Before we start talking about the evolution of dogs, you must learn a few things. The fossil record is the story fossils tell us about life on Earth. It shows us that there have been mass extinctions, where most animals died on Earth.

It tells us that life goes from simple to complex, all species go extinct, and life started simple. It also tells us that animals evolve, or change over time.

Dogs are very sweet and common pets today. They weren't always this way, and in this book you will see the evolution of dogs. We will go back 10 million years in history.

10 Million years ago, there were fox-like creatures roaming the Earth. After a long time and evolution, they evolved into bigger and stronger animals.  

Specifically, there was the Eucyon. A 15 pound mammal that lived in Asia and modern North America. They were meat and plant eaters. This is one of the earliest ancestors of the dog. It existed 10 million years ago. We know this through the Law of Superposition, as the fossils were found deep in rock.

The Eucyon lived for 6 million years, and went extinct 4 million years ago due to evolution. Through this evolution, as the years went on, the Eucyon evolved to be bigger and stronger. This was due to the competition for food, as they needed to be better hunters. We know this because of the fossils we have found in Eurasia and North America. Scientists can see how the descendants of the Eucyon got bigger and eventually became the C. Etruscus. The genus Canis became a descendent of the Eucyon, and lived on.  

The C. Etruscus was a wolf like animal. It lived 780,000 years ago, and the Eucyon is their ancestor. The C. Etrucsus was much larger, at about 50 pounds. They lived in Europe, and traveled in packs. They were avid hunters, but  went extinct after 1.1 million years of living.

This fossil of the C. Etruscus was found in Europe. Through radiometric dating, scientists know when they lived.