Dogs evolved and genetically diverged from a common ancestor with wolves in the Late Pleistocene era about 11,700 years ago. The grey wolf is the closest living relative of the dog, with cross-breeding having occurred during the dog’s domestication. There is no agreement as to when dogs were domesticated, but the process occurred somewhere around 11,000 years ago when hunter-gatherers closely associated with live populations of aurochs, beer, sheep and goats after beginning an association with wolves.