Where do dogs come from? Are these descendants of wolves? This topic has been talked about at length, and studies have also been carried out on it. In fact, research carried out by the Francis Crick Institute in London and published in the journal Nature confirmed in 2022 that the domestic dog has its origins in two lineages of Pleistocene wolves. However, much has changed over the 30,000 generations that were studied by scientists. Which could well raise another question if you look in the opposite direction: what will dogs be like in the future? The answer has recently become known.
The company Basepaws, specialized in the analysis of dog genes, has used its veterinary team, led by chief veterinarian Ernie Ward, to try to predict what dogs will be like in 10,000 years. To do this, they have taken into account various factors, which have even allowed them to imagine what their appearance would be, which they have managed to capture in an image developed with artificial intelligence. Although it should be noted that the researchers differentiate between two possible scenarios.
The first possibility, and the most likely according to experts, is that the main condition for the evolution of dogs has to do with the predicted global warming. Due to rising temperatures, food resources will be scarcer and, in addition, it will be essential to optimize the body's ability to stay cool. That is why veterinarian Ernie Ward explains that dogs will see their muscle mass reduced, which will allow them to have a smaller body that requires a smaller amount of food and is easier to cool down. For this same reason, the size of your head and ears will be larger.
Other significant changes will be that they will lose their coat of fur and their skin tones will darken in certain cases, in order to protect themselves more effectively from ultraviolet radiation. This is the most possible vision that veterinarians contemplate about what dogs will be like in 10,000 years.
However, there is another alternative, although more remote, and it is linked to the occurrence of glaciation. In this case, the trend would be the opposite, that is, the dogs would develop a much thicker coat to withstand the cold and keep their bodies warm. Experts consider that their appearance would become more similar to that of wolves, with greater muscle and body fat, with the intention of accumulating a greater amount of reserves. After all, they would find themselves in a situation where they would have to deal with greater competition when it comes to obtaining food.
