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The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was domesticated from an extinct population of Pleistocene wolves over 14,000 years ago. The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. Experts estimate that hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs more than 15,000 years ago, which was before the development of agriculture. Due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.

The dog has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes. Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and the military, companionship, therapy, and aiding disabled people. Over the millennia, dogs became uniquely adapted to human behavior, and the human–canine bond has been a topic of frequent study. This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend". (Full article...)

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Tricolor Beagle

The beagle is a breed of small scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instincts, the beagle is the primary breed used as a detection dog for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. The beagle is a popular pet due to its size and good temper.

The modern breed was developed in Great Britain around the 1830s from several breeds, including the Talbot Hound, the North Country Beagle, the Southern Hound, and possibly the Harrier. (Full article...)

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Credit: Paul Englefield

A Border Collie correctly maneouvring through weave poles in dog agility. Border Collies are an extremely intelligent breed with an instinctive desire to work. They are also extremely energetic and require a lot of attention, but are very responsive to training. They are better off in a household that can provide them with plenty of exercise and a job to do.

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The Polynesian Dog refers to a few extinct varieties of domesticated dogs from the islands of Polynesia. These dogs were used for both companionship and food and were introduced alongside poultry and pigs to various islands. They became extinct as a result of the crossbreeding that occurred after European breeds of dogs were introduced. Modern studies done on the DNA of the Polynesian dogs indicate that they descended from the domesticated dogs of Southeast Asia and may have shared a remote ancestor with the dingo. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various dog-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds (from Dog breed)
Image 2A little mongrel puppy on the shore, on Halong Bay (from Puppy)
Image 3Lateral view of a dog skeleton (from Dog anatomy)
Image 4Watercolor tracing made by archaeologist Henri Breuil from a cave painting of a wolf-like canid, Font-de-Gaume, France, dated 19,000 years ago (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 5Skeleton of a dog:
1. Cranium
2. Maxilla
3. Mandible
4. Atlas
5. Axis
6. Scapula
7. Spine of scapula
8. Humerus
9. Radius
10. Ulna
11. Phalanges
12. Metacarpal bones
13. Carpal bones
14. Sternum
15. Cartilaginous part of the rib
16. Ribs
17. Phalanges
18. Metatarsal bones
19. Tarsal Bones
20. Calcaneus
21. Fibula
22. Tibia
23. Patella
24. Femur
25. Ischium
26. Pelvis
(from Dog anatomy)
Image 6Example of a dog making prolonged eye contact with a human (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 7Frontal view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 8Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Dog breed)
Image 9The difference in overall body size between a Cane Corso (Italian mastiff) and a Yorkshire terrier is over 30-fold, yet both are members of the same species. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 10Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sight-hound (from Dog breed)
Image 11Australian Cattle Dog puppy (from Puppy)
Image 12The difference in body size between a Cane Corso (Italian mastiff) and a Yorkshire Terrier is over 30-fold; both are members of the same species. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 13Schematic anatomy of the ear. In dogs, the ear canal has a "L" shape, with the vertical canal (first half) and the horizontal canal (deeper half, ending with the eardrum) (from Dog anatomy)
Image 14Golden Retriever puppy (from Puppy)
Image 15A cavapoo and maltipoo running back while playing fetch (from Dog behavior)
Image 16Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw opened (from Dog anatomy)
Image 17Puggle puppy (from Puppy)
Image 18A dog's teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 19The dog's retina shows the optic disc and the eye's vasculature. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 20Chihuahua puppy (from Puppy)
Image 21Two Shih Tzu puppies (from Puppy)
Image 22Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 23German Spitz puppy (from Puppy)
Image 24Mandible of the oldest recognised dog discovered in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, and dated 14,200 years old (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 25West Highland White Terrier puppies (from Puppy)
Image 26St. Bernard puppy (from Puppy)
Image 27Map depicting possible phylogeographic origins of dingoes, New Guinea singing dogs, and Island Southeast Asian and Oceanian dogs, based on recent genetic evidence (Fillios & Taçon, 2016) (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 28Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 29Mammoth bone dwelling, Mezhirich site, Ukraine (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 30Jack Russell Terrier puppy (from Puppy)
Image 31Basset Hound (from Puppy)
Image 32A mongrel puppy (from Puppy)
Image 33NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin with his dogs Jake and Scout (from Dog behavior)
Image 34The nose of a dog (from Dog anatomy)
Image 35Newborn Welsh Springer Spaniels (from Puppy)
Image 36A dog's whiskers (from Dog anatomy)
Image 37The dog diverged from a now-extinct population of wolves 27,000–40,000 years ago immediately before the Last Glacial Maximum, when much of the mammoth steppe was cold and dry. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 38Bison surrounded by grey wolf pack (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 39President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of puppies in 1966 (from Puppy)
Image 40A wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 41Cavapoo puppy (from Puppy)
Image 42Sled dogs, 1833 (from Dog type)
Image 43Montage showing the coat variation of dogs. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 44Newborn Basenji puppies (from Puppy)
Image 45Ancient Hawaiian petroglyphic depiction of an ʻīlio (Hawaiian Poi Dog) (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 46Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog. (from Dog breed)
Image 47Cart dogs, c. 1900; different in appearance but doing the same work (from Dog type)
Image 48Reduction in size under selective breeding – grey wolf and chihuahua skulls (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 49Basenji puppy (from Puppy)
Image 50Cave wolf skull, Natural History Museum, Berlin (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 51Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw closed (from Dog anatomy)
Image 52"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547. (from Dog breed)
Image 53Petroglyph depicting two dogs hunting – Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 54A labradoodle puppy and a Golden Retriever puppy playing together (from Puppy)
Image 55Chihuahua mix and purebred Great Dane (from Dog breed)
Image 56Scent-rolling (from Dog behavior)
Image 57External anatomy (topography) of a typical dog: 1. Head 2. Muzzle 3. Dewlap (throat, neck skin) 4. Shoulder 5. Elbow 6. Forefeet 7. Croup (rump) 8. Leg (thigh and hip) 9. Hock 10. Hind feet 11. Withers 12. Stifle 13. Paws 14. Tail (from Dog anatomy)
Image 58Bloodhound puppy (from Puppy)
Image 59A drawing by Konrad Lorenz showing facial expressions of a dog - a communication behavior. X-axis is aggression, y-axis is fear. (from Dog behavior)
Image 60The Greenland dog carries 3.5% genetic material inherited from a 35,000-year-old wolf from the Taymyr Peninsula, Arctic Siberia. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 61An extinct Turnspit dog, 1800 (from Dog type)
Image 62Dog knee (from Dog anatomy)

