A new global study challenges the long-held belief that the diversity in dog breeds, particularly their skull and body shapes, arose primarily from Victorian-era breeding practices about 200 years ago. Instead, the research, involving 643 dog skulls from various sources and spanning 50,000 years, reveals that significant changes in dog skull shapes began around 11,000 years ago, driven by evolutionary adaptation following domestication from wolves. The study also identifies two ancient wolf populations—one in Asia and another in the Middle East or Southern Europe—as the ancestors of modern dogs, with genetic factors like the IFT88 gene aiding their adaptation to different environments.

Irish archaeological findings contributed to the study, with some ancient skulls previously thought to be dogs actually identified as smaller ancient wolves, highlighting the complexity of early dog domestication. Ongoing analysis of ancient DNA from wolf remains in Ireland aims to clarify when and how dogs first arrived on the island. Researchers, including Dr. Ruth Carden from Atlantic Technological University, hope to provide more definitive answers about the origins and evolution of dogs in Ireland by next year.