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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A Clumber Spaniel

The Clumber Spaniel is a breed of dog of the spaniel type, developed in the United Kingdom. It is the largest of the spaniels, and comes in predominantly white with either lemon or orange markings. The name of the breed is taken from Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire where the breed was first developed. It is a gundog that specialises in hunting in heavy cover. They are gentle and loyal, and can act aloof with strangers.

The history of the breed is uncertain prior to the mid-19th century with two theories being prevalent. Clumber Spaniels have been kept and bred by various members of the British Royal Family, including Prince Albert, King Edward VII and King George V. They were introduced into Canada in 1844, and in 1884 became one of the first ten breeds recognised by the American Kennel Club. The breed can suffer from a variety of breed-specific ailments varying in severity from temporary lameness due to bone growth whilst young to hip dysplasia or spinal disc herniation. (Full article...)

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Credit: Doug Noon

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.

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A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, semen, currency, blood, and contraband electronics, such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most used by detection dogs is smell. Hunting dogs that search for game, and search and rescue dogs that work to find missing humans are generally not considered detection dogs but fit instead under their own categories. There is some overlap, as in the case of cadaver dogs, trained to search for human remains.

A police dog is essentially a detection dog that is used as a resource, for police in specific scenarios such as conducting drug raids, finding missing criminals, and locating stashed currency. Frequently, detection dogs are thought to be used for law enforcement purposes. Experts say that dog-sniff evidence should not be used in the criminal justice system, pointing to wrongful convictions, human biases that skew animal behavior, and the lack of systematic research into what dogs detect or how they do it. (Full article...)

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

Image 1A mongrel puppy (from Puppy)
Image 2Mammoth bone dwelling, Mezhirich site, Ukraine (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 3An 1897 illustration showing a range of European dog breeds (from Dog breed)
Image 4Chihuahua mix and purebred Great Dane (from Dog breed)
Image 5The 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 6Map 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 7Cave wolf skull, Natural History Museum, Berlin (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 8Mandible of the Bonn–Oberkassel dog from the oldest dog-human co-burial dated 14,200 years old (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 9Skeleton 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 10A cavapoo and maltipoo running back while playing fetch (from Dog behavior)
Image 11Newborn Welsh Springer Spaniels (from Puppy)
Image 12Lateral view of a dog skeleton (from Dog anatomy)
Image 13German Spitz puppy (from Puppy)
Image 14The dog's retina shows the optic disc and the eye's vasculature. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 15Montage showing the coat variation of dogs. (from Dog anatomy)
Image 16Frontal view of a dog skull (from Dog anatomy)
Image 17Example of a dog making prolonged eye contact with a human (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 18A 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 19Schematic 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 20External 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 21West Highland White Terrier puppies (from Puppy)
Image 22Basset Hound (from Puppy)
Image 23Chihuahua puppy (from Puppy)
Image 24Australian Cattle Dog puppy (from Puppy)
Image 25Sled dogs, 1833 (from Dog type)
Image 26Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 27Tesem, an ancient Egyptian sight-hound (from Dog breed)
Image 28Cavapoo puppy (from Puppy)
Image 29NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin with his dogs Jake and Scout (from Dog behavior)
Image 30The 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 31The 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 32A dog's teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 33Ancient Hawaiian petroglyphic depiction of an ʻīlio (Hawaiian Poi Dog) (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 34Puggle puppy (from Puppy)
Image 35Boxer and Labrador Mix (from Dog breed)
Image 36Montage showing the morphological variation of the dog. (from Dog breed)
Image 37Bloodhound puppy (from Puppy)
Image 38An extinct Turnspit dog, 1800 (from Dog type)
Image 39Newborn Basenji puppies (from Puppy)
Image 40Bison surrounded by grey wolf pack (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 41A labradoodle puppy and a Golden Retriever puppy playing together (from Puppy)
Image 42Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 43Cart dogs, c. 1900; different in appearance but doing the same work (from Dog type)
Image 44The 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 45Reduction in size under selective breeding – grey wolf and chihuahua skulls (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 46Petroglyph depicting two dogs hunting – Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (from Domestication of the dog)
Image 47Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw opened (from Dog anatomy)
Image 48A little mongrel puppy on the shore, on Halong Bay (from Puppy)
Image 49"Five different types of dogs", c. 1547. (from Dog breed)
Image 50Golden Retriever puppy (from Puppy)
Image 51The nose of a dog (from Dog anatomy)
Image 52Two Shih Tzu puppies (from Puppy)
Image 53Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw closed (from Dog anatomy)
Image 54President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of puppies in 1966 (from Puppy)
Image 55A wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 56A dog's whiskers (from Dog anatomy)
Image 57Sled dog types, sketched in 1833 (from Dog breed)
Image 58Watercolor 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 59Dog knee (from Dog anatomy)
Image 60St. Bernard puppy (from Puppy)
Image 61Jack Russell Terrier puppy (from Puppy)
Image 62Basenji puppy (from Puppy)

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

... that Lambrini Girls have described their January 2025 debut album Who Let the Dogs Out as "a party for pissed off, gay, angry sluts"?
... that with only three of the six guns in his P-51 Mustang working during a dogfight, Claude J. Crenshaw managed to shoot down four enemy aircraft?
... 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 Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, who both edited and contributed to The Oxford History of Christian Worship, also served as a dog show judge?
... that Winston Churchill was often portrayed as a bulldog, but his personal pet dog during the Second World War was a poodle?
... that Palmire Dumont, a pioneer of LGBT nightlife in "Gay Paree", was among the first members of the French Bulldog-Owners Club and met other bulldog owners in her lesbian bar?

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 Fred Gipson was an American author best remembered for creating a fictional dog featured in a book and the classic 1957 movie Old Yeller?
...that Pal, owned by animal trainers Frank and Rudd Weatherwax, was the name of the first dog to portray Lassie?
...that fans in the Dawg Pound at Cleveland Browns Stadium used to throw dog food at opposing players?
...that the sled dog Togo is considered one of the heroes commemorated by the Iditarod dog sled race which is currently running across the U.S. state of Alaska?

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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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