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Dogs Came from Wolves
Your pet dog is a distant cousin of the wolf! About 15,000 to 40,000 years ago, some wolves started hanging around human campfires, eating leftover food. The friendliest wolves were allowed to stay. Over thousands of generations, these friendly wolves were bred by humans into dogs. Every dog breed — from tiny Chihuahuas to giant Great Danes — descended from wolves! Dogs still share 99.9% of their DNA with gray wolves. That is why dogs and wolves look and act so similarly!