Ear shape and carriage also vary, but these characteristics may be influenced by a dog owner’s decision to crop, or cut, the ears to make them stand up. Limbs are relatively short in the basset hound and dachshund, but long in the greyhound. The muzzle may appear shortened, as in the Pekingese, or elongated, as in the Doberman pinscher.
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Coat color, length, texture, and pattern also vary greatly. The Irish wolfhound is at the other end of the scale, measuring about 71 to 94 cm (about 28 to 37 in) at the shoulder and weighing up to about 61 kg (about 135 lb). The Shih Tzu, for example, is 20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 in) in length and weighs 4 to 7 kg (9 to 15 lb). All Rights Reserved.ĭomestic dogs vary widely in appearance, particularly in size. The hind legs, attached to massive muscles, enable powerful acceleration and help to maintain running speed. The strong front legs bear more than 60 percent of the animal’s weight, yet still permit flexibility and nimbleness. This companionship often helps to ease the pain and isolation of the elderly or people whose physical or mental health requires long-term convalescence or institutionalization.Ī dog’s skeleton enhances agility and endurance. And people tend to form loving bonds with dogs. As animals with strong social tendencies, dogs typically crave close contact with their owners. Perhaps the most common of the many roles served by the domestic dog, however, is that of companion. Today trained dogs are used to alert deaf people to common household sounds, such as the ringing telephone or doorbell guide the blind or retrieve objects for quadriplegics. They have been used during wartime as sentinels and message carriers. Dogs have been used to hunt for food, herd animals, guard livestock and property, destroy rats and other vermin, pull carts and sleds, perform rescues, and apprehend lawbreakers. Dogs are featured in tapestries that were created in the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century), and in the work of many artists, including 17th- and 18th-century European painters Peter Paul Rubens and Thomas Gainsborough.Īlthough it is not known how humans and dogs first learned to coexist, people soon discovered the many ways dogs could enrich their lives. In 1576 an English physician and dog fancier, John Caius, wrote a detailed text on dog breeds, Of English Dogges.
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Literary references to the dog include those found in the Bible and in the Greek classic the Odyssey by Homer. A statue of Anubis, the half dog, half jackal Egyptian god, was discovered inside King Tutankhamen’s tomb, constructed in about 1330 bc. The relationship shared by dogs and humans also is evident in cave drawings, early pottery, and Asian ivory carvings that depict dogs. Their formal burial and the positioning of the dog remains reveal the esteem in which the ancient Persians held their dogs.
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An ancient Persian cemetery, dating to the 5th century bc, contained thousands of dog skeletons. Prehistoric dog skeletal remains, excavated from sites in Denmark, England, Germany, Japan, and China, indicate the early coexistence of dogs with people. The evolving relationship between the domestic dog and humans has been documented in fossil evidence, artifacts, and records left by earlier civilizations. Dog ancestry has been traced to small, civet-like mammals, called miacis, which had short legs and a long body and lived approximately 40 million years ago. A direct descendant of the wolves that once roamed Europe, Asia, and North America, the domestic dog belongs to the dog family, which includes wolves, coyotes, foxes, and jackals. This trusted work partner and beloved pet learned to live with humans more than 14,000 years ago. All rights reserved.ĭog, mammal generally considered to be the first domesticated animal. Yoav Levy/Phototake NYC/Courtesy of Hollywood Edge.
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The domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris, believed to be a direct descendant of the wolf, Canis lupus, has been selectively bred into hundreds of different breeds.