For more than thirty years the dog has been used as a valuable model for human diseases, particularly in the development of novel cell therapy protocols. Efforts made to develop embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in dog have been elusive, possibly due to its distinct reproductive physiology. Here we report canine induced pluripotent stem cells (ciPSCs) generated from canine adult fibroblasts by introducing the human genes OCT4, SOX2, c-MYC and KLF4. The ciPSCs expressed a series of critical pluripotency markers including OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, TRA-1-60, SSEA-4, TERT and FOXD3. These cells were dependent on human leukemia inhibitory factor (hLIF) and β fibroblast growth factor (βFGF). The ciPSCs showed evidence of silencing the exogenous viral vectors, demethylation of the endogenous NANOG regulatory region and normal karyotype. Microsatellite analysis for ciPSCs showed the same profile as the donor fibroblasts and was distinct from dog cell lines from other individuals. Under culture condition that favored differentiation, ciPSCs were able to form embryoid bodies with cell derivatives from ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. We conclude that canine somatic cells can be reprogrammed to the pluripotent stage with many characteristics of human ESCs and iPSCs via a transcription factor transduction system. Our results demonstrate an efficient methodology for deriving canine pluripotent stem cells, and provide a powerful platform for the development of new models for regenerative medicine, as well as for the study of the onset, progression and treatment of human and canine genetic diseases.