The modern domestic dog has quite a long and varied history.  He is our best friend, but he is also valued as a worker and guardian of our homes.  We depend upon dogs for a huge array of things, from being a friend to being a lifesaver.  Dogs have been around for approximately 15 thousand years, and have developed into the number one pet in the western world.  The modern dog is also a delicacy in some countries, and it is described as one of the tastiest meats around by historians.  Some cultures also worship the dog as a religious idol, whilst some disfavour the dog for religious reasons.

The domestic dog is a big part of society, with approximately 400 million dogs in the world.  With over eight hundred individual breeds recognised by the international kennel club worldwide, the institution responsible for recognising pedigree and quality of breed.  The domestic dog has developed through a mixture of natural selection, evolution, and artificial selection by human beings.  As a result, the modern domestic dog can range greatly in sizes, features, and colours.  The individual breeds having been bred for so many centuries, mean that there are various  subclasses out there, each fulfilling various specific ‘requirements’ so as you can imagine, different breeds differ greatly in intelligence and various other characteristics, such as nature and behavioural traits, swimming ability, tracking ability and aggression to name but a few.