The relationship between humans and big scary wolves has come a long way to give us tiny fluffy lap dogs with very discerning tastes in expensive food.

Whose idea was it? Was it the wolves who wanted the warmth of the fire, or the humans who wanted protection from the other scary carnivores?

And take a look at the first archaeological evidence of a beloved family pet preserved with its human family for almost 15,000 years!

Featuring:

• Luc Janssens, Specialist in small animal surgery and archaeologist
• Professor Greger Larson, evolutionary genomics at the University of Oxford
• Dr Angela Perri, zooarchaeologist, Chronicle Heritage
• Professor Clive Wynne, animal psychologist, Arizona State University

Further reading:

• A new look at an old dog : Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered
• Identification of genomic variants putatively targeted by selection during dog domestication
• Dog domestication and the dual dispersal of people and dogs into the Americas

Production:

• Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer
• Nat Tencic, Producer
• Rebecca McLaren, Producer
• Petria Ladgrove, Executive Producer

This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in May and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Taungurung people.

Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.