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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 is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf; the gray wolf is the dog's closest living relative. 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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Orange and white Pointer

The Pointer, sometimes called the English Pointer, is a medium-sized breed of pointing dog developed in England. Pointers are used to find game for hunters, and are considered by gundog enthusiasts to be one of the finest breeds of its type; however, unlike most other hunting breeds, its purpose is to point, not retrieve game.

The popular belief is that the Pointer descends from the Old Spanish Pointer that was brought to England from Spain with returning soldiers at the beginning of the 18th century. Once in England, they were crossed with local dog breeds to improve the breed's hunting abilities. (Full article...)

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Credit: Herwig Kavallar

The Labrador Retriever ("Labrador" or "Lab" for short), is a retriever, and is the most popular breed of dog (by registered ownership) in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The breed is friendly, intelligent, energetic and good natured, making them excellent companions and working dogs. Labrador Retrievers are known to be one of the fastest-learning breeds of dog and respond well to praise and positive attention. The steady temperament of Labs and their ability to learn quickly make them an ideal breed for assistance dogs as well as search and rescue, detection, and therapy work.

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Pedigree Dogs Exposed is a BBC One investigative documentary, produced by Jemima Harrison, which looks into health and welfare issues facing pedigree dogs in the United Kingdom. It was originally broadcast on 19 August 2008.

The Kennel Club (KC), the governing body of pedigree dogs in the UK which runs the prestigious dog breed show Crufts, was criticised for allowing breed standards, judging standards, and breeding practices to compromise the health of pedigree dogs. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Reduction in size under selective breeding – grey wolf and chihuahua skulls (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 2A wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 3Dog knee (from Dog anatomy)
Image 4A cavapoo and maltipoo running back while playing fetch (from Dog behavior)
Image 5Sled dogs, 1833 (from Dog type)
Image 6Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw closed (from Dog anatomy)
Image 7Lateral view of a dog skeleton (from Dog anatomy)
Image 8Jack Russell Terrier puppy (from Puppy)
Image 9The 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 10Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 11President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of puppies in 1966 (from Puppy)
Image 12The 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 13A mongrel puppy (from Puppy)
Image 14Newborn Welsh Springer Spaniels (from Puppy)
Image 15Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sight-hound (from Dog breed)
Image 16Chihuahua puppy (from Puppy)
Image 17Newborn Basenji puppies (from Puppy)
Image 18A dog's whiskers (from Dog anatomy)
Image 19Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw opened (from Dog anatomy)
Image 20Example of a dog making prolonged eye contact with a human (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 21West Highland White Terrier puppies (from Puppy)
Image 22Cave wolf skull, Natural History Museum, Berlin (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 23Chihuahua mix and purebred Great Dane (from Dog breed)
Image 24Skeleton 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 25Basset Hound (from Puppy)
Image 26A 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 27An extinct Turnspit dog, 1800 (from Dog type)
Image 28Mammoth bone dwelling, Mezhirich site, Ukraine (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 29Mandible of the oldest recognised dog discovered in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, and dated 14,200 years old (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 30Cart dogs, c. 1900; different in appearance but doing the same work (from Dog type)
Image 31Watercolor 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 32Scent-rolling (from Dog behavior)
Image 33The nose of a dog (from Dog anatomy)
Image 34A labradoodle puppy and a Golden Retriever puppy playing together. (from Puppy)
Image 35German Spitz puppy (from Puppy)
Image 36Schematic 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 37External 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 38Petroglyph depicting two dogs hunting – Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 39Two Shih Tzu puppies (from Puppy)
Image 40Bloodhound puppy (from Puppy)
Image 41Cavapoo puppy (from Puppy)
Image 42A little mongrel puppy on the shore, on Halong Bay (from Puppy)
Image 43The dog's retina shows the optic disc and the eye's vasculature. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 44Frontal view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 45An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds (from Dog breed)
Image 46Australian Cattle Dog puppy (from Puppy)
Image 47Basenji puppy (from Puppy)
Image 48Bison surrounded by grey wolf pack (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 49Puggle puppy (from Puppy)
Image 50Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Dog breed)
Image 51Golden Retriever puppy (from Puppy)
Image 52St. Bernard puppy (from Puppy)
Image 53NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin with his dogs Jake and Scout (from Dog behavior)
Image 54The 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 55"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547. (from Dog breed)
Image 56The 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 57A dog's teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 58Montage showing the coat variation of dogs. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 59Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog. (from Dog breed)
Image 60Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Domestication of the dog)

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

... that Bothie was the only dog to "set paw" on both the North and South poles?
... that Calvin Harris's 2022 album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 features nearly 20 collaborators, including Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, and Busta Rhymes?
... that philosopher George Pitcher adopted a stray dog and her puppy that he took everywhere, including on a trip to France aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2?
... that the dog in A Man and His Dog was modelled after Thomas Mann's real-life dog Bauschan?
... 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 ancient Roman gynecologists believed that menstrual blood could be used to drive dogs insane?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that Tillamook Cheddar (pictured), a Jack Russell Terrier from Brooklyn, New York, is the world's most successful and widely shown animal artist?
...that grape and raisin toxicity is a potential cause of acute renal failure in dogs?
...that Able Seaman Just Nuisance is the only dog to have been officially enlisted in the Royal Navy?
...that the Moscow Water Dog, developed as a water rescue dog, preferred to bite drowning people instead of saving them?

...when lying down, dogs rest on their haunches, not their stomachs?
...that Nipper was the mixed-breed dog who was the model for the painting His Master's Voice, which was later used logos and advertising for several brands, including RCA Records.
...that the Canadian Kennel Club was founded in 1888, four years after the American Kennel Club?
...that the Greyhound is one of the fastest breeds of dog, and can reach speeds of 72 km/h (45 mph)?

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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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