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 and adept at understanding and communicating 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...)
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...)
A team of fourteen mixed-breed dogs mushing. Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled on snow. The term is thought to come from the French word marche, or go, run, the command to the team to commence pulling. "Mush!" is rarely used in modern parlance, however; "Hike!" is more common in English.
Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog.
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...)
Image 11Schematic 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 13A 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 15The 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)
... that in 2021, Alabama state representative Steve McMillan sponsored a bill that later became law allowing restaurants to have outdoor dining areas for dogs?
... that ancient Greek philosopher Xenophon thought the alopekis was part dog, part fox?
...that the Caribou Inuit people are defined by their fur clothing, use of sled dogs and their snowhouses?
...that a legend says that when Philip de Braose irreverently spent the night in a church dedicated to Saint Afan, he was struck blind the next morning and his hunting dogs went mad?
...that the Koitsenko were the honorary elite of the Kiowadog soldiers, who tribal lore says called themselves that because they had dreams or visions of dogs?
...that Lap dogs are among the oldest types of dogs?
...that the Kangal Dog has been declared a "National Cultural and Historic Treasure" by the Turkish government?
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