We all know that they demand love, attention and a lifetime of companionship - but dogs may have been man's best friend for far longer than we thought.
Durham University has been given one million pounds to work out the date of the first pet dogs.
And as Dan Ashby reports, from wolves to poodles, our canine companions may have been there for us for more than thirty thousand years.
Watch his full report below.
Scientists at Durham University are using a £950,000 NERC grant to find out when and where dogs first became domesticated. They are examining bones of wolves and dogs.
The earliest conclusive evidence showed dogs have been pets for about 14,000 years, but theories now suggest it could have been for as long as 35,000 years.
– Professor Keith Dobney, Sixth Century Chair of Human Palaeoecology at the University of Aberdeen"Just about everything associated with domestication is really about the beginnings of farming. Except dogs.
"Dogs were domesticated by hunter-gatherers at least 3,000-5,000 years before agriculture and possibly tens of thousands of years earlier."
The three year project starts in October.
Scientists at Durham University are trying to find out when dogs first became domesticated. They are examining bones from ancient remains of wolves and dogs. It's believed they could have been pets for as long as 35,000 years.
The oldest ever resident of Battersea Dogs Home in London has found a new family 250 miles away in the North East. He was given away by owners who could no longer care for him, but is now settling into his new home in County Durham.
The number of stray dogs in the north east has gone up by 93% in the last 4 years. The latest figures released by *The Dogs Trust *show around 27 dogs are picked up each day.
Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog welfare charity, has released the figures today from its 16th annual Stray Dog Survey. 118,9321 stray and abandoned dogs were picked up by Local Authorities across the UK over the last 12 months.
The charity is asking owners to get a microchip placed under their dogs skin to help reunited lost dogs with their owners.
Two German Shepherd dogs donated to Northumbria Police are too shy and so need new homes. Northumbria Police is searching for people to give Bella and Blakey somewhere to settle.
Bella is six months old and has not started police dog training because of her nervousness.
18-month-old Blakey started a course but her nervousness has held her back. Both dogs are can be wary of new people but with extra TLC they have potential to be great pets, say officers.
If you're interested you can contact Northumbria Police here.