Surprisingly to some, dogs and bears are not related. Dogs are part of the “canidae” family and Canids are part of a larger group known as carnivora, which also has been known to include bears, cats and even seals. Thus dogs and bears are in the same order (carnivora) however they are still located in different families. A dog as mentioned before is in the “canidae” family while bears are found in the “ursidae” family. According to this classification, that makes dogs and bears no more related to each other than each is to cats.
Susan says
Sorry to burst your bubble but-
They are related. The order carnivora began splitting off into different groups. the first split was between cat like carnivores and dog like carnivores. Then the dog like carnivores (called bear dogs- now extinct) split again later into three groups (although not all at the same time) - Amphicyonidae (the bear dogs ), Canidae (the dogs, wolves) and Arctoidea. Arctoidea split into - Hemicyonidae (more extinct bear dogs),
Pinnipedia (seals and sea lions), Musteloidea (weasels, skunks, red pandas and raccoons) and Ursidae (the bear).
So historically dogs, wolves and bears all share the same ancestor.
They are grouped together into Canoidea (the dog like carnivores) because they share some similarities but they are not in the same family (one is canidae, the other is ursidae) because they have some significant differences.
cassava plantation says
Thank you so much for clearing that up, Susan! The world definitely needs people like you to enlighten us and also expose these people who blurt out wrong information to the masses. They think they are such experts but in reality, they know next to nothing!
poopyface says
wow you guys are really unreliable .. . . . . .. . … . . . . i was about to ruin my dads birthday , all he wanted was the answer to this question. good thing susan was here!
kate says
I don’t care what anyone says. Dogs and bears ARE related. Some where in history they were more closely related. But r still related brown bears & polar bears r now breeding again in some parts of Alaska. As the ice melts polar bears r heading inland and there we have hybrids. Saw it on Nova. PBS!
v.stafford says
I think that cats and dogs have a very much alike bodies but the shape of the head is diferent.Cats also have different claws and on the whole have different personalities but I can see the similarities.
Jon says
Thank you Susan, for your insightful information…I was about to get cats mixed up with bears :^) in spite of the fairly obvious similarities between dogs and bears.
Danny says
I agree, It is obvious when you look at a bear that it has traits of a dog, very distant traits but it’s definitely there, the long face is just like a wolves but the body has been changed to allow to climb on trees.
I do not believe in evolution as it is the dumbest theory after the big bang, Divine creation makes much more sense and once you start following creation you get answers that are actually true.
Cheers!
Eric V. says
If you have evidence that evolution is false, by all means present it for peer review and collect your Nobel prize. Until then, please refrain from criticizing that which you do not understand.
KnowThySelf says
To be short in writing, for a subject that is as big as the universe itself, Evolution went up in a big bang. The basic understanding of science proves that the big bang is false. Inertia cancels that out. You can’t get something from nothing. also Louis Pasteur proved that evolution is false, with the glass swan neck experiment. and so did Darwin with the study of the flagellum motor. Also the so called soup that was supposed to be the building blocks of life, have been scientifically proven to be toxic to life. Life is driven internally whereas non living things do not have that internal drive. they can be simulated, but not actualized. Science reports that it has created the first living bacteria to prove creation is false but all they proved was that it had to be created and that they had to use things that were living. The barrier between living and non living things can not be crossed. only living things can produce living things. what came first the chicken or the egg. they have always existed. According to evolutionists life began on Earth billions of years ago, yet the sun at that stage was too cold to support life. When will we see Impalas grow beast like teeth to evolve to counter the predator lion, Creation is a continuation of things that are. and we are children of God
KnowThySelf Knows Nothing At All says
You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about do you? Please keep your ignorant drivel to yourself.
Instead of making up some crap with whatever sciency words you might have heard from more knowledgeable people, go read an actual science book for once.
bluesguy says
Susan IS CORRECT! Cats and dogs are extremely remotely linked genetically through a common ancestor dating back in time in excess of 55 or more million years in the Paleocene era, whereas the lineage of mammalian carnivores inclusive of bears, dogs and even harbor seals, branched off millions of years later on the evolutionary tree. FTR, dogs and bears share 92 percent of their genetic material, but less so DNA is shared between cats and dogs. Bottom line: bears and dogs are more closely related to each other than either ursidae(bear) or canidae(dog) is related to the cat(felidae(cat. The initial assertion as written above is incorrect.
Paul Fields says
you really should modify your article to incorporate the information Susan provided. There are many sources out there that support her information and this info should be found in the body of your document, rather than in someone else’s comment.
Good luck in your quest to educate!
Paul Fields
Johnny Mo says
I agree with Susan, to many similarities between dog and bear to not consider the fact that they once branched off it also goes back further then amphicyonidae, the whole classification of mammals derived from prototheria mammals in the late Carboniferous period,……. But you already knew that
Claire Houlihan says
CAN YOU FIX THIS. It’s unreliable information and it comes up first results when researching bears and dogs. Should at least fix it and put the right info, or is makes your sight seem unreliable!
Bears and dogs look and are too much alike to not be related. Look at how their heads are made, how their bodies are made, how the sense of smell is proportionate to the size of the nose in both animals, and how neither is near the fastest animal, yet, can keep up a chase for long periods. Imagine what a dog could do if he had bear’s size, strength, and size of paws/claws. Could a dog climb? probably! Could a dog stand upwards for long periods like a bear? they already can be trained to stand for short periods right now. The only differences that I can see is the hibernating and herbivore bears(polar bears are carnivores like dogs). Both are necrophiles, too, the way I understand it.
Chris says
Dogs and bears are both necrophiles WTF ! ?
e-dawgbear says
right! best part of this whole discussion lol
dave says
and goats are pedophiles because they haves kids.
Brandon B says
Just because bears and dogs have similar bodies does NOT make them related. Worst logic ever. Obviously they had at some point branched off of a similar species, but all living things evolved from the same species at one point. That doesn’t mean we are all “related” now does it?