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. 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 sable and white Papillon

The Papillon (French pronunciation: [papijɔ̃], French for 'butterfly[-eared]'), also called the Continental Toy Spaniel, is a breed of dog, of the spaniel type. One of the oldest of the toy spaniels, it derives its name from its characteristic butterfly-like look of the long and fringed hair on the ears. A Papillon with dropped ears is called a Phalene. (Full article...)

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Retrievers, such as this Labrador Retriever, are a type of gun dog bred to retrieve downed birds from water or land. Although spaniels and some pointing breeds routinely retrieve game, retrievers are skilled in finding game, and 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. A soft mouth refers to the willingness of the dog to carry game without damaging it. Retrievers are often selected as family pets, and many suburban dogs end up retrieving newspapers and sticks like this dog.

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A police dog, also known as a K-9, is a dog that is trained to assist police and other law enforcement officers. Their duties may include searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, finding crime scene evidence, protecting officers and other people, and attacking suspects who flee from officers. The breeds most commonly used by law enforcement are the German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Bloodhound, Dutch Shepherd, and Labrador Retriever. In recent years, the Belgian Malinois has become the leading choice for police and military work due to their intense drive, focus, agility, and smaller size, though German Shepherds remain the breed most associated with law enforcement.

Police dogs are used on a federal and local level for law enforcement purposes in many parts of the world. They are often assigned to what in some nations is referred to as a K-9 Unit, with a specific handler, and must remember several verbal cues and hand gestures. Initial training for a police dog typically takes between eight months and a year, depending on where and how they are trained, and for what purpose. Police dogs often regularly take training programs with their assigned handler to reinforce their training. In many countries, intentionally injuring or killing a police dog is a criminal offense. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that Eagle-Dogtooth Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, contains part of the Experimental Lakes Area, a controlled area for conducting scientific experiments in lakes?
... that Joy was the sole survivor of the Romanov family's execution?
... that Palmire Dumont, a pioneer of LGBT nightlife in "Gay Paree", was among the first members of the French Bulldog-Owners Club and met other bulldog owners in her lesbian bar?
... that Victoria Desintonio successfully proposed a "citizen observatory" watchdog to reduce gender violence in Ecuador?
... that the Turkish government tried to have the German music video "Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan" taken down because it insulted Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan?
... that after the 2023 New York City parking garage collapse, a robotic dog named Digidog was deployed by the New York City Fire Department?

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 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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