I have three small dogs.  Another fact about dogs is that the dog and the gray wolf are sister taxa 
That's pretty interesting.  I used to have a small dog, a pug when I was younger.
Love pugs!  Another thing is that dogs and their long association with humans has led them to be uniquely attuned to human behavior
I've always wondered about that.  I've always sensed that dogs know more about us than it seems.
Yeah they are very aware.  Another thing is that dogs perform many roles for humans such as hunting, herding, and pulling loads.
They're very helpful animals, has that always been their nature?  I couldn't imagine the world without them.
, aiding disabled people and therapeutic roles. This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend".
Terminology.
- The term "dog" typically is applied both to the species (or subspecies) as a whole, and any adult male member of the same.
- An adult female is a "bitch".
- An adult male capable of reproduction is a "stud".
- An adult female capable of reproduction is a "brood bitch",
domestication.
The earlier association of dogs with humans may have allowed dogs to have a profound influence on the course of early human history and the development of civilization. However, the timing, geographic locations, and ecological conditions that led to dog domestication are not agreed.
There is clear evidence that dogs were derived from gray wolves during the initial phases of domestication and that no other canine species was involved. The wolf population(s) that were involved are likely to be extinct. Despite numerous genetic studies of both modern dogs