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# The Humble Dog

The dog (Q144 on Wikidata) is the name of a four legged mammal that enjoys things such as running, eating, and sleeping. They are common to find in houses around the world as pets as well as working animals (like on farms, with the police, in the army, in therapy, as well as in other work).

Thanks to man's ability to selectively breed animals, our ancestors, during the Late Pleistocene (roughly between c. 129,000 and c. 11,700 years ago), were able to domesticate wolves when humans were just hunter-gatherers, and in fact, it is thought that the dog was the first animal we were able to domesticate.

• Dogs can be used to help humans in work, like farm dogs. A farmer will have a dog (breeds like Border Collie, Old English Sheepdog, Koolie, Welsh Sheepdog) and use them to help with livestock by shouting basic commands; «Come by» to go to the left of the animals, «Stand» to stop moving, «Walk up» to go closer to the animals, and other commands to help in rounding up animals (see: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, and photo 4 of farm dogs in action).
• Police dogs can be used to sniff out narcotics thanks to the animal's strong sense of smell.
• Therapy dogs also exist, sometimes found in schools - certain dogs are naturally very calm and gentle, so they are a perfect match for locations like these.
• And possibly the most useful of all, guide dogs that have been trained to help the blind move around places like the busy city.

Thanks to this, the dog has often been cited as «man's best friend», that is to say, the dog will always be man's friend, as the dog will unconditionally love us.

The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica talks about dogs, albeit in a clinical way:

DOG, the English generic term for the quadruped of the domesticated variety of Canis[.]

[...]

The dog is generally easily managed, and although H. C. Brooke of Welling, Kent, succeeded in making a wolf fairly tractable, the experience of others has been the reverse of encouraging. G. Cuvier gives an interesting account of a young wolf which, having been trained to follow his master, showed affection and submission scarcely inferior to the domesticated dog. During the absence from home of his owner the wolf was sent to a menagerie, but pined for his master and would scarcely take any food for a considerable time. At length, however, he became attached to his keepers and appeared to have forgotten his former associate. At the end of eighteen months his master returned, and, the moment his voice was heard, the wolf recognized him and lavished on him the most affectionate caresses. A still longer separation followed, but the wolf again remembered his old associate and showed great affection upon his return. Such an association proves that there is very little difference between the dog and the wolf in recognition of man as an object of affection and veneration. H. C. Brooke succeeded in training his wolf so well that it was no uncommon sight to see the latter following his master like a dog. The wolf did not like strangers, however, and was very shy in their presence.

Dogs and humans, it is fair to say, are best friends. Where there is a dog, there are humans, and where there are humans, dog is not far behind.

# I'm a wild woof, why would I want to get domesticated?

If you're a wild wolf who is living around 30,000 years ago, there are some noticeable benefits to living with humans, namely...

1. Fire: Mankind can control, or at least consistently start, fires, meaning you have a good heat source during Winter or cold times. Humans also offer you another heat source with their bodies if you lie with them; in cases like this, the bond can grow stronger.
2. Your pack grows: Bigger numbers mean more protection for you; it also means more mouths to feed, but...
3. Humans can hunt bigger animals: Humans are countless, so they can kill bigger animals than you can with things like tools, and because you help with the hunt and/or you are a part of the wolf-human pack, humans will see you as their own and feed you, even if this doesn't always benefit them.
4. Humans are nice: Most humans, especially ones in your pack, are just nice and will do things like talk to you (even if you don't speak the same language), pet you, and come to your aid if you are hurt. They don't ask for much in return; they mostly want a friend.

So, if you are a wolf and are considering becoming a domestic animal, there are some of the pros. Admittedly, it's only a short list, but this will greatly increase your life. Not only are you happier (humans and dogs release a happy hormone when together (oxytocin)), but also your life expectancy will go up as well.

It's difficult to reject this win-win offer, especially as hunting can be hard for you, even at the best of times; the same goes for keeping warm. Humans also know how to make shelter, or be it a rather rudimentary one at the moment, but a shelter nonetheless, so any pups you may have will have a better chance of entaring adulthood and breeding: Your family tree could last for countless years!

 guuuRUF!!!
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  \\___\/ _o)
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Guuuruf back at you, ASCII dog!

