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This article is about the domestic dog. For
related species known as "dogs", see Canidae. For
other uses, see Dog
Trinomial
name
Canis lupus
familiaris[2]
Synonyms
Species
synonymy[show]
The domestic dog (Canis
lupus familiaris,[2][3] or Canis familiaris) is a
member of the Canidae family of the mammalian
order Carnivora. The term "domestic dog" is
generally used for both domesticated and feral
varieties. The dog was the first domesticated
animal[4][5] and has been the most widely kept
working, hunting, and pet animal in human
history.[citation needed] The word "dog" can also
refer to the male of a canine species,[6] as
opposed to the word "bitch" which refers to the
female of the species.
Recent
studies of "well-preserved remains of a dog-like
canid from the Razboinichya Cave" in the Altai
Mountains of southern Siberia concluded that a
particular instance of early wolf domestication
approximately 33,000 years ago did not result in
modern dog lineages, possibly because of climate
disruption during the Last Glacial Maximum.[4][7]
The authors postulate that at least several such
incipient events have occurred. A study of fossil
dogs and wolves in Belgium, Ukraine, and Russia
tentatively dates domestication from 14,000 years
ago to more than 31,700 years ago.[8] Another
recent study has found support for claims of dog
domestication between 14,000 and 16,000 years ago,
with a range between 9,000 and 34,000 years ago,
depending on mutation rate assumptions.[9] Dogs'
value to early human hunter-gatherers led to them
quickly becoming ubiquitous across world cultures.
Dogs perform many roles for people, such as
hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection,
assisting police and military, companionship, and,
more recently, aiding handicapped individuals.
This impact on human society has given them the
nickname "man's best friend" in the Western world.
In some cultures, however, dogs are also a source
of meat.[10][11] In 2001, there were estimated to
be 400 million dogs in the
world.[12]
Most breeds of dog are
at most a few hundred years old, having been
artificially selected for particular morphologies
and behaviors by people for specific functional
roles. Through this selective breeding, the dog
has developed into hundreds of varied breeds, and
shows more behavioral and morphological variation
than any other land mammal.[13] For example,
height measured to the withers ranges from 15.2
centimetres (6.0 in) in the Chihuahua to about 76
cm (30 in) in the Irish Wolfhound; color varies
from white through grays (usually called "blue")
to black, and browns from light (tan) to dark
("red" or "chocolate") in a wide variation of
patterns; coats can be short or long, coarse-
haired to wool-like, straight, curly, or
smooth.[14] It is common for most breeds to shed
this coat.