Portal:Dogs

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The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of wolves. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. Dogs and the modern gray wolf share a common ancestor. Dogs were the first species to be domesticated over 14,000 years ago, before the development of agriculture, though genetic studies suggest the domestication process may have begun over 25,000 years ago. 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 specific behaviors, sensory abilities, and physical traits. Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. All dogs have a similar number of bones, although the number can vary with tail length. They also have powerful jaws containing about 42 teeth, and well-developed senses of smell, hearing, and sight. Compared to humans, dogs have a superior sense of smell and hearing, but less acute vision. Dogs serve humans in many ways, including hunting, herding, pulling loads, providing protection and companionship, offering therapeutic support, assisting people with disabilities, and supporting police and military operations.

Communication in dogs includes eye gaze, facial expression, vocalization, body posture (including movements of bodies and limbs), and chemical 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 Parson Russell Terrier is an English breed of small white terrier that was the original Fox Terrier of the 18th century. The breed is named after the Reverend Jack Russell, credited with the creation of this type of dog. It is the recognised conformation show variety of the Jack Russell Terrier and was first recognised in 1990 in the United Kingdom as the Parson Jack Russell Terrier. In America, it was first recognised as the Jack Russell Terrier in 1997. The name was changed to its current form in 1999 in the UK and by 2008 all international kennel clubs recognised it under the new name.

A mostly white breed with either a smooth, rough or broken coat, it conforms to a narrower range of sizes than the Jack Russell. It is a feisty, energetic terrier, suited to sports and able to get along with children and other animals. It has a range of breed-related health issues, mainly relating to eye disorders. (Full article...)

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A Komondor during the Working Group judging at the 2007 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is a two-day benched conformation show that takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City every year. Dog owners from around the world come to show their dogs. Dogs are judged closely by eminent American Kennel Club (AKC) judges. It is considered by many to be America's most prestigious dog show.

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Dog behavior refers to the internally coordinated responses of individuals or groups of domestic dogs to internal and external stimuli. It has been shaped by millennia of contact with humans and adaptation to human lifestyles. As a result of this physical and social evolution, dogs have acquired the ability to understand and communicate with humans. Behavioral scientists have uncovered a wide range of social-cognitive abilities in domestic dogs. Dog behavior is influenced by a combination of physiological factors, environmental conditions, and human interaction, all of which play a part in the development of a dog's behavior and overall welfare. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that ancient humans cared for a 14,000-year-old puppy?
... 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 dogs in Spain include one who foiled a bombing, one who had his own travel series, and one who is 12 metres tall and covered in 38,000 flowers?
... that Jilly Cooper published volumes of nature diaries, as well as compilations of journalism and other non-fiction?
... that a stray dog named Argo visited the ruins of Pompeii daily for 15 years and was considered its "guardian"?
... that Snoop Dogg's original lyrics about cannabis for the song "Sunday" were sung over by Ben Rector to keep the song clean?

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 Joan Ingpen and her pet dachshund Williams were the founding partners of the Ingpen & Williams classical music talent agency?
...that London will soon have a Walk of Fame for dogs?
...that wolf collars with long spikes, now widely adopted by the BDSM community, were originally used on dogs to protect them from attacks by wolves?
...that in his 1915 Kentucky gubernatorial campaign, Augustus O. Stanley advocated a one dollar tax for every dog a person owned?
...one reason for the African Wild Dog name controversy is that endangered African Wild Dogs are being confused with feral domestic dogs?

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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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