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 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 possess a superior sense of smell and hearing, but inferior visual acuity. Dogs 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 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 Jack Russell Terrier is a British breed of small terrier. It is principally white-bodied and may have a smooth, rough, or broken coat, with markings of various colours.

It derives from dogs bred and used for fox-hunting in North Devon in the early nineteenth century by a country parson, Jack Russell – for whom the breed is named – and has similar origins to the modern Fox Terrier. Though closely similar, it is a distinct and different breed from the Parson Russell Terrier. (Full article...)

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Credit: Robert Southworth
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The American Eskimo Dog is a breed of companion dog originating in the United States (probably in New York City) in the twentieth century. It is derived from the German Spitz, the Finnish Spitz, and almost certainly the Pomeranian and Keeshond. The spitz family of Nordic dogs is one of the least altered by human husbandry and reflects most nearly the prototypical dog, from which stock all others have been derived. Archeology suggests that Neolithic dogs living with humans would today pass for spitzes.

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Sussex Spaniel Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee being presented with Best in Show in 2009

The title of "Best in Show" is given to the dog chosen as the winner of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show according to conformation show rules. It has its origins in the variety classes for champions that were introduced in 1905 which included prizes for best champion dog and best champion bitch. The title of Best in Show at Westminster has been awarded every year beginning in 1907 except for 1923 when changes in American Kennel Club rules prohibited mixed breed judging until a uniform process could be adopted; following further changes in rules it was awarded again in 1924.

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breeds conformation show. It has been held in New York City, New York annually since 1877. It was held at Madison Square Garden for the first time in 1880, and is currently held in the modern arena of the same name. Dogs are first placed in breed specific classes for Best of Breed, with the winners moving on to the respective breed group. Winners from each group then compete for the title of Best in Show. In each class, the individual dogs are judged against the breed standard of each dog breed. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that a candidate in the 1968 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware took his dog on the campaign trail?
... that the death of Odysseus's dog in the Odyssey uses language typically reserved for the noble deaths of warriors?
... that opera singer Mariska Aldrich had a prize-winning German shepherd who excelled in police-dog competitions?
... that children's author Mary Chalmers owned ten cats and a Pomeranian dog, whose poses helped her draw illustrations for her books?
... that the dog Private Chesty was demoted from private first class for willful destruction of government property?
... that beavers, mules, and dogs have been parachuted from airplanes?

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 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, 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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