Draft:Outline of dogs

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to dogs:

The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was domesticated from an extinct population of Pleistocene wolves over 14,000 years ago. The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. Experts estimate that hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs more than 15,000 years ago, which was 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.

What type of things are dogs?

Dogs can be described as all of the following:

Domesticated animal –
Pet –

Biological classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: Canis lupus
Subspecies: Canis lupus familiaris and Canis lupus dingo

Types of dogs

By breed

Dog breed

By function

Dog type (list) – dog type refers to the grouping of dogs by their function.

Companion dog: primarily provide companionship.

Guard dog: watch for and guard against unwanted or unexpected people or animals.
- Fighting dog: fight and sometimes kill other dogs or animals.

Hunting dog: assists humans in hunting game.
- Gun dog: assists gun hunters in finding or retrieving game.
  - Flushing dog/Spaniel: assists hunters by flushing game.
    - Springer Spaniel^{[disambiguation needed]}/Cocker Spaniel: flush birds.
    - Water Spaniel: flush game from the water.
  - Pointer: assists hunters by pointing it's muzzle towards game.
    - Setter: silently locate game by scent.
  - Retriever: assist in retrieving game.
    - Bird dog: assists in both hunting and retrieving game.
    - Water dog: flush and retrieve game from water.
- Hound: assist humans in tracking.
  - Scenthound: assist humans by tracking scent.
    - Coonhound: track and follow game on land and in trees.
    - Foxhound: track and follow game for long distances on land.

Sighthound: assist humans by spotting and chasing down prey.

- Terrier: locate game that lives underground.
  - Fell Terrier: hold or kill game that lives underground.
  - Hunt Terrier: locate game and flush or kill game that lives underground.