Did you know (auto-generated) - show different entries

... that the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game between Baylor and Gonzaga was the first since 2005 to feature the top two overall seeds of the NCAA tournament?
... that beavers, mules, and dogs have been parachuted from airplanes?
... that Joy was the sole survivor of the Romanov family's execution?
... that a flat on London's Cadogan Lane has been described as "one of the happiest turn-on centres there's ever been" due to experiments with LSD done there?
... that in 2021, Alabama state representative Steve McMillan sponsored a bill that later became law allowing restaurants to have outdoor dining areas for dogs?
... that Mack Trucks adopted the Bulldog as its corporate logo after World War I British soldiers nicknamed the Mack AC the "Bulldog", a reference to the model's tenacity and stub nose?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that the stray dogs Bummer and Lazarus (pictured) were so popular with the people of San Francisco in the 1860s that they were given special exemption from the leash laws?
...that Manuel Benito de Castro assumed the Presidency of Cundinamarca, with the condition that he would be allowed to leave Congress at a certain time to feed his dog?
...that the namesake for Hondo Dog Park in Hillsboro, Oregon, won an award for valor just weeks before being killed in the line of duty?
...that most of the dogs seen in the 2007 Thai film, Ma-Mha, were strays rescued from shelters and trained specifically for the film?

...that Fred Gipson was an American author best remembered for creating a fictional dog featured in a book and the classic 1957 movie Old Yeller?
...that Pal, owned by animal trainers Frank and Rudd Weatherwax, was the name of the first dog to portray Lassie?
...that fans in the Dawg Pound at Cleveland Browns Stadium used to throw dog food at opposing players?
...that the sled dog Togo is considered one of the heroes commemorated by the Iditarod dog sled race which is currently running across the U.S. state of Alaska?

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Stubs : Aksaray Malaklisi, Alopekis, Argentine pila dog, Armant (dog), Banjara Hound, Barbado da Terceira, Braque Dupuy, Bruno Jura Hound, Bulgarian Scenthound, Cane Lupino del Gigante, Cane Paratore, Cantabrian Water Dog, Český fousek, Faroese Sheepdog, Georgian Shepherd, German Spitz Mittel, Gończy Polski, Grand Griffon Vendéen, Himalayan Sheepdog, Hygen Hound, Indian Spitz, Japanese Terrier, Kaikadi (dog), Koyun dog, Kumaon Mastiff, Levriero Italiano, Mahratta Hound, Majorca Ratter, Montenegrin Mountain Hound, Northern Inuit Dog, Phu Quoc Ridgeback, Plummer Terrier, Porcelaine, Pyrenean Mastiff, Rampur Greyhound, Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog, Romanian Raven Shepherd Dog, Sapsali, Sarabi dog, Sardinian Shepherd Dog, Schweizer Laufhund, Segugio Italiano, Segugio Maremmano, Segugio dell'Appennino, Sinhala Hound, Slovak Cuvac, South Russian Ovcharka, St. Hubert Jura Hound, Stichelhaar, Taigan, Tazy, Telomian, Treeing Cur, Vikhan Sheepdog, Villano de las Encartaciones, Villanuco de Las Encartaciones, White Shepherd, White Swiss Shepherd Dog, Xiasi Dog More stubs...
Other : Tag and assess "dog" articles with {{WikiProject Dogs}} banner. See also Dog breeds WikiProject to do list.

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