Portal:Dogs

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Dogs Portal

The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf; 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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected breed - show another

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...)

List of selected breeds

Selected image

Credit: American Water Spaniel Club

The American Water Spaniel is a gundog breed of dog developed in the market hunting days of America's history. Hunters needed a dog that could function on land as well as in the marsh and that could easily fit into a canoe or skiff without taking up much room. An American original, this flushing spaniel also doubles as a competent retriever.

More selected pictures

Gallery

Read more...

Topics

Selected article - show another

Human–canine bonding is the relationship between dogs and humans. This relationship can be traced back to at least 15,000 years ago, to the Bonn-Oberkassel dog, who was found buried alongside two humans. For centuries, dogs have been considered man's best friend. This is most evident in western countries, such as the United States, where 44% of households have a pet dog.

The human–canine relationship is not necessarily always a positive one; dogs can be viewed in an extremely negative light depending on the region. On average, females tend to have more positive attitudes toward dogs as opposed to males, and studies have demonstrated that both dogs and humans release oxytocin while spending time together. This release of oxytocin is correlated with the formation of a strong social bond. Canines are capable of distinguishing between positive and negative human facial expressions and will react accordingly. Dogs appear in religions all over the world, particularly in Mesoamerican folklore and myth, signifying the deep reverence humans all over the world and throughout history have for them. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images - load new batch

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

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

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

... that Stan Brakhage's film Sirius Remembered shows the decomposition of the corpse of his family's dog?
... that Victoria Desintonio successfully proposed a "citizen observatory" watchdog to reduce gender violence in Ecuador?
... 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 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 ancient Roman gynecologists believed that menstrual blood could be used to drive dogs insane?
... that a New York state TV station thought a St. Bernard could serve as a mascot—until she proved incapable of following direction and had to be sent to obedience school?

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?

More did you know facts

List articles

Subcategories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

Related portals

edit

Things you can do

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

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.

edit

Recognized content

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.