Canis familiaris

About

A very good dog

The Domestic Dog is, as far as we know right now, the first pet to ever have been domesticated by humans. While they don't seem to be domesticated directly from Canis lupus, they share a common ancestor. For over 14.000 years, dogs have now accompanied humans in daily life. From hunting to pulling sleds, guarding homes to herding cattle, dogs have lived busy lives in human society.

There are believed to be anywhere from 600 to 900 million dogs in the world in 2026, most of which live in households and are cared for as pets. There is however also a big number of stray dogs and street dogs, fully living in the wild and around towns and cities in several countries. Those numbers make dogs slightly more succesful in adapting to domestic life than cats (Felis catus) but just as beloved.

While there are cultures who are not especially fond of dogs or even use dog meat as a food source, most modern societies accept dogs in their midst today. Contrary to popular belief, the religion of Islam originally did not see dogs as "dirty" (in ritual) but some muslims still hold that belief. Read more about how that came to be. Expensive dog breeds today are just as much of a status symbol to rich muslim families as they are with Western non-muslims.

Slideshow

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Observations

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Pets

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•