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The real dog by your side
Dogs have lived alongside people for a very long time. Here are three true things about where they came from and what they can do.
Wolves in the family
Dogs are descended from wolves. They were the first species of animal to be domesticated, over 14,000 years ago, before people began farming.
SourceA nose full of sensors
Dogs have roughly forty times more smell-sensitive receptors than humans. That is from about 125 million to nearly 300 million, depending on the breed.
SourceHundreds of breeds
The American Kennel Club recognises 200 breeds of dog. It says there are over 340 dog breeds known around the world.
Source
AI-generated illustration
First weeks
A puppy finds its way by smell
A puppy is born after about 63 days growing inside its mother. It arrives with a sense of smell that already works, but it cannot open its eyes. At first, its nose is the sense it uses most. It sniffs out its mother to feed, and finds its brothers and sisters if they wander a little way off. The puppy's eyes open about nine to eleven days after birth, though at first it cannot see well. Its ears stay sealed until about thirteen to seventeen days. Between two and four weeks old, puppies usually begin to growl, wag their tails and bark.
SourceOldest friend
The oldest known dog
The oldest remains generally accepted to be those of a domesticated dog were found at Bonn-Oberkassel, in Germany. The dog has been dated to 14,223 years ago. It was buried together with a man and a woman, under large, thick blocks of stone. As a puppy, this dog had survived a serious illness called canine distemper. A puppy that ill was unlikely to pull through without people taking great care of it. It was also too young to have been any use to them for work.
SourceThree remarkable breeds
AI-generated illustration
Bloodhound
Canis familiaris
The bloodhound is known for following human scent over large distances and long periods of time. It can follow a scent trail left several days before, and police around the world use bloodhounds to find missing people.
Source
AI-generated illustration
Newfoundland
Canis familiaris
This dog was first bred to work for fishermen in Newfoundland. It has webbed paws and a thick double coat with a water-resistant outer layer, and it excels at water rescue.
Source
AI-generated illustration
Greyhound
Canis familiaris
The greyhound is a sighthound. Its long legs, deep chest, flexible spine and slim build let it sprint very fast. Racing greyhounds can reach at least 69 kilometres an hour.
SourceKinds of dog
The pictures on this page are AI-generated illustrations, not photographs. The facts are checked against the sources linked.