Dogs and Wolves: They're Only a Tail Wag Apart

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Yapping at the drop of a hat, a carefully coiffed toy poodle hardly inspires the awe of a howling timber wolf.

Based on a study by an international team of biologists, however, it may be time to show Fifi a little more respect. By comparing genetic material from dogs with that of wolves, coyotes, and jackals, the researchers have proved what zoologists have long suspected: Domestic dogs descended from wolves.

What's more, the scientists say, their work suggests that canines were in the process of becoming man's best friend between 60,000 and 135,000 years ago - as much as 121,000 years earlier than the archaeological record suggests. Up to now, the case for the …