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.
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