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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 selectively bred from an extinct population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers.
Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing upward of 360 globally recognized breeds. [1] These breeds possess distinct traits related to morphology, which include body size and shape, tail phenotype, fur type, etc, but are only one species of dog.
A German Shepherd is a type of dog. Dogs are mammals, usually kept as pets, for work on farms or for the police. Some dogs are trained to be rescue dogs and join teams such as mountain rescue. [4] They have been bred by humans from their ancestral wolves. They were the first animal to live with humans. [5]
This list of dog breeds includes both extant and extinct dog breeds, varieties and types. A research article on dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines modern dog breeds as "a recent invention defined by conformation to a physical ideal and purity of lineage".
This continues today, resulting in hundreds of dog breeds, some that are similar to each other, and others that are very different. This list includes common breeds, rare breeds, and breeds that are still being developed into new breeds.
Canidae (/ ˈ k æ n ɪ d iː /; [3] from Latin, canis, "dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (/ ˈ k eɪ n ɪ d /). [4] The family includes three subfamilies: the Caninae, and the extinct Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae. [5]
A dog is a domestic mammal of the family Canidae (order Carnivora). It is a subspecies of the gray wolf and is related to foxes and jackals. The dog is one of the two most ubiquitous and most popular domestic animals in the world (the cat is the other). It has lived with humans for more than 12,000 years.
Compared to humans, dogs have an inferior visual acuity, a superior sense of smell, and a relatively large olfactory cortex. They perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, companionship, therapy, aiding disabled people, and assisting police and the military.
Being the first domesticated species by humans has created a strong bond between dogs and humans and entwined their histories. Dogs accompanied humans when they first migrated into new environments and show similar adaptations – such as to high altitude, low oxygen conditions.
A drawing by Konrad Lorenz showing facial expressions of a dog - a communication behavior. X-axis is aggression, y-axis is fear. Dog behavior is the internally coordinated responses of individuals or groups of domestic dogs to internal and external stimuli. [1] It has been shaped by millennia of contact with humans and their lifestyles.