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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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Possible depiction of the Tahitian dog from the first voyage of James Cook, c. 1769–71.

The Tahitian Dog (Tahitian: ʻŪrī Mā’ohi, literally translated as 'native dog') is an extinct breed of dog from Tahiti and the Society Islands. Similar to other strains of Polynesian dogs, it was introduced to the Society Islands and Tahiti by the ancestors of the Tahitian (Mā’ohi) people during their migrations to Polynesia.

They were an essential part of traditional Tahitian society; their meat was included in Tahitian cuisine and other parts of the dog were used to make tools and ornamental clothing. Dogs were fed a vegetarian diet and served during feasts as a delicacy. European explorers were the first outsiders to observe and record their existence, and they were served to early explorers including Captain James Cook. The Tahitian Dog disappeared as a distinct breed after the introduction of foreign European dogs. (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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A dog breed is a particular type of dog that was purposefully bred by humans to perform specific tasks, such as herding, hunting, and guarding. Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing upward of 360 globally recognized breeds. These breeds possess distinct traits related to morphology, which include body size, skull shape, tail phenotype, fur type, body shape, and coat colour. However, there is only one species of dog. Their behavioral traits include guarding, herding, and hunting, and personality traits such as hyper-social behavior, boldness, and aggression. Most breeds were derived from small numbers of founders within the last 200 years. As a result of their adaptability to many environments and breedability for human needs, today dogs are the most abundant carnivore species and are dispersed around the world.

A dog breed will consistently produce the physical traits, movement and temperament that were developed over decades of selective breeding. For each breed they recognize, kennel clubs and breed registries usually maintain and publish a breed standard which is a written description of the ideal specimen of the breed. Other uses of the term breed when referring to dogs include pure breeds, cross-breeds, mixed breeds and natural breeds. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that ancient humans cared for a 14,000-year-old puppy?
... 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 Norwegian footballer Tuva Hansen and her dog have received millions of views on several TikTok videos?
... that the Church of the Immaculate Conception was rededicated as a shrine in 1954, 100 years after the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was defined?
... that Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, who both edited and contributed to The Oxford History of Christian Worship, also served as a dog show judge?
... that with only three of the six guns in his P-51 Mustang working during a dogfight, Claude J. Crenshaw managed to shoot down four enemy aircraft?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that Laurence Mancuso was the founding abbot of the Eastern Orthodox monastic community of New Skete (pictured), which is known for its dog training?
...that "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is the most reproduced cartoon from The New Yorker magazine, and its title a phrase still used around the world?
...that the famous quote "No man who hates dogs and children can be all bad" generally attributed to Leo Rosten was actually first used in 1930 by future war correspondent Byron Darnton?
...that the expressions 'top dog' and 'underdog' may originate with the two sawyers in a saw pit?

...that Joan Ingpen and her pet dachshund Williams were the founding partners of the Ingpen & Williams classical music talent agency?
...that London will soon have a Walk of Fame for dogs?
...that wolf collars with long spikes, now widely adopted by the BDSM community, were originally used on dogs to protect them from attacks by wolves?
...that in his 1915 Kentucky gubernatorial campaign, Augustus O. Stanley advocated a one dollar tax for every dog a person owned?
...one reason for the African Wild Dog name controversy is that endangered African Wild Dogs are being confused with feral domestic dogs?

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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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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Dogs}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.