved a muscle above their eyes that allows them to raise their ‘eyebrows’ in a similar fashion to human facial expression. The follow-up study has not been completed yet, but I would expect that people show a strong preference for dogs that can produce this signal.”
#12 In 1968, The Beatles Released The White Album, And With It, A Song Called “Martha My Dear.” It Was Inspired By And Written About Martha, Mccartney’s Dog
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#13 Dog School, California, Ca. 1929
#14 Manchester Terrier With Cape, 1905
It’s difficult to say when exactly dogs started drifting away from their predecessors, wolves, but some sources suggest that it’s a process that likely started roughly 40,000 years ago.
“Humans and the willingness to associate with humans is the most important difference between wild animals and their domestic counterparts. Animals that were willing to associate and interact with humans made the first steps towards domestication,” Dr. Gunnels suggested, pointing out that those which avoided humans remained wild.
“The domestication process and the willingness to associate or avoid humans is the first—and I would argue—the most important piece in the domestication process. You cannot domesticate animals that actively avoid humans. This final statement may be overly simplistic, but it is true.”
#15 Dog Eating Ice Cream Cone Hidden Behind Boy’s Back. New York, 1949
#16 The Concierge’s Dog. Paris, 1929. Photo By André Kertész
#17 Charging Thunder, A Sioux Native American From Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
“Honestly, I think that humans have co-evolved preferences for animals that are important in their lives, such as pets and other domestic animals,” Dr. Gunnels said, suggesting that people clearly benefit from their presence.
“There is tons of evidence that shows a positive effect of pets on people; pets are associated with physiological, mental, and behavioral improvements in people. This does not mean that pets benefit everyone, but pets have clear positive effects on many,” the expert added.
#19 A Dalmatian With A Disney Artist At The Walt Disney Studio In Burbank
#20 Dog Of Randall The Jeweler, Ca. 1875
If dog content is something you enjoy, you have definitely found yourself in the right place, as we have plenty more in store for you; continue to Bored Panda’s category dedicated entirely to them and see for yourself.
