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. 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 dachshund (UK: /ˈdækshʊnd, -ənd, -hʊnt/ DAKS-huund, -⁠ənd, -⁠huunt or US: /ˈdɑːkshʊnt, -hʊnd, -ənt/ DAHKS-huunt, -⁠huund, -⁠ənt; German: 'badger dog'), also known as the wiener dog or sausage dog, badger dog and doxie, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, with varied coloration.

The dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals. The miniature dachshund was bred to hunt small animals such as rabbits. (Full article...)

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Credit: Dave

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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A drawing of Barry, preserved at the Natural History Museum of Bern prior to the modifications conducted in 1923.

Barry der Menschenretter (1800–1814), also known as Barry, was a dog of a breed which was later called the St. Bernard that worked as a mountain rescue dog in Switzerland and Italy for the Great St Bernard Hospice. He predates the modern St. Bernard, and was lighter built than the modern breed. He has been described as the most famous St. Bernard, as he was credited with saving more than 40 lives during his lifetime, hence his byname Menschenretter meaning "people rescuer" in German.

The legend surrounding him was that he was killed while attempting a rescue; however, this is untrue. Barry retired to Bern, Switzerland and after his death his body was passed into the care of the Natural History Museum of Bern. His skin has been preserved through taxidermy although his skull was modified in 1923 to match the Saint Bernard of that time period. His story and name have been used in literary works, and a monument to him stands in the Cimetière des Chiens near Paris. At the hospice, one dog has always been named Barry in his honor; and since 2004, the Fondation Barry du Grand Saint Bernard has been set up to take over the responsibility for breeding dogs from the hospice. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that the Greyster is a type of sled dog favored especially for dryland racing like canicross and bikejoring?
... 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 the dog in A Man and His Dog was modelled after Thomas Mann's real-life dog Bauschan?
... that Pietro Badoer was banished twice, poisoned one of his three wives, but declined an offer for a coup to make him doge?
... that a 19th-century horse stable in New York City later housed a luxury pet sitter for cats and dogs?
... that French designer Martine Bedin compared her Super Lamp design to "a small dog that I could carry with me"?

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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