dog and wolf

[victor]

I wanna ask a little question? what is the differences betwwen dogs and wolves? I just wondering because I know that dogs and wolves are "brothers" but people only keep dogs...

[mith]

More cousins than brothers. Dogs were lumped with wolves but were domesticated for their better temperament. Since then, they've diverged as you can see by the numerous "toy" dog varieties etc...

[victor]

So, you mean that wolves get agressive easily? oh, another question, is it true that wolves will eat their own children?

[James]

Physical differences are minimal, but their behaviours, due to domestication are different, ie wolves are more aggresive as they are wild animals.

[Zachthemac]

Like others said dog's behavior is very different from wolves since they have been domesticated for at least 14,000 years. Even so, dogs are a subspecies of the wolf (Canis lupus familiaris), and can reproduce with each other.

Physical differences are minimal

There are some obvious physical differences like size (compare a chihuahua to a wolf) and coat, due to selective breeding.

[MrMistery]

Dogs are a subspecies of wolf? I knew they were 2 different species:
dog-canis familiaris
wolf-canis lupus

[Zachthemac]

I always thought they were a subspecies of the gray wolf.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/s ... iaris.html

[MrMistery]

According to that site, you are right. According to my textbook, i am right. So which one is it?

[Zachthemac]

Wikipedia also agrees with me
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog

[victor]

Hm..maybe we can know that they are different species of one is the subspecies of the others by mating the two of them (it's like liger ou know...he2)

[MrMistery]

Canis lupus familiaris (originally classified as Canis familiaris by Linnaeus in 1758, but reclassified as a subspecies of the wolf, Canis lupus, by the Smithsonian Institution and the American Society of Mammalogists in 1993). The word is sometimes used to refer collectively to any mammal belonging to the family Canidae (as in "the dog family"), such as wolves, foxes and coyotes

Quote from wikipedia
Seems you were right and my textbook is garbage. It's not the first time i get that

[Mister Jon]

I believe dogs are evoloutionary forms of wolves; however wolves have continued to exist because of their success in living due to hunting in packs, and working together for example. Wolves only eat their young in times of desperacy and bad winters and generally are a friendly species, attack humans rarely and often comfort one through bad events (when injured etc) and also work together as companions. I think wolves are great!!