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 is derived from extinct gray wolves, and the gray wolf is the dog's closest living relative. The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. Experts estimate that hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs more than 15,000 years ago, which was 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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A red Basenji with white markings

The Basenji (/bəˈsɛndʒi/) is a breed of hunting dog. It was bred from stock that originated in central Africa. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale places the breed in the Spitz and primitive types. The Basenji produces an unusual yodel-like sound, due to its unusually shaped larynx. This trait also gives the Basenji the nickname the 'barkless dog.'

Basenjis can run up to 30-35 miles per hour and share many distinctive traits with pariah dog types. Basenjis come into estrus only once annually similar to dingoes, New Guinea singing dogs and Tibetan Mastiffs, when compared with other dog breeds which may have two or more breeding seasons each year. They lack a distinctive odor, and are prone to howls, yodels, and other vocalizations over the characteristic bark of modern dog breeds. The breed's original foundation stock came from Congo. (Full article...)

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Credit: redjar

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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Coon hunters in Virginia, circa 1907

Coon hunting is the practice of hunting raccoons, most often for their meat and fur. It is almost always done with specially bred dogs called coonhounds, of which there are six breeds, and is most commonly associated with rural life in the Southern United States. Coon hunting is also popular in the rural Midwest. Most coon hunts take place at night, with the dogs being turned loose, trailing and putting the raccoon up a tree without human assistance. Once the raccoon is in the tree, with the dog at the base, it is referred to as "treed", with "treeing" being the active verb form.

In addition to meat or fur hunts, there are also competition hunts to demonstrate the speed and skill of the dog. In these the raccoons are not killed, but are treed and released. Some of the largest competition hunts are the Grand American, Autumn Oaks, and Leafy Oaks. Coon hunting has been recorded in such books as Where the Red Fern Grows and popularized in stories and songs recorded by Jerry Clower, Jimmy Martin and others. In Alabama, there is a cemetery specifically for the burial of coon dogs. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that an image of MacCarthy's Bar on the front cover of a book featured a staff member posing as a nun drinking a pint of Guinness and the surprise appearance of a dog?
... that the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard is the only U.S. cemetery reserved exclusively for coon dog burials?
... that Bothie was the only dog to "set paw" on both the North and South poles?
... that Pietro Badoer was banished twice, poisoned one of his three wives, but declined an offer for a coup to make him doge?
... that Pyrenean Mountain Dogs were urgently introduced onto French farms in the 1990s to protect flocks from wolves that had arrived from Italy?
... that New Zealand's election mascot Orange Guy has a pet dog named Pup?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that Laurence Mancuso was the founding abbot of the Eastern Orthodox monastic community of New Skete (pictured), which is known for its dog training?
...that "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is the most reproduced cartoon from The New Yorker magazine, and its title a phrase still used around the world?
...that the famous quote "No man who hates dogs and children can be all bad" generally attributed to Leo Rosten was actually first used in 1930 by future war correspondent Byron Darnton?
...that the expressions 'top dog' and 'underdog' may originate with the two sawyers in a saw pit?

...that Adolf Hitler owned a German Shepherd named Blondi, and was so fond of her that he allowed her to sleep in his bedroom?
...that the most common breeds for use as guide dogs are Labrador and Golden Retrievers?
...that Ashley Whippet became the first disc dog on August 4, 1974?
...that Marie Antoinette supposedly walked to the guillotine with her pet Papillon under her arm?

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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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