Problem:

I am currently reading Richard Dawkins's book 'The Greatest Show on Earth: The proof for evolution' and in the second chapter he talks very much about the evolution of dogs.
He says centuries ago there was only such dog-like creature as the wolf, but in a matter centuries the wolf has evolved into the many breeds of dog we have through artificial selection conducted by man.
This to me seemed very peculiar and quite frankly untrue, and I may be getting the wrong end of the stick and he is in fact being analogous, although I'm pretty sure he's not.

Question: Did wolves evolve into the many breeds of dog we have through artificial selection conducted by man?
If so, how many centuries did this take?

Please give your suggestions on this question.