Dog

The dog is a canine mammal of the Order Carnivora. It has been argued the dog has been domesticated for 12,000 years, but perhaps for as long as 150,000 years based on recent genetic evidence. In this time, the dog has developed into hundreds of breeds with a great degree of variation. more...

For example, heights range from just a few inches (such as the Chihuahua) to nearly three feet (such as the Irish Wolfhound), and colors range from white to black, with reds, grays (usually called blue), and browns occurring in a tremendous variation of patterns. Dogs, like humans, are highly social animals and pack hunters; this similarity in their overall behavioral design accounts for their trainability, playfulness, and ability to fit into human households and social situations. Dogs fill a variety of roles in human society and are often trained as working dogs. For dogs that do not have traditional jobs, a wide range of dog sports provide the opportunity to exhibit their natural skills. In many countries, the most common and perhaps most important role of dogs is as companions. Dogs have lived with and worked with humans in so many roles that their loyalty has earned them the sobriquet "man's best friend." Conversely, some cultures consider dogs to be unclean. In other cultures, some dogs are used as food.

Terminology

Dog, in common usage, refers to the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris (originally classified as Canis familiaris by Linnaeus in 1758, but reclassified as a subspecies of the wolf, Canis lupus, by the Smithsonian Institution and the American Society of Mammalogists in 1993). The word is sometimes used to refer collectively to any mammal belonging to the family Canidae (as in "the dog family"), such as wolves, foxes and coyotes.

• Dog is also a term used by breeders to specifically denote a male domestic dog.
• Bitch is a female dog who is capable of breeding or has been bred.
• Pack is used to denote a group of dogs.
• Puppy is a juvenile dog.
• Pooch, Poochie, Dogay, Pup, Pupsie, Doggy or Doggie are all informal and affectionate terms for a dog often used by children.

Many additional terms are used for dogs that are not purebred; see Terms for mixed-breed dogs.

Physical characteristics

Although selective breeding has changed the appearance of many breeds, all dogs retain the basic ingredients from their distant ancestors. Like most predatory mammals, the dog has powerful muscles, a cardiovascular system that supports both sprinting and endurance, and teeth for catching, holding, and tearing. Its skeleton provides the ability to run and leap. They have small, tight feet, and walk on their toes.

Intelligence

Among dog lovers, dogs are generally valued for their intelligence. Anecdotal evidence suggests that dogs have a reasonably high intelligence. For a detailed discussion on what dog intelligence is, see dog intelligence.

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