China has a long history of keeping dogs. Archaeological findings show that dog remains were found as early as 7000 BC in Cishan, Wu 'an, Hebei, Peiligang, Xinzheng, Henan, and Hemudu, Yuyao, Zhejiang. It is widely used in Jia Hu, Wuyang, Henan, Dadiwan, Qin 'an, Gansu, Meng Xi, Lixian, Hunan, and later Yangshao culture, Dawenkou culture and Longshan culture.

The remains of China's dog were found in more than 20 Neolithic sites in Henan, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Hunan, Hubei, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian and Taiwan Province provinces. The earliest remains can reach 7000-8000 years ago, such as Cishan in Wu 'an, Hebei Province and Pei Li in Xinzheng, Henan Province. This phenomenon shows that the custom of keeping dogs was very popular throughout the Neolithic period in China, whether in the north or the south.

In the 3rd century BC/kloc-Oracle Bone Inscriptions recorded "six animals", and in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, there was a written record of "fifty sheep and fifty dogs".