Question

What species is a dog?

Answer 1

Carl Linneaus gave the scientific name of dog in 1758 when he published his book called Systema Naturae. Dogs and wolves share the same genus.

Complete answer:
Species is the most basic unit of taxonomic classification. A species is the biggest group of organisms where two individuals of the opposite sex can produce fertile offsprings. There are an estimated 9 million species in the world.
All species are given a two word name, which is called a binomial. The first part of the binomial name is called the genus of the species and the second part of the binomial name is the specific name of that particular species.
The binomial name of a domesticated dog is Canis familiaris. Canis is the name of the genus of dog and familiaris is the specific name of dog. Modern dogs descended from wolves (Canis lupus). Both dogs and wolves belong to the same genus. Wolves were domesticated by hunters and gatherers over 15000 years ago.
Dogs have been selectively bred for many years for selective characteristics like physical attributes and behavior which resulted in the formation of numerous breeds of dogs. Dogs are subclassified into breeds which vary in physical characteristics like shape and size. Dogs have been bred over the years for various roles like:
Hunting
Herding
Therapy
Guarding

Note:
Dogs have a sense of smell that is almost 40 times better than humans. They are the most abundant carnivorous animals. Dog breeds were formed through the process of artificial selection by humans. There are an estimated 200 breeds of dogs in the world.