# Famous Dogs

Some famous dogs include, but not limited to:

# In Fiction...

Due to our close connection, dogs in folklore, media, as well as written stories have and will keep appearing. Here is just a small collection of made-up dogs:-

• Snoopy: A household name and maybe one of the most famous dogs, as seen in the Peanuts comic. Sadly not real.
• K-9: The loyal computer dog of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor (played by Tom Baker) who helps the Time Lord during his travels in time and space.
• Gelert: A Welsh folktale dog from the 12th or 13th century. The story goes that Llywelyn ab Iorwerth came back home from hunting to find that Gelert the dog had killed his child, so as revenge, Llywelyn strikes the dog with his sword and kills Gelert, only to then hear the cries of his baby, safe under their cradle, along with a dead wolf, with whom had been killed by Gelert protecting the child. Overcome with remorse, Llywelyn buries the dog with great ceremony, but can still hear Gelert's crying yelp, never to smile again.
• Saint Guinefort: Was a 13th-century greyhound dog who received local veneration as a folk saint. The story behind this saint is almost a one-to-one of that of Gelert, although this dog lived in Lyon, France (see also this modern illustration of the dog).
• Sirius: Lord of the Dog Star: Was a deeply powerful and telepathic god-like dog in 1967's The Starlight Barking who foretold a nuclear holocaust on Earth, encouraging all of dogkind to come with them to another planet to save them from this possible event (no, really).
• Gromit: The loyal pooch of Wallace in Wallace & Gromit and helps his human friend out of trouble many a time.
• Rowf and Snitter: Two dogs from the book (and later movie) The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams (who also wrote Watership Down) that follows these two dogs in the cruelty that mankind can gift upon them.
• The black dog: English folklore animal that is said to be a hellhound. The beast has red, sometimes yellow, glowing eyes and is connected to the Devil and is am omen of death. The Hound of the Baskervilles, a Sherlock Holmes book by Arthur Conan Doyle, was inspired by the black dog.
• Roobarb: From the TV show of the same name, Roobarb is a green cartoon dog who gets up to silly and fun misadventures with his cat friend, Custard. Yeah, it's a kid's show, but it's harmless fun; plus, the DIY look and feel of the show really boosts the enjoyment, worth a watch even if just to enjoy the electric guitar theme song.
• Toto: From the Oz series of books, but best remembered being played by Terry the dog in the much loved Wizard of Oz 1939 movie along side Judy Garland.
• The Heeler family: from the Bluey series that stars the titular character and her sister Bingo, dad Bandit, and mum Chilli in this highly successful children's TV series that also sees a lot of love from older, adult viewers.
• Scooby Doo: Famous detective.

# In Reality...

• Abuwtiyuw (also transcribed as Abutiu): was a dog who lived in the Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt and who received an elaborate ceremonial burial on request of a pharaoh, a pharaoh who we don't actually know their name as it was not recorded. This dog is unique as it's one of the first individual given names for an animal (as in, like, how Cass is a name and human is the species; Abuwtiyuw was their name) that we are aware of.
• Белка and Стрелка (Belka and Strelka): two Soviet dogs who spent a day inside of Sputnik 5 in 1960, making them the first Earthlings to orbit our home planet. They made it back home safely, and in fact, a number of their offspring are still around, even today.
• Commander: A dog belonging to Genocide Joe during his time as President - the dog, whom Governor Kristi Noem called «dangerous and unpredictable», was known for biting White House staff (the dog, not Kristi Noem). Here's a cute photo of Commander when he was still a pup, another photo, and finally Commander older.
• Negro Matapacos (Black Cop-Killer): A dog from Chile who took part in a number of protests between 2011 and '13, attacking members of the Chilean national gendarmerie, who have power over the entire national territory of Chile.

# Credits and Notes

• The dog ASCII art was made by Drummyfish for the LRS Wiki, CC0.
• Quote: 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, out of copyright - public domain.

This page was last edited on 2026-09-09 03:37:52.

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