Canis familiaris , the domestic dog, has a long history of relationships with man whether as companion, guardian, hunter, herder, ritual being and so on. This large collection of papers derives from a symposium at the Eighth International Congress of Archaeozoology held in Victoria, Canada in 1998. Twenty-nine papers discuss the evolution of the dog, domestication and early evidence, the role of the dog, the changing nature of dogs in the Roman period, skeletal variation and the development of `breeds', the analysis of material remains and genetic considerations.Canis familiaris , the domestic dog, has a long history of relationships with man whether as companion, guardian, hunter, herder, ritual being and so on. This large collection of papers derives from a symposium at the Eighth International Congress of Archaeozoology held in Victoria, Canada in 1998.