The dog or domestic dog (Canis familiaris[4][5] or Canis lupus familiaris[5]) is a domesticated descendant

of the wolf. The dog is derived from an ancient, extinct wolf,[6][7] and the modern wolf is the dog's
nearest living relative.[8] The dog was the first species to be domesticated,[9][8] by hunter–gatherers
over 15,000 years ago,[7] before the development of agriculture.[1] Due to their long association with
humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals[10] and gained the ability to
thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.[11]

The dog has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical
attributes.[12] 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.[13] This influence on human
society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend".[14]

Evolution

Main article: Evolution of the wolf

Location of a dog's carnassials; the inside of the 4th upper premolar aligns with the outside of the 1st
lower molar, working like scissor blades

The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event occurred 65 million years ago and brought an end to the
dinosaurs and the appearance of the first carnivorans.[20] The name carnivoran is given to a member of
the order Carnivora. Carnivorans possess a common arrangement of teeth called carnassials, in which
the first lower molar and the last upper premolar possess blade-like enamel crowns that act similar to a
pair of shears for cutting meat. This dental arrangement has been modified by adaptation over the past
60 million years for diets composed of meat, for crushing vegetation, or for the loss of the carnassial
function altogether as in seals, sea lions, and walruses. Today, not all carnivorans are carnivores, such as
the insect-eating Aardwolf.[5]

The carnivoran ancestors of the dog-like caniforms and the cat-like feliforms began their separate
evolutionary paths just after the end of the dinosaurs. The first members of the dog family Canidae
appeared 40 million years ago,[21] of which only its subfamily the Caninae survives today in the form of
the wolf-like and fox-like canines. Within the Caninae, the first members of genus Canis appeared six
million years ago,[15] the ancestors of modern domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, and golden jackals.

Domestication

Main article: Domestication of the dog

The earliest remains generally accepted to be those of a domesticated dog were discovered in Bonn-
Oberkassel, Germany. Contextual, isotopic, genetic, and morphological evidence shows that this dog
was not a local wolf.[22] The dog was dated to 14,223 years ago and was found buried along with a man
and a woman, all three having been sprayed with red hematite powder and buried under large, thick
basalt blocks. The dog had died of canine distemper.[23] Earlier remains dating back to 30,000 years ago
have been described as Paleolithic dogs, but their status as dogs or wolves remains debated[24] because
considerable morphological diversity existed among wolves during the Late Pleistocene.[1]

This timing indicates that the dog was the first species to be domesticated[9][8] in the time of hunter–
gatherers,[7] which predates agriculture.[1] DNA sequences show that all ancient and modern dogs
share a common ancestry and descended from an ancient, extinct wolf population which was distinct
from the modern wolf lineage.[6][7] Most dogs form a sister group to the remains of a Late Pleistocene
wolf found in the Kessleroch cave near Thayngen in the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, which
dates to 14,500 years ago. The most recent common ancestor of both is estimated to be from 32,100
years ago.[25] This indicates that an extinct Late Pleistocene wolf may have been the ancestor of the
dog,[8][1][26] with the modern wolf being the dog's nearest living relative.[8]

The dog is a classic example of a domestic animal that likely travelled a commensal pathway into
domestication.[24][27] The questions of when and where dogs were first domesticated have taxed
geneticists and archaeologists for decades.[9] Genetic studies suggest a domestication process
commencing over 25,000 years ago, in one or several wolf populations in either Europe, the high Arctic,
or eastern Asia.[10] In 2021, a literature review of the current evidence infers that the dog was
domesticated in Siberia 23,000 years ago by ancient North Siberians, then later dispersed eastward into
the Americas and westward across Eurasia.[22]

Breeds

Main article: Dog breed

Further information: Dog type

Dog breeds show a range of phenotypic variation

Dogs are the most variable mammal on earth with around 450 globally recognized dog breeds.[10] In
the Victorian era, directed human selection developed the modern dog breeds, which resulted in a vast
range of phenotypes.[8] Most breeds were derived from small numbers of founders within the last 200
years,[8][10] and since then dogs have undergone rapid phenotypic change and were formed into
today's modern breeds due to artificial selection imposed by humans. The skull, body, and limb
proportions vary significantly between breeds, with dogs displaying more phenotypic diversity than can
be found within the entire order of carnivores. These breeds possess distinct traits related to
morphology, which include body size, skull shape, tail phenotype, fur type and colour.[8] Their
behavioural traits include guarding, herding, and hunting,[8] retrieving, and scent detection. Their
personality traits include hypersocial behavior, boldness, and aggression,[10] which demonstrates the
functional and behavioral diversity of dogs.[8] As a result, present day dogs are the most abundant
carnivore species and are dispersed around the world.[10] The most striking example of this dispersal is
that of the numerous modern breeds of European lineage during the Victorian era.[7]