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The dog or domestic dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf which is characterized by an upturning tail. The dog is derived from an ancient, extinct wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. The dog was the first species to be domesticated, by hunter–gatherers over 15,000 years ago, 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. Over the millennia, dogs became uniquely adapted to human behavior, and the human-canine bond has been a topic of frequent study.

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. This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend". (Full article...)

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The Saluki, also known as the Persian Greyhound, is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game animals. The dog was originally bred in the Fertile Crescent. The modern breed is typically deep-chested and long-legged, and similar dogs appear in medieval and ancient art. The breed is most closely related to the Afghan hound, a basal breed that predates the emergence of modern breeds in the 19th century, and the Saluki has been purebred both in the Middle East, including by royalty, since at least that era, and in the West (especially in Britain and Germany) since the 1840s (with breed standards established in the West and the Middle East around the 1920s–1930s), though as a free-breeding landrace, similar dogs are common as feral animals in the Middle East. A related standardised breed is the north African Sloughi. (Full article...)

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Purebred dogs, such as these Airedale Terriers, may participates in conformation dog shows with its owner or handler. Dog shows (and the related sport of Junior Handling for children and young people) are a popular activity; a single show, the 2006 Crufts dog show alone had 143,000 spectators, with 24,640 purebred dogs entered, representing 178 different breeds from 35 different countries.

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Dingo at Glen Helen Gorge, NT

The dingo (Canis familiaris, Canis familiaris dingo, Canis dingo, or Canis lupus dingo) is an ancient (basal) lineage of dog found in Australia. Its taxonomic classification is debated; as indicated by the variety of scientific names presently applied in different publications, it is variously considered a form of domestic dog not warranting recognition as a subspecies; a subspecies of dog or wolf; or a full species in its own right.

The dingo is a medium-sized canine that possesses a lean, hardy body adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The dingo's three main coat colourations are light ginger or tan, black and tan, or creamy white. The skull is wedge-shaped and appears large in proportion to the body. The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog, or the New Guinea Highland wild dog: their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic dogs, and can be traced back through the Malay Archipelago to Asia. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Bison surrounded by grey wolf pack. (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 2Schematic 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 3Mandible of the oldest recognised dog discovered in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, and dated 14,200 years old. (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 4Bloodhound puppy (from Puppy)
Image 5Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog. (from Dog breed)
Image 6Frequency sensitivity compared with humans. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 7West Highland White Terrier puppies (from Puppy)
Image 8Petroglyph depicting two dogs hunting – Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 9A dog's whiskers act as sensing organs. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 10A little mongrel puppy on the shore, on Halong Bay (from Puppy)
Image 11Chihuahua puppy (from Puppy)
Image 12Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Dog breed)
Image 13External anatomy (topography) of a typical dog:1. Stop 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 14Cart dogs, c. 1900; different in appearance but doing the same work (from Dog type)
Image 15Mammoth bone dwelling, Mezhirich site, Ukraine. (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 16Puggle puppy (from Puppy)
Image 17St. Bernard puppy (from Puppy)
Image 18The 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 Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 19Dog retina showing optic disc and vasculature [epiCam] (from Dog anatomy)
Image 20Two Shih Tzu puppies (from Puppy)
Image 21Sled dog types, sketched in 1833. (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 22Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled. (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 23A drawing by Konrad Lorenz showing facial expressions of a dog - a communication behavior. From the lower left, fear increases in the upward direction and aggression increases to the right. (from Dog behavior)
Image 24Wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 25Basset Hound (from Puppy)
Image 26German Spitz puppy (from Puppy)
Image 27Newborn Basenji puppies (from Puppy)
Image 28A mongrel puppy (from Puppy)
Image 29Watercolor 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 Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 30Newborn Welsh Springer Spaniels (from Puppy)
Image 31Image of dog teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 32Reduction in size under selective breeding – grey wolf and chihuahua skulls. (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 33Frontal view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 34Golden Retriever puppy (from Puppy)
Image 35Lateral view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 36The Greenland dog carries 3.5% genetic material inherited from a 35,000-year-old wolf from the Taymyr Peninsula, Arctic Siberia. (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 37Basenji puppy (from Puppy)
Image 38The highly sensitive nose of a dog. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 39Cavapoo puppy (from Puppy)
Image 40Skull of a dog (from Dog anatomy)
Image 41Lateral view of a dog skull - jaws open (from Dog anatomy)
Image 42"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547. (from Dog breed)
Image 43Montage showing the coat variation of the dog. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 44Dog knee (from Dog anatomy)
Image 45The 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 Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 46President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of puppies in 1966 (from Puppy)
Image 47An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds (from Dog breed)
Image 48Skeleton 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 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 49Lateral view of a dog skeleton (from Dog anatomy)
Image 50An extinct Turnspit dog, 1800 (from Dog type)
Image 51Australian Cattle Dog puppy (from Puppy)
Image 52Chihuahua mix and purebred Great Dane (from Dog breed)
Image 53Jack Russell Terrier puppy (from Puppy)
Image 54Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sighthound (from Dog breed)
Image 55Sled dogs, 1833 (from Dog type)
Image 56Cave wolf skull, Natural History Museum, Berlin (from Origin of the domestic dog)
Image 57NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin with his dogs Jake and Scout (from Dog behavior)
Image 58The 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 Dog anatomy)

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

... that on the second day of Tihar each year, Nepali people worship dogs to please Yama?
... that in the 1883 political cartoon "An appalling attempt to muzzle the watch-dog of science", Friedrich Graetz portrayed Herbert Spencer as a monumental dog?
... that in the 1970s a saxophonist led Major Surgery at a pub in South London?
... that the album series Jingle Cats spawned Jingle Dogs, Jingle Babies, and a Japanese video game in which "the object is to breed and care for cats, which begin to sing when they're done copulating"?
... that artist Frances C. Fairman painted portraits of Queen Victoria's dogs by royal command?
... that film producer Sue Bruce-Smith was credited with the success of Oscar-winning films including 12 Years a Slave, The Favourite, Room, and Slumdog Millionaire?

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?

...that past Olympic mascots include several bears named Misha, Coal, Howdy and Hidy, and dogs Cobi and Waldi ?
...that the dog called the Miniature Fox Terrier (or Mini Foxie) originated in Australia?
...that the Brown Dog affair, an Edwardian-era vivisection cause célèbre, led to massive riots?
...that in addition to human spaceflight, there have been many animals in space, including monkeys, apes, mice, dogs, guinea pigs, frogs, rats, cats, tortoises, fish, newts, insects, snails, spiders and nematodes?

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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...
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