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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A black Giant Schnauzer with a docked tail

The Giant Schnauzer is a breed of dog developed in the 17th century in Germany. It is the largest of the three breeds of Schnauzer—the other two breeds being the Standard Schnauzer and the Miniature Schnauzer. Originally bred to assist on farms by driving livestock to market and guarding the farmer's property, the breed eventually moved into the city, where it worked guarding breweries, butchers' shops, stockyards and factories. It was unknown outside of Bavaria until it became popular as a military dog during World War I and World War II.

They have a dense coarse coat that protects them from the weather and from vermin. Giant Schnauzers come in three color varieties: pepper and salt, pure black with black undercoat, and black and silver. Where legal, they are shown with cropped ears and docked tails. Like other schnauzers, they have a distinct beard and eyebrows. Today, the Giant Schnauzer participates in numerous dog sports, including Schutzhund. Another sport that the dog excels in is that of nosework. Due to its alert nature, the dog is also used in police work. (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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Canine influenza (dog flu) is influenza occurring in canine animals. Canine influenza is caused by varieties of influenzavirus A, such as equine influenza virus H3N8, which was discovered to cause disease in canines in 2004. Because of the lack of previous exposure to this virus, dogs have no natural immunity to it. Therefore, the disease is rapidly transmitted between individual dogs. Canine influenza may be endemic in some regional dog populations of the United States. It is a disease with a high morbidity (incidence of symptoms) but a low incidence of death.

A newer form was identified in Asia during the 2000s and has since caused outbreaks in the US as well. It is a mutation of H3N2 that adapted from its avian influenza origins. Vaccines have been developed for both strains. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that in a recent book, David Bentley Hart – a New Testament translator and proponent of the existence of fairies – engages in dialogues with his dog Roland?
... that a New York state TV station thought a St. Bernard could serve as a mascot—until she proved incapable of following direction and had to be sent to obedience school?
... that Babydog is "a fixture in West Virginia politics"?
... that Open Philanthropy has made grants to causes ranging from recession prevention to cancer vaccines for dogs?
... that the first dogs in space returned to Earth with a parachute?
... that Moondog was released 13 years after Moondog's previous Moondog?

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?

...that the original Rin Tin Tin was named for a puppet called Rintintin that French children gave to the American soldiers for good luck?
...that the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska covers about 1,100 miles (1,760 km)?
...that the dog to win the first three Westminster Kennel Club Dog Shows was a Smooth Fox Terrier named Warren Remedy?
...that the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (World Canine Organization) was founded in 1911 and has 80 member countries?

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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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