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The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the gray 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 Russian Spaniel is a type of spaniel first standardised in 1951 in the Soviet Union after World War II by cross breeding English Cocker Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels and other spaniel breeds. In 1951, the standard of the Russian spaniel was adopted, the selection of dogs for breeding began to be carried out in accordance with the requirements. Physically it is similar to a Cocker Spaniel, but has a shorter, tighter coat and a longer body. Developed and used as hunting dogs, this breed does not suffer from any major health complaints other than those normally associated with spaniels. It is the only gun dog breed originated in Russia. It is used for hunting game birds (marsh, field, upland and waterfowl birds) and hares. Popular in its native Russia, the breed was only introduced overseas in the 1990s, and is not yet recognised by any major kennel clubs, but is recognised by Russian Kynological Federation. (Full article...)

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Purebred dogs, such as these Airedale Terriers, may participates in conformation dog shows with its owner or handler. Dog shows (and the related sport of Junior Handling for children and young people) are a popular activity; a single show, the 2006 Crufts dog show alone had 143,000 spectators, with 24,640 purebred dogs entered, representing 178 different breeds from 35 different countries.

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Dogs that are familiar with each other may lick each other's faces in greeting, then they begin to sniff any moist membranes where odours are strongest.

Dog communication refers to the methods dogs use to transfer information to other dogs, animals, and humans. Dogs may exchange information vocally, visually, or through smell. Visual communication includes mouth shape and head position, licking and sniffing, ear and tail positioning, eye contact, facial expression, and body posture. Auditory communication can include barks, growls, howls, whines and whimpers, screams, pants and sighs. Dogs also communicate via gustatory communication, utilizing scent and pheromones.

Humans can communicate with dogs through a wide variety of methods. Broadly, this includes vocalization, hand signals, body posture and touch. The two species also communicate visually. Through domestication, dogs have become particularly adept at "reading" human facial expressions. Dogs recognise and infer emotional information from humans. When communicating with a human, their level of comprehension is generally comparable to a toddler. (Full article...)

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

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

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

... that New Zealand's election mascot Orange Guy has a pet dog named Pup?
... that the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game between Baylor and Gonzaga was the first since 2005 to feature the top two overall seeds of the NCAA tournament?
... 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?
... that the collapse of Cloghan Castle in County Cork, Ireland, was said to have been caused by the barking of a ghostly black dog?
... 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 the Seattle SeaDogs won the final Continental Indoor Soccer League championship before the league folded?

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 Joan Ingpen and her pet dachshund Williams were the founding partners of the Ingpen & Williams classical music talent agency?
...that London will soon have a Walk of Fame for dogs?
...that wolf collars with long spikes, now widely adopted by the BDSM community, were originally used on dogs to protect them from attacks by wolves?
...that in his 1915 Kentucky gubernatorial campaign, Augustus O. Stanley advocated a one dollar tax for every dog a person owned?
...one reason for the African Wild Dog name controversy is that endangered African Wild Dogs are being confused with feral domestic dogs?

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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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