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 Bernese Mountain Dog, German: Berner Sennenhund or Dürrbächler, is a large dog breed from Bern, Switzerland and the Swiss Alps, being one of the four breeds of Sennenhund-type dogs, with roots in the Roman mastiffs. The name Berner (or Bernese in English) refers to the breed's area of origin in the canton of Bern, and Sennenhund is derived from the German Senne ("alpine pasture") and Hund ("hound/dog"), as they accompanied the alpine herders and dairymen called Senn. This breed was originally kept as a general farm dog and large Sennenhunde in the past were also used as draft animals pulling carts. The breed was officially established in 1912. (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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Thirteen states of the United States have designated an official state dog breed. Maryland was the first state to name a dog breed as a state symbol, naming the Chesapeake Bay Retriever in 1964. Pennsylvania followed the year after, naming the Great Dane as its official breed. Dog breeds are mostly affiliated with the states that they originated in. North Carolina chose the Plott Hound as it was the only dog breed indigenous to the state.

Other official state dogs also are indigenous to their state, including the Boston Terrier (Massachusetts) and the Alaskan Malamute (Alaska). Pennsylvania selected the Great Dane not because of its origin, but because it was introduced by early settlers in the state to be used as a hunting and working dog; it was chosen over the Beagle, which was also proposed around the same time. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that Aox Inc., a maker of computer expansion cards, was named after the founders' dog?
... 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 Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, who both edited and contributed to The Oxford History of Christian Worship, also served as a dog show judge?
... that New Zealand's election mascot Orange Guy has a pet dog named Pup?
... that after U.S. Navy pilot Royce Williams engaged in a solo dogfight with seven Soviet MiG-15s during the Korean War, he was ordered never to tell anyone about it?
... that Herbert James Gunn used a paper cut-out of Princess Elizabeth's corgi dog to help him paint his Conversation Piece at the Royal Lodge, Windsor?

More did you know... - show different entries

...that Buster, the dog of British Labour politician Roy Hattersley, earned his owner a criminal record after killing a goose in St. James's Park, London?
...that the appearance of a dog in a Hutch ad campaign doubled sales of pugs in India in 2003?
...that Bamse was a St. Bernard dog that became the heroic mascot of the Free Norwegian Forces during the Second World War?

...that past Olympic mascots include several bears named Misha, Coal, Howdy and Hidy, and dogs Cobi and Waldi ?
...that the dog called the Miniature Fox Terrier (or Mini Foxie) originated in Australia?
...that the Brown Dog affair, an Edwardian-era vivisection cause célèbre, led to massive riots?
...that in addition to human spaceflight, there have been many animals in space, including monkeys, apes, mice, dogs, guinea pigs, frogs, rats, cats, tortoises, fish, newts, insects, snails, spiders and nematodes?

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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...
Other : Tag and assess "dog" articles with {{WikiProject Dogs}} banner. See also Dog breeds WikiProject to do list.

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Dogs}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.