Humans first domesticated dogs some 14,000 years to 29,000 years ago, though this is still up for debate. While it’s settled science that they evolved from grey wolves — the debate over where and how is still far from settled.
Research has called into question the belief that all dogs evolved from the same Eurasian grey wolf population, suggesting there could have been both a western and eastern Eurasian wolf population from which dogs descended. What is known is that dogs and humans have lived and worked together for millennia. Over the years, and for various reasons, certain dogs have become extinct. Here are five of them.
1. The Córdoba
Named for the Argentinian province from where it was first bred, the Córdoba is a cross between a mastiff, bull terrier and English bulldog —among others. These ferocious dogs had strong, muscular bodies, with males weighing up to 90 pounds. Created in the late 1800s, they were first popularized in South America and eventually sent to the U.K. for dog fighting.