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Ancestors to modern dogs, wolves gradually adapted to human presence, and formed a mutually beneficial relationship with early human populations

The timing and specific details of this process are a subjects of ongoing research and debate  

As humans settled out of the pleistocene, into more permanent communities, they may have intentionally selected and bred wolves that displayed desirable traits
Including friendliness, trainability, and specific skills like hunting, and guarding. 

Canis lupus domesticus (domesticated wolf) was first used in the 1960s. While canis framiliaris or canis uncertain familiaris has been a more modern term used

There are several theories about how this process unfolded. Using the dogs morphological plasticity and variation. There’s a specialty technique zooarchaeologists (scientists) use
But since many of the skeletons are decomposed; old; and, incomplete, it makes it sometimes challenging. They are mans best friend though. And, one early theory. Called the self-domestication hypothesis. States that wolves who were less aggressive and more tolerant of human presence.

They begin scavenging around mammoth, horse and other human hunting sites
Over time, it allowed them to be more successful. Thus less aggressive wolves became dependent on humans for food, and humans, in turn, may have found value in their companionship.

…”wild” and “domesticated” exist as concepts along a continuum, and the boundary between them is often blurred — and, at least in the case of wolves, it was never clear to begin with.
— Raymond Pierotti

Another theory proposes that wolves and humans gradually formed a commensal relationship
Wolves benefitted from scavenging human refuse, and humans gained protection from other predators. Over generations, this relationship could have evolved into a more cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership.

Paleolithic dogs were smaller than the pleistocene wolf, and the extant grey wolf
Its skull size was similar to modern large dog breeds. It means they had a body mass of 36–37 kg, or 79–82 lb. Compared with the larger pleistocene wolf. Which was around 42–44 kg, or 93–97 lb. And, modern wolf 41–42 kg, or 90–93 lb.

Did you know? In a couple morphometric studies, the central Asian shepherd were the nearest to the paleolithic dogs skull shape

They had shortened skulls, and snouts. And a reduction in size and number of teeth
It has been attributed to the strong selection for reduced aggression. There snouts were wider, as well as braincases. Due to all there help hunting, fishing; and, for protection. It made them smarter.

Diet between pleistocene wolf and dog evolved (1)
Collagen samples taken from a number of species have shown wolfs ate horse and possible mammoth. While dogs ate reindeer and muskox. It had also been noted on dental microwear of tooth enamal. That canine specimines were worn out more. Suggesting proto dogs consumed more bone, or other less desirable food scraps. “Here rufus, here boy, woof woof”. Domestication probably involved luiring the wolves or paleolithic dogs into hunting camps. Over periods of many many years.

Found in Europe and Siberia. Recently discovered specimens purposed as Paleolithic dogs have been found at the following locations:
40,000 to 35,000 Hohle Fels, Schelklingen, Germany;
36,500 Goyet Caves, Mozet, Belgium;
33,500 Razboinichya Cave, Altai Mountains, Central Asia ;
33,500– 26,500 Kostyonki-Borshchyovo archaeological complex, Voronezh, Russia ;
31,000 Predmostí, Moravia, Czech Republic;
26,000 Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, France;
17,200 Ulakhan Sular, northern Yakutia, Siberia;
17,000– 16,000 Eliseevichi-I site, Bryansk Region, Russian Plain, Russia Paleolithic dog; and,
More

Around the 1920s. Priest/archaeologist Henri Breuil discovered a painting of a wolf-like canid from Font-Degaume cave. In the Dordogne region of France
It is estimated it to be around 15,000 years old. Do you think it was one of the first paleolithic dogs? Or, maybe it was one of the hunters dogs that got away.

The question arises. Did humans enter Eurasia with cooperation from wolves? And, if so, when and where did wolves change into domesticated dogs??
There are a number of proposed paleolithic dogs. But the taxonomy has been a challenge to confirm. There are specimens from Kniegrotte, Oelknitz and Teufelsbrucke in Germany; Monruz, Kesslerloch, Campre-Veyres-Hauterive in Switzerland; and, Mezin and Mezhirich in Ukraine. From around 13.5-15 thousand years ago.

A set of specimens have been confirmed from this time period (13.5-15k years ago) (2)
Including Erralla in Spain; Montespan, Le Morin, Le Closeau, and Pont d’Ambon in France; and, Bonn-Oberkassel in Germany. It was from this period, most have confirmed we humans had domesticated dogs.

What makes them hard to identify?
The Canis genuses morphology is quite flexible. And, there are many similarities between Canis lupus (wolf), and Canis familiaris (proto dog). Plus there bones and DNA compose fast.

It is also hard because there are not many pleistocene wolf specimens available for analysis Scientists have to rely on habitat, prey specialization, and climate. Then they link to what morphological plasticity and its variation they have available.

The domestication process likely involved a combination of factors. Including the evolution of human hunting camps into settled communities
It unfolded over an extended period, resulting in the development of diverse dog breeds. Displaying various characteristics suited to different human needs.

Overall, the domestication of the paleolithic dog was a very significant event in human history. Leading to a close and enduring relationship between humans and their canine companions.

Citation: 1) Bocherens, Hervé (2015). “Isotopic tracking of large carnivore palaeoecology in the mammoth steppe”. Quaternary Science Reviews. 117: 42–71. Bibcode:2015QSRv..117…42B (https://ui.ad
sabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015QSRv..117…42B). doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.03.018 (https://doi.
org/10.1016%2Fj.quascirev.2015.03.018).

2) Thalmann, Olaf; Perri, Angela R. (2018). “Paleogenomic Inferences of Dog Domestication”. In Lindqvist, C.; Rajora, O. (eds.). Paleogenomics. Population Genomics. Springer, Cham. pp. 273–306. doi:10.1007/13836_2018_27 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F13836_2018_27). ISBN 978-3-030-04752-8.

Bibliography: Bocherens, H (2015). “Reconstruction of the Gravettian food-web at Předmostí I using multi-isotopic tracking (13C, 15N, 34S) of bone collagen”. Quaternary International. 359–360: 211–228. Bibcode:2015QuInt.359..211B (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015QuInt.359..211B).doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.09.044 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.quaint.2014.09.044).

Pierotti, R.; Fogg, B. (2017). The First Domestication: How Wolves and Humans Coevolved (https://books.google.com/books?id=aq88DwAAQBAJ). Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-22616-4.

Bocherens, Hervé (2015). “Isotopic tracking of large carnivore palaeoecology in the mammoth steppe”. Quaternary Science Reviews. 117: 42–71. Bibcode:2015QSRv..117…42B (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015QSRv..117…42B). doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.03.018 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.quascirev.2015.03.018).