Dog

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Look up dog in