Secrets Facts about Domestic Dogs

 

For many people, dogs are part of the family, companions and guardians, always ready to play games or keep their owners safe at night.

Dogs play an important role in many human lives, not only as pets, but as working dogs, helping solve crimes, serving as our eyes when we cannot see, and herding sheep on farms.

Facts about Domestic Dogs

As the old saying goes, dogs are "man's best friend" and today, domestic dogs provide companionship to millions of people around the world.

Thanks to centuries of selective breeding, domestic dogs’ range in size from the 200-pound (90 kg) English Mastiff to the 3-pound (1.5 kg) Chihuahua. But they are all single species. House dog.

Zoologists disagree on how to classify dogs. Some people believe that domestic dogs are a subspecies of the gray wolf, in which case the scientific name would be a Canis lupus relative.

Others believe that domestic dogs have moved far enough from their wolf ancestors to be considered a separate species. In this case, the scientific name would be Familiar Canis. (In zoology, the scientific name of a species is written in italics.)

Experts estimate that there may be 900 million pet dogs worldwide, but a more probable estimate is around 500 million.

that is, the world's dog population is between one-tenth and one-twentieth the size of the human population!

Facts about domestic dog breeds

As we have seen, there are all shapes and sizes, but all domestic dogs are the same breed. The reason dogs differ so much in appearance (and other traits) is that they are selectively bred for these traits.

Different breeds of domestic dogs are known as breeds because they are the result of selective crossbreeding.

For thousands of years, we have domesticated dogs and bred for every job imaginable: hunting, managing property, pulling sleds, driving sheep and even powering machines! The so-called Turnspit dog was a special breed of short-legged working dog bred specifically for running on large wheels attached to kitchen spigots. That way, you can get delicious broils without having to turn the broiler yourself!

The Turnspit dog's closest modern relative is another short-legged hustler, Welsh Corgi.

There are over 350 recognized dog breeds in the world, and this does not include crossbreeds like Labradoodle or Chiweenie.

The largest dog breeds are the Great Dane, Mastiff and St. Bernard.

The tallest dog was Zeus, a Great Dane from Otego, Michigan. Zeus' shoulder height was 1.1 m, and the top of his head would have measured more than 4 feet.

The largest dog in history was the Zorba, the absolute unit of the English Mastiff, and weighed 343 pounds (156 kg). There have been rumors of a larger dog, but nothing has been confirmed.

The smallest dog breed is the Chihuahua, which averages 3-6 pounds. (1.5-2.7 kg).

Prehistoric house dog

The modern domestic dog is a cousin of the gray wolf (Canis lupus). In fact, they are so close genetically that most biologists usually think of dogs and wolves.

It is a simple subspecies called simply Canis lupus Canis relatives and Canis lupus Canis.

For a long time, scientists were not sure when and where the first dogs were domesticated because the fossil and DNA evidence seemed to point in different directions. The fossil record shows that the first dog-like skeletons came from Europe around 30,000 BC. Sea Shop.

Early genetic analysis suggested that modern dogs are more closely related to the wild wolves of the Middle East. However, the most recent DNA evidence appears to confirm European origin.

There are no obvious dogs in the famous European cave paintings (although there are some wolves). The first clear artistic representations of dogs appear about 8,000 years ago in petroglyphs in present-day Saudi Arabia.

Dog intelligence

Like humans, dogs are very sociable. That's probably one of the reasons we have get along so well.

In nature, dogs (like wolves) are almost always found in packs. The proverb "lone wolf" is a rare phenomenon in nature. Loneliness is usually a temporary condition, such as when young male wolves move from their birth group to a new pack that will lead to adult life.

Dogs are sometimes considered intelligent because of the way they learn and communicate with humans. But cognitive scientists question these reasonings. Over thousands of generations, dogs have evolved to be very sensitive to human behavior in ways other animals do not. Many other animals are probably just as good as dogs. They are just less motivated to do what we tell them to do!

Like all mammals, dogs have a brain that is similar to the human brain. They are particularly similar in the deep structures that regulate bodily functions.

Basic emotions such as pleasure and fear and appetite. However, it is not clear whether dogs are more likely to experience complex emotions such as wonder or regret.

Dog owners are often convinced that their dogs have a moral conscience because of the "guilty" they have when they misbehave. However, it is difficult to verify whether this is remorse or simply fear of punishment.

"Guilt" itself can also be an evolved behavior that functions to restore the relationship between the dog and its human companion due to the behavior of the dog.

Dog Family

Dogs of the world, including both living and extinct dogs, wild and domesticated dogs, form the Canidae family. dog family. Member of these family are known as canids.

The Canis familiar species is the most well-known of the canid species, but it is not the only one. The biological family Canidae contains 30-35 species depending on who you ask (as usual in taxonomy, there is disagreement about some species - they are classified as dogs).

The canines of the world include foxes, wolves, coyotes, and jackals, as well as lesser-known animals such as raccoons and strange-looking South American wild dogs.