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 red Basenji with white markings

The Basenji (/bəˈsɛndʒi/) is a breed of hunting dog created from stock that originated in Central Africa, including in the Republic of the Congo and other adjacent tropical African countries. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale places the Basenji in the Spitz and "primitive types" categories, while the American Kennel Club classifies it as a hound. The breed does not bark in the traditional manner of most dogs, rather vocalising in an unusual, yodel-like "talking" sound, due to its unusually-shaped larynx. This trait earns the Basenji its nickname of "barkless" dog, a similar feature seen and heard in the New Guinea singing dog.

Basenjis are athletic small dogs that can run up to 30 to 35 miles per hour (48 to 56 km/h), and share many distinctive traits with the pye or pariah dog types of the Indian subcontinent. In addition to their uniquely similar vocalisations, the Basenji, the Australian dingo and the aforementioned New Guinea singing dog all only come-into estrus once per year, as does the Tibetan Mastiff; other dog breeds may have two or more breeding seasons each year. Basenjis lack a distinctive odor, or "dog smell". (Full article...)

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The American Eskimo Dog is a breed of companion dog originating in the United States (probably in New York City) in the twentieth century. It is derived from the German Spitz, the Finnish Spitz, and almost certainly the Pomeranian and Keeshond. The spitz family of Nordic dogs is one of the least altered by human husbandry and reflects most nearly the prototypical dog, from which stock all others have been derived. Archeology suggests that Neolithic dogs living with humans would today pass for spitzes.

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The human–canine bond is rooted in the domestication of the dog, which began occurring through their long-term association with hunter-gatherers more than 30,000–40,000 years ago. The earliest known relationship between dogs and humans is attested by the 1914 discovery of the Bonn–Oberkassel dog, who was buried alongside two humans in modern-day Oberkassel, Germany, approximately 15,000 years ago. For centuries, the phrase "man's best friend" has commonly been used to refer to dogs, as they were the first species and the only large carnivore to have been domesticated. This companionship is most evident in Western countries, such as the United States, where 44% of households were found to be keeping at least one dog as a pet.

On average, female humans tend to have more positive attitudes towards dogs than male humans do, but studies have demonstrated that both dogs and humans release oxytocin while spending quality time together. This release of oxytocin is correlated with the formation of a strong social bond. Canines are capable of distinguishing between positive and negative human facial expressions and will react accordingly. Dogs appear in religions all over the world, particularly in Mesoamerican folklore and myth, thus signifying the deep reverence that humans all over the world have had and continue to have for them. Despite this relationship's significance throughout history, it is not necessarily always a positive one; dogs can be viewed in an extremely negative light, depending on the region. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that the Isle of Dogs Pumping Station was nicknamed the Temple of Storms?
... that in 2021, Alabama state representative Steve McMillan sponsored a bill that later became law allowing restaurants to have outdoor dining areas for dogs?
... that a tornado near Chicago was produced by a storm with a hydrodynamical helicity four times higher than the threshold favorable for tornadogenesis?
... that Ladoga Skerries National Park in Russia has more than 350 species of various liverworts, hornworts and mosses?
... that Dan Lanning, who coached his final game at Georgia in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship, will face Georgia in his first game as the new head coach at Oregon?
... that Eagle-Dogtooth Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, contains part of the Experimental Lakes Area, a controlled area for conducting scientific experiments in lakes?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that Buster, the dog of British Labour politician Roy Hattersley, earned his owner a criminal record after killing a goose in St. James's Park, London?
...that the appearance of a dog in a Hutch ad campaign doubled sales of pugs in India in 2003?
...that Bamse was a St. Bernard dog that became the heroic mascot of the Free Norwegian Forces during the Second World War?

...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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