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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 is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Dogs were the first species to be domesticated by hunter-gatherers over 15,000 years ago before the development of agriculture. Due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.

The dog has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes. Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and the military, companionship, therapy, and aiding disabled people. Over the millennia, dogs became uniquely adapted to human behavior, and the human-canine bond has been a topic of frequent study. This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend". (Full article...)

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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. Numerous breeds were used in its development, including the black Great Dane, the Bouvier des Flandres, and the German Pinscher. 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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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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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 1Dog knee (from Dog anatomy)
Image 2An extinct Turnspit dog, 1800 (from Dog type)
Image 3Newborn Basenji puppies (from Puppy)
Image 4Cart dogs, c. 1900; different in appearance but doing the same work (from Dog type)
Image 5Puggle puppy (from Puppy)
Image 6Bloodhound puppy (from Puppy)
Image 7Basenji puppy (from Puppy)
Image 8Lateral view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 9Mandible of the oldest recognised dog discovered in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, and dated 14,200 years old. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 10Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Dog breed)
Image 11Skull of a dog (from Dog anatomy)
Image 12External anatomy (topography) of a typical dog:1. Stop 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 13Mammoth bone dwelling, Mezhirich site, Ukraine. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 14Skeleton 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 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 15Watercolor 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 16"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547. (from Dog breed)
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 Dog anatomy)
Image 18Newborn Welsh Springer Spaniels (from Puppy)
Image 19Lateral view of a dog skeleton (from Dog anatomy)
Image 20Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 21The 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 22NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin with his dogs Jake and Scout (from Dog behavior)
Image 23A mongrel puppy (from Puppy)
Image 24An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds (from Dog breed)
Image 25Lateral view of a dog skull - jaws open (from Dog anatomy)
Image 26Image of dog teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 27Bison surrounded by grey wolf pack. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 28The highly sensitive nose of a dog. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 29A little mongrel puppy on the shore, on Halong Bay (from Puppy)
Image 30Chihuahua mix and purebred Great Dane (from Dog breed)
Image 31Chihuahua puppy (from Puppy)
Image 32Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sight-hound (from Dog breed)
Image 33Australian Cattle Dog puppy (from Puppy)
Image 34Dog retina showing optic disc and vasculature [epiCam] (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 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 37West Highland White Terrier puppies (from Puppy)
Image 38St. Bernard puppy (from Puppy)
Image 39Cavapoo puppy (from Puppy)
Image 40Jack Russell Terrier puppy (from Puppy)
Image 41Basset Hound (from Puppy)
Image 42Sled dog types, sketched in 1833. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 43Schematic 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 44Golden Retriever puppy (from Puppy)
Image 45Two Shih Tzu puppies (from Puppy)
Image 46President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of puppies in 1966 (from Puppy)
Image 47German Spitz puppy (from Puppy)
Image 48A dog's whiskers act as sensing organs. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 49A drawing by Konrad Lorenz showing facial expressions of a dog - a communication behavior. From the lower left, fear increases in the upward direction and aggression increases to the right. (from Dog behavior)
Image 50Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog. (from Dog breed)
Image 51Cave wolf skull, Natural History Museum, Berlin (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 52Frontal view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 53Montage showing the coat variation of the dog. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 54Wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 55Reduction in size under selective breeding – grey wolf and chihuahua skulls. (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 56Petroglyph depicting two dogs hunting – Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 57Sled dogs, 1833 (from Dog type)

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

... that ancient Roman gynecologists believed that menstrual blood could be used to drive dogs insane?
... that the private members' club George has a bespoke menu for pet dogs?
... that Ladoga Skerries National Park in Russia has more than 350 species of various liverworts, hornworts and mosses?
... that the greeneye spurdog, Sydney skate, grey skate and whitefin swellshark are at risk of extinction by trawling, according to a 2021 report?
... that Sput played with Puppy and Dogg?
... that the poor of ancient Rome were compared to dogs by the Roman writer Martial?

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 American president Lyndon Johnson owned two Beagles named Him and Her?
...that the domestic dog's health is possibly one of the best-studied areas in veterinary medicine?
...that the word "terrier" comes from the Latin terra, meaning "earth"?
...that Moose, a Jack Russell Terrier who played Eddie on the popular sitcom Frasier, was given away by his original owner because he was too active for them?

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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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