Portal:Dogs

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The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. Dogs were the first species to be domesticated over 14,000 years ago, before the development of agriculture. 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 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 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...)

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Short-haired bitch, two years old

The Weimaraner is a German breed of hunting dog of medium to large size, with history going back at least to the nineteenth century.

It originated in the area of the city of Weimar (then in Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, now in the state of Thuringia), for which it is named. It was recognised as a breed in 1891. It is an all-purpose gun dog, characterised by its speed and stamina, its good nose and eye, and its courage and intelligence; in Germany it is not considered suitable for keeping as a companion dog. (Full article...)

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Credit: C. MacMillan

A Border Collie herding sheep. Border Collies can take direction by voice and whistle at long distances when herding. Their great energy and herding instinct are still used to herd all kinds of animals, from the traditional sheep and cattle, free range poultry, and pigs, to deer and ostriches. They are also used to remove unwanted wild birds from airport runways, golf courses, and other public and private areas.

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A dog breed is a particular type of dog that was purposefully bred by humans to perform specific tasks, such as herding, hunting, and guarding. Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing upward of 360 globally recognized breeds. These breeds possess distinct traits related to morphology, which include body size and shape, tail phenotype, fur type, etc., but are only one species of dog. Their behavioral traits include guarding, herding, and hunting, and personality traits such as hyper-social behavior, boldness, and aggression. Most breeds were derived from small numbers of founders within the last 200 years. As a result of their adaptability to many environments and breedability for human needs, today dogs are the most abundant carnivore species and are dispersed around the world.

A dog breed will consistently produce the physical traits, movement and temperament that were developed over decades of selective breeding. For each breed they recognize, kennel clubs and breed registries usually maintain and publish a breed standard which is a written description of the ideal specimen of the breed. Other uses of the term breed when referring to dogs include pure breeds, cross-breeds, mixed breeds and natural breeds. (Full article...)

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

Image 1External 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 2Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 3A cavapoo and maltipoo running back while playing fetch (from Dog behavior)
Image 4Montage showing the coat variation of dogs. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 5Chihuahua mix and purebred Great Dane (from Dog breed)
Image 6Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 7Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Dog breed)
Image 8Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog. (from Dog breed)
Image 9Two Shih Tzu puppies (from Puppy)
Image 10German Spitz puppy (from Puppy)
Image 11NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin with his dogs Jake and Scout (from Dog behavior)
Image 12Watercolor 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 13Frontal view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 14A mongrel puppy (from Puppy)
Image 15Dog knee (from Dog anatomy)
Image 16Sled dogs, 1833 (from Dog type)
Image 17A dog's teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 18A wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 19The nose of a dog (from Dog anatomy)
Image 20Bison surrounded by grey wolf pack (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 21Mammoth bone dwelling, Mezhirich site, Ukraine (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 22Australian Cattle Dog puppy (from Puppy)
Image 23The dog's retina shows the optic disc and the eye's vasculature. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 24Boxer and Labrador Mix (from Dog breed)
Image 25Bloodhound puppy (from Puppy)
Image 26Newborn Welsh Springer Spaniels (from Puppy)
Image 27Jack Russell Terrier puppy (from Puppy)
Image 28A labradoodle puppy and a Golden Retriever puppy playing together (from Puppy)
Image 29Basenji puppy (from Puppy)
Image 30A dog's whiskers (from Dog anatomy)
Image 31Map 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 32Cave wolf skull, Natural History Museum, Berlin (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 33Schematic 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 34Cavapoo puppy (from Puppy)
Image 35Golden Retriever puppy (from Puppy)
Image 36The 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 37Cart dogs, c. 1900; different in appearance but doing the same work (from Dog type)
Image 38A 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 39Puggle puppy (from Puppy)
Image 40Newborn Basenji puppies (from Puppy)
Image 41Chihuahua puppy (from Puppy)
Image 42An extinct Turnspit dog, 1800 (from Dog type)
Image 43A little mongrel puppy on the shore, on Halong Bay (from Puppy)
Image 44Petroglyph depicting two dogs hunting – Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 45Mandible of the Bonn–Oberkassel dog from the oldest dog-human co-burial dated 14,200 years old (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 46Reduction in size under selective breeding – grey wolf and chihuahua skulls (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 47The 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 48The 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)
Image 49The 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 50President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of puppies in 1966 (from Puppy)
Image 51Example of a dog making prolonged eye contact with a human (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 52Ancient Hawaiian petroglyphic depiction of an ʻīlio (Hawaiian Poi Dog) (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 53West Highland White Terrier puppies (from Puppy)
Image 54Basset Hound (from Puppy)
Image 55"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547. (from Dog breed)
Image 56Skeleton 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 57Lateral view of a dog skeleton (from Dog anatomy)
Image 58Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw opened (from Dog anatomy)
Image 59St. Bernard puppy (from Puppy)
Image 60An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds (from Dog breed)
Image 61Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sight-hound (from Dog breed)
Image 62Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw closed (from Dog anatomy)

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

... that Ripken wore a GoPro on his back while retrieving used bats and tees at major sporting events?
... that Babydog is "a fixture in West Virginia politics"?
... that Stan Brakhage's film Sirius Remembered shows the decomposition of the corpse of his family's dog?
... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?
... that Phil Fletcher as Hacker T. Dog caused Lauren Layfield to make the "most famous snort" in the United Kingdom in 2016?
... that Pep the dog was falsely accused of murdering a cat and sent to Eastern State Penitentiary?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that Laurence Mancuso was the founding abbot of the Eastern Orthodox monastic community of New Skete (pictured), which is known for its dog training?
...that "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is the most reproduced cartoon from The New Yorker magazine, and its title a phrase still used around the world?
...that the famous quote "No man who hates dogs and children can be all bad" generally attributed to Leo Rosten was actually first used in 1930 by future war correspondent Byron Darnton?
...that the expressions 'top dog' and 'underdog' may originate with the two sawyers in a saw pit?

...that Fred Gipson was an American author best remembered for creating a fictional dog featured in a book and the classic 1957 movie Old Yeller?
...that Pal, owned by animal trainers Frank and Rudd Weatherwax, was the name of the first dog to portray Lassie?
...that fans in the Dawg Pound at Cleveland Browns Stadium used to throw dog food at opposing players?
...that the sled dog Togo is considered one of the heroes commemorated by the Iditarod dog sled race which is currently running across the U.S. state of Alaska?

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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, Barrocal Algarvio, 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, Saint Miguel Cattle 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, Villano de las Encartaciones, Villanuco de Las Encartaciones, White Shepherd, White Swiss Shepherd Dog, Xiasi Dog More stubs...
Other : Tag and assess "dog" articles with {{WikiProject Dogs}} banner. See also Dog breeds WikiProject to do list.

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