The best theory I’ve ever heard about how dogs and humans learned to hunt together goes like this.
Dogs (read wolves) are great at running down large prey. They can chase and harry a bison, for example, nipping at its legs and generally exhausting the poor beast. Humans could never give chase like that.
But then, once the bison is worn down and cornered, moving in for the kill is the dangerous part. The bison still has horns and enough strength to fight back effectively. The dogs may win the contest but at no small risk.
The actual kill is where humans excel, with their spears and arrows, moving in to finish off the brute. So the dogs hang back and watch the carnage.
When all is said and done, the humans share the spoils with their 4-legged hunting partners and everybody is happy and safe. Except the bison, of course.
“Humans could never give chase like that.”
Actually a human in The right shape can run even a horse into the ground. A human can keep up an energy saving trot or light job all day without stopping. In part it is because we can drink water and nibble some snacks while the prey has to keep running and just gets weaker and weaker. Our early hunt was probably similar to wolves, stalk the herd, get close and cut one away from the rest.
It probably started with them stealing each others kills and realizing they had compatible styles.