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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The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a large breed of dog belonging to the retriever, gundog, and sporting breed groups. The breed was developed in the United States Chesapeake Bay area during the 19th century. Historically used by local market hunters to retrieve waterfowl, pull fishing nets, and rescue fishermen, it is today primarily a family pet and hunting companion, known for a bright and happy disposition; courage; willingness to work; alertness; intelligence; love of water; and hunting capabilities. The Chesapeake is a medium- to large-sized dog similar in appearance to the Labrador Retriever, but with a wavy coat. (Full article...)

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A dachshund dressed in homage to the legend of the naming of the hot dog.

Credit: Jessadactyl

The naming of the modern American hot dog is supposedly influenced by the dachshund. In 1852, the butcher's guild in Frankfurt am Main created a smoked, spiced sausage in a thin casing, dubbed a "little-dog" or "dachshund sausage" for its obvious resemblance to the low-riding German dog. The popular legend on the etymology of hot dog holds that a cartoonist named Tad Dorgan attended a polo match in New York in 1901 where vendors roamed the aisles imploring patrons to "get your red-hot dachshund sausages." Enchanted, Dorgan drew a smiling dachshund nestled in a long bun, but couldn't spell dachshund, so he captioned it "hot dog!" and thus the food got its name.

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Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight, not by scent.

In some countries, it is a legal, competitive activity in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare, rather than a form of hunting aiming at the capture of game. It has a number of variations in its rules around the world. Coursing can also be a form of hunting or pest control. It is a long-established hunting technique, practised historically in England, especially with greyhounds or sighthound breeds, or with lurchers which are crossbred sighthounds. The sport grew in popularity in Europe during the 19th century but has since experienced a decline due in part to the introduction of greyhound racing with betting, and laws passed that have banned the practice. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that in an 1876 United States centennial publication, T. D. Bancroft was the first person to write about Abraham Lincoln's relationship with his dog Fido?
... that a tornado near Chicago was produced by a storm with a hydrodynamical helicity four times higher than the threshold favorable for tornadogenesis?
... that the distant horse relative Palaeotherium was first misidentified as an amphibious animal, then as a canine?
... that Stan Brakhage's film Sirius Remembered shows the decomposition of the corpse of his family's dog?
... that Pulaski's Masterpiece, billed as the "world's most valuable dog", disappeared without a trace in 1953?
... that Jilly Cooper published volumes of nature diaries, as well as compilations of journalism and other non-fiction?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that Tillamook Cheddar (pictured), a Jack Russell Terrier from Brooklyn, New York, is the world's most successful and widely shown animal artist?
...that grape and raisin toxicity is a potential cause of acute renal failure in dogs?
...that Able Seaman Just Nuisance is the only dog to have been officially enlisted in the Royal Navy?
...that the Moscow Water Dog, developed as a water rescue dog, preferred to bite drowning people instead of saving them?

...that past Olympic mascots include several bears named Misha, Coal, Howdy and Hidy, and dogs Cobi and Waldi ?
...that the dog called the Miniature Fox Terrier (or Mini Foxie) originated in Australia?
...that the Brown Dog affair, an Edwardian-era vivisection cause célèbre, led to massive riots?
...that in addition to human spaceflight, there have been many animals in space, including monkeys, apes, mice, dogs, guinea pigs, frogs, rats, cats, tortoises, fish, newts, insects, snails, spiders and nematodes?

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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...
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