The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of wolves. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. Dogs and the modern gray wolf share a common ancestor. Dogs were the first species to be domesticated over 14,000 years ago, before the development of agriculture, though genetic studies suggest the domestication process may have begun over 25,000 years ago. Due to their long association with humans, dogs have gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.
Dogs have been bred for desired behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes. Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They have the same number of bones (with the exception of the tail), powerful jaws that house around 42 teeth, and well-developed senses of smell, hearing, and sight. Compared to humans, dogs possess a superior sense of smell and hearing, but inferior visual acuity. Dogs perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, companionship, therapy, aiding disabled people, and assisting police and the military.
Communication in dogs includes eye gaze, facial expression, vocalization, body posture (including movements of bodies and limbs), and chemical communication (scents, pheromones, and taste). They mark their territories by urinating on them, which is more likely when entering a new environment. Over the millennia, dogs have uniquely adapted to human behavior; this adaptation includes being able to understand and communicate with humans. As such, the human–canine bond has been a topic of frequent study, and dogs' influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend". (Full article...)
Adult bitch, with full ears and tail The Dobermann is a German breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. In Canada and the United States it is known as the Doberman Pinscher. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector. It has a long muzzle and – ideally – an even and graceful gait. The ears were traditionally cropped and the tail docked, practices which are now illegal in many countries.
The Dobermann is intelligent, alert and tenaciously loyal; it is kept as a guard dog or as a companion animal. (Full article...)
A yellow Labrador Retriever correctly negotiating weave poles at a dog agility competition. Similar to a slalom, weave poles are a series of upright poles, each about 3 feet (1 m) tall and spaced about 20 inches (50 cm) apart, through which the dog weaves. It is one of the most difficult obstacles for a dog to master. It varies from 5 to 12 poles at one time. The dog must always enter with the first pole to his left and must not skip poles.
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- † = Descended from and closely related to livestock guardian dogs, but traditionally used in other roles
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A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 700-900 million, of which approximately 75% are classified as free-ranging.
Free-ranging dogs are common in developing countries. It is estimated that there are about 62 million free-ranging dogs in India. In Western countries free-ranging dogs are rare; in Europe they are primarily found in parts of Eastern Europe, and, to a lesser extent, in parts of Southern Europe. (Full article...)
The following are images from various dog-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Image 1Watercolor tracing made by archaeologist Henri Breuil from a cave painting of a wolf-like canid, Font-de-Gaume, France, dated 19,000 years ago (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 2German Spitz puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 3A drawing by Konrad Lorenz showing facial expressions of a dog - a communication behavior. X-axis is aggression, y-axis is fear. (from Dog behavior)
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Image 4The Greenland dog carries 3.5% genetic material inherited from a 35,000-year-old wolf from the Taymyr Peninsula, Arctic Siberia. (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 5External anatomy (topography) of a typical dog: 1. Head 2. Muzzle 3. Dewlap (throat, neck skin) 4. Shoulder 5. Elbow 6. Forefeet 7. Croup (rump) 8. Leg (thigh and hip) 9. Hock 10. Hind feet 11. Withers 12. Stifle 13. Paws 14. Tail (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 6St. Bernard puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 7"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547. (from Dog breed)
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Image 8A wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 9A little mongrel puppy on the shore, on Halong Bay (from Puppy)
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Image 10Dog knee (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 11Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw opened (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 12Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Dog breed)
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Image 13Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 14A dog's whiskers (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 15Mandible of the Bonn–Oberkassel dog from the oldest dog-human co-burial dated 14,200 years old (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 16A mongrel puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 17Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog. (from Dog breed)
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Image 18An extinct Turnspit dog, 1800 (from Dog type)
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Image 19Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 20Example of a dog making prolonged eye contact with a human (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 21Frontal view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 23Chihuahua mix and purebred Great Dane (from Dog breed)
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Image 24Cart dogs, c. 1900; different in appearance but doing the same work (from Dog type)
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Image 25The dog's retina shows the optic disc and the eye's vasculature. (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 26Puggle puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 28Boxer and Labrador Mix (from Dog breed)
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Image 30A cavapoo and maltipoo running back while playing fetch (from Dog behavior)
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Image 31Lateral view of a dog skeleton (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 32A labradoodle puppy and a Golden Retriever puppy playing together (from Puppy)
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Image 33Golden Retriever puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 34Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw closed (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 35An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds (from Dog breed)
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Image 36Sled dogs, 1833 (from Dog type)
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Image 37The difference in overall body size between a Cane Corso (Italian mastiff) and a Yorkshire terrier is over 30-fold, yet both are members of the same species. (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 38The difference in body size between a Cane Corso (Italian mastiff) and a Yorkshire Terrier is over 30-fold; both are members of the same species. (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 39The dog diverged from a now-extinct population of wolves 27,000–40,000 years ago, before or during the Last Glacial Maximum, when much of the mammoth steppe was cold and dry. (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 41Petroglyph depicting two dogs hunting – Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 42The nose of a dog (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 43Map depicting possible phylogeographic origins of dingoes, New Guinea singing dogs, and Island Southeast Asian and Oceanian dogs, based on recent genetic evidence (Fillios & Taçon, 2016) (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 44Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sight-hound (from Dog breed)
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Image 45Bison surrounded by grey wolf pack (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 46Skeleton of a dog:1. Cranium 2. Maxilla 3. Mandible 4. Atlas 5. Axis 6. Scapula 7. Spine of scapula 8. Humerus 9. Radius 10. Ulna 11. Phalanges 12. Metacarpal bones 13. Carpal bones 14. Sternum 15. Cartilaginous part of the rib 16. Ribs 17. Phalanges 18. Metatarsal bones 19. Tarsal Bones 20. Calcaneus 21. Fibula 22. Tibia 23. Patella 24. Femur 25. Ischium 26. Pelvis (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 48Basenji puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 49President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of puppies in 1966 (from Puppy)
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Image 50Schematic anatomy of the ear. In dogs, the ear canal has a "L" shape, with the vertical canal (first half) and the horizontal canal (deeper half, ending with the eardrum) (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 51Bloodhound puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 53Reduction in size under selective breeding – grey wolf and chihuahua skulls (from Domestication of the dog)
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Image 54Montage showing the coat variation of dogs. (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 55Cavapoo puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 56Chihuahua puppy (from Puppy)
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Image 57Two Shih Tzu puppies (from Puppy)
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Image 59Newborn Basenji puppies (from Puppy)
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Image 60NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin with his dogs Jake and Scout (from Dog behavior)
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Image 61A dog's teeth (from Dog anatomy)
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Image 62Mammoth bone dwelling, Mezhirich site, Ukraine (from Domestication of the dog)
- ...when lying down, dogs rest on their haunches, not their stomachs?
- ...that Nipper was the mixed-breed dog who was the model for the painting His Master's Voice, which was later used logos and advertising for several brands, including RCA Records.
- ...that the Canadian Kennel Club was founded in 1888, four years after the American Kennel Club?
- ...that the Greyhound is one of the fastest breeds of dog, and can reach speeds of 72 km/h (45 mph)?
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