Why did they change the latin name for the domestic dog to canis lupus familaris?

to make them feel like they made a contribution.

Why did they change the latin name for the domestic dog to canis lupus familaris?
It evidently recognizes that domestic dogs and wolves are members of the same species. I suppose examination of their DNA led to this conclusion, but even before we could use DNA testing, there was the simple fact that animals that were half wolf, half domestic dog were fertile, as attested by the fact that there were some animals that were the offspring of these crossbreeds. As a general rule, although members of different species of the same genus can mate and produce offspring (e. g. mules), only members of the same species can produce offspring that can reproduce in turn. Since dogs and wolves can, they must belong to the same species.
Reply:Domestic dogs were originally classified over 350 years ago. A lot can happen between then and now.


Dogs have a common ancestor in canis lupus, and they were reclassified as a subspecies in 1993 by the Smithsonian Institution and the ASM.
Reply:Because dogs have been reclassified as a subspecies of wolf.