Portal:Dogs

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The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from an extinct population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans, over 14,000 years ago and before the development of agriculture. Experts estimate that 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 have an inferior visual acuity, a superior sense of smell, and a relatively large olfactory cortex. They 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 gustatory 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 became 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...)

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The mustard colour of the Dandie can be any shade including and between reddish brown and fawn.

A Dandie Dinmont Terrier is a small Scottish dog breed in the terrier family. The breed has a very long body, short legs, and a distinctive topknot of hair on the head. They are friendly but tough, and are suitable for interaction with older children. There are breed-specific health concerns: they can be affected by spinal problems due to their elongated body, and the breed is affected by canine cancer at a higher than average rate.

The breed is named after a fictional character in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Guy Mannering. This character, Dandie Dinmont, is thought to be partly based on James Davidson, who is credited as the originator of the modern breed. Davidson's dogs descended from earlier terrier-owning families, including the Allans of Holystone, Northumberland. (Full article...)

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Credit: Sally Eller

A Standard Poodle in "working clip" retrieving a mallard. Retrievers were bred primarily to retrieve birds or other prey and return them to the hunter without damage. Although spaniels and some pointing breeds routinely retrieve game, and many retrievers are skilled in finding game, retrievers are distinguished in that non-slip retrieval is their primary function. As a result, retriever breeds are bred for soft mouths and a great willingness to please, learn, and obey. Poodles, though developed as hunting dogs, are most commonly used as companions.

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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 900 million, of which around 20% are regarded as owned pets and therefore restrained.

Free-ranging dogs are common in developing countries. It is estimated that there are about 62 million free-ranging dogs in India. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various dog-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw opened (from Dog anatomy)
Image 2Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 3Chihuahua puppy (from Puppy)
Image 4Reduction in size under selective breeding – grey wolf and chihuahua skulls (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 5Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 6Dog knee (from Dog anatomy)
Image 7A little mongrel puppy on the shore, on Halong Bay (from Puppy)
Image 8Bloodhound puppy (from Puppy)
Image 9Lateral view of a dog skeleton (from Dog anatomy)
Image 10Golden Retriever puppy (from Puppy)
Image 11Jack Russell Terrier puppy (from Puppy)
Image 12A labradoodle puppy and a Golden Retriever puppy playing together (from Puppy)
Image 13Cavapoo puppy (from Puppy)
Image 14Bison surrounded by grey wolf pack (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 15St. Bernard puppy (from Puppy)
Image 16The 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)
Image 17Mandible of the oldest recognised dog discovered in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, and dated 14,200 years old (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 18Ancient Hawaiian petroglyphic depiction of an ʻīlio (Hawaiian Poi Dog) (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 19Australian Cattle Dog puppy (from Puppy)
Image 20President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of puppies in 1966 (from Puppy)
Image 21Schematic 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)
Image 22Montage showing the coat variation of dogs. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 23West Highland White Terrier puppies (from Puppy)
Image 24Petroglyph depicting two dogs hunting – Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 25Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sight-hound (from Dog breed)
Image 26A mongrel puppy (from Puppy)
Image 27Cart dogs, c. 1900; different in appearance but doing the same work (from Dog type)
Image 28A cavapoo and maltipoo running back while playing fetch (from Dog behavior)
Image 29A wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 30Mammoth bone dwelling, Mezhirich site, Ukraine (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 31The 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)
Image 32Example of a dog making prolonged eye contact with a human (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 33An extinct Turnspit dog, 1800 (from Dog type)
Image 34Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw closed (from Dog anatomy)
Image 35The 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)
Image 36The nose of a dog (from Dog anatomy)
Image 37Newborn Basenji puppies (from Puppy)
Image 38The dog diverged from a now-extinct population of wolves 27,000–40,000 years ago immediately before the Last Glacial Maximum, when much of the mammoth steppe was cold and dry. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 39Basset Hound (from Puppy)
Image 40NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin with his dogs Jake and Scout (from Dog behavior)
Image 41External 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)
Image 42Basenji puppy (from Puppy)
Image 43Frontal view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 44A dog's teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 45German Spitz puppy (from Puppy)
Image 46A drawing by Konrad Lorenz showing facial expressions of a dog - a communication behavior. X-axis is aggression, y-axis is fear. (from Dog behavior)
Image 47Cave wolf skull, Natural History Museum, Berlin (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 48Chihuahua mix and purebred Great Dane (from Dog breed)
Image 49Sled dogs, 1833 (from Dog type)
Image 50Map 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)
Image 51An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds (from Dog breed)
Image 52Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog. (from Dog breed)
Image 53Watercolor 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)
Image 54"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547. (from Dog breed)
Image 55The dog's retina shows the optic disc and the eye's vasculature. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 56Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Dog breed)
Image 57Puggle puppy (from Puppy)
Image 58Skeleton 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)
Image 59Newborn Welsh Springer Spaniels (from Puppy)
Image 60Two Shih Tzu puppies (from Puppy)
Image 61A dog's whiskers (from Dog anatomy)

Did you know (auto-generated) - show different entries

... that the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game between Baylor and Gonzaga was the first since 2005 to feature the top two overall seeds of the NCAA tournament?
... that Bothie was the only dog to "set paw" on both the North and South poles?
... that Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, who both edited and contributed to The Oxford History of Christian Worship, also served as a dog show judge?
... that Pulaski's Masterpiece, billed as the "world's most valuable dog", disappeared without a trace in 1953?
... that a Hot Dog Bean screenprint from Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans II sold for $258,046 in 2013?
... that Stan Brakhage's film Sirius Remembered shows the decomposition of the corpse of his family's dog?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that Mancs the Hungarian rescue dog is commemorated by a statue (pictured) in his hometown Miskolc?
...that the sting of the rainforest shrub Dendrocnide moroides can cause severe and prolonged pain and has been reported to kill dogs, horses and humans?
...that Dogs Trust, a British animal welfare charity, provided AA wardens with pistols to painlessly euthanise animals injured in road accidents?
...that according to legend, the relics of Saints Ferreolus and Ferrutio were discovered in 370 by a military tribune whose dog chased a fox into a cave near present-day Besançon, France?

...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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Stubs : Aksaray Malaklisi, Alopekis, Argentine pila dog, Armant (dog), Banjara Hound, Barbado da Terceira, Braque Dupuy, Bruno Jura Hound, Bulgarian Scenthound, Cane Lupino del Gigante, Cane Paratore, Cantabrian Water Dog, Český fousek, Faroese Sheepdog, Georgian Shepherd, German Spitz Mittel, Gończy Polski, Grand Griffon Vendéen, Himalayan Sheepdog, Hygen Hound, Indian Spitz, Japanese Terrier, Kaikadi (dog), Koyun dog, Kumaon Mastiff, Levriero Italiano, Mahratta Hound, Majorca Ratter, Montenegrin Mountain Hound, Northern Inuit Dog, Phu Quoc Ridgeback, Plummer Terrier, Porcelaine, Pyrenean Mastiff, Rampur Greyhound, Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog, Romanian Raven Shepherd Dog, Sapsali, Sarabi dog, Sardinian Shepherd Dog, Schweizer Laufhund, Segugio Italiano, Segugio Maremmano, Segugio dell'Appennino, Sinhala Hound, Slovak Cuvac, South Russian Ovcharka, St. Hubert Jura Hound, Stichelhaar, Taigan, Tazy, Telomian, Treeing Cur, Vikhan Sheepdog, Villano de las Encartaciones, Villanuco de Las Encartaciones, White Shepherd, White Swiss Shepherd Dog, Xiasi Dog More stubs...
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