15 Small Companion Dogs You'll Fall in Love With originally appeared on PetHelpful. Big dogs aren’t for everybody. Maybe you live in a small apartment or home with limited space, or maybe you just don ...

Understanding the Context

"My big dog often behaves as if he's dumb as a post, but my small dog is an Einstein." "Size doesn't matter. My big and small dogs are smart on some tasks and not so smart on others." "Molly, my tiny ... NewsBreak on MSN: Small dog, big snuggler: Meet the 13lb quiet & gentle companion who will follow you everywhere Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based dog rescue in Massachusetts, has recently introduced James Earl Jones, a small dog who is already winning people over with a simple promise: “Small dog. Big ...

Key Insights

Small dog, big snuggler: Meet the 13lb quiet & gentle companion who will follow you everywhere The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of wolves. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. Dogs and the modern gray wolf share a common ancestor. [4] Dogs were the first species to be domesticated over 14,000 years ago, before the development of agriculture, though genetic studies suggest ... As humans became more sophisticated, so did their dogs.

Final Thoughts

Eventually, there emerged specific breeds of dogs, custom-bred to suit the breeders’ local needs and circumstances. What is a dog? A dog is a domesticated mammal of the family Canidae and the order Carnivora. Its scientific name is Canis lupus familiaris. Dogs are a subspecies of the gray wolf, and they are also related to foxes and jackals. Dogs are one of the two most ubiquitous and most popular domestic animals in the world.

(Cats are the other.)