The dog (or its younger counterpart puppy) is a mammal in the

order Carnivora. Dogs were domesticated from wolves less than

15,000 years ago according to BBC news, or perhaps as early as
100,000 years ago based upon recent genetic fossil and DNA
evidence. In this time, the dog has developed into hundreds of
breed with a greet degree of variation. For example, heights at
the withers range from just a few inches (such as the
Chihuahua) to roughly three feet (such as the Irish Wolfhound),
and colors range from white to black, with reds , gray (usually
called blue(, and browns occurring in a tremendous variation of
patterns.

Dogs, like humans, are highly social animals and this similarity in
their overall behavioral pattern accounts for their trainability,
playfulness, and ability to fit into human house households and
social situations. This similarity has earned dogs a unique
position in realm of interspecies relationships. The loyalty and
devotion that dogs demonstrate as part of their natural instincts
as pack animals closely mimics the human idea of love
friendship, leading many dog owners to view their pets as full-fledged family members. Conversely, dogs seem
to view their human companions as members of their pack, and make few, if any, distinctions between their
owners and fellow dogs. Dog fill a variety of roles in human society and are often trained as working dogs. For
dogs that do not have traditional jobs, a wide range of dog sports provide the opportunity to exhibit their
natural skills. In many countries, the most common and perhaps most important role of dog is as companions.
Dogs have lived with and worked with humans in so many roles that their loyalty has earned them the unique
sobriquet mans best friend. Conversely some culture considers dogs to be unclean. In some cultures, certain
types of dog may be used as food.

The word dog, in common usage, refers to the domestic pet dog, Canis lupus familiar is (originally classified as
Canis familiar is by Linnaeus in 1758. In 1993, dogs were reclassified as a subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis
lupus,by the Smithsonian Institution and the American Society of Mammalogists) the word is sometimes used
to refer collectively to any mammal belonging to the family Canidae (as in the dog family), such as wolves,
foxes, and coyotes. The constellations Canes Venatici, Canis Major and Canis Minor are named fromk the latin
word for dog, for their perceived resemblance to dogs.

The origin of the English word dog derives from the Old English dogca, a powerful breed of cani9ne. The
French dogue and Spanish dogo as in dogo Argentino are borrowings from English. The English word hound is
a cognate of the German Hund and Dutch hond, which applies to all breeds of the species. Hound itself, like
Latin canis and Greek kuwv (kuon), derivge ultimately from the proto-Indo-European kuon-

In breeding circles, male canine is referred to as a dog, while a female canine is called a bitch. Offspring are
generally calls pups or puppies until they are about a year old. A group of offspring is a litter. The process of
birth is whelping. Many terms are used for dogs that are not purebred.
Among dog lovers, dogs are generally valued for their intelligence, and both anecdotal evidence and scientific
research suggest that dogs have a reasonably high intelligence. [Citation needed] This intelligence is
expressed differently with different breeds and individuals, however. For example, Border Collies are noted for
their ability to learn commands, while other breeds may not be so motivated towards obedience, but instead
show their cleverness in devising ways to steal food or escape from a yard. Dogs are descended from wolves,
and are also packing animals, making them easier than other animals to train because dogs instincts are to
obey. But most dogs rarely have to deal with complex tasks and are unlikely to learn relatively complicated
activities (such as opening doors) unaided. Some dogs (such as guide dogs for the visually impaired) are
specially trained to recognize and avoid dangerous situations.

Source: http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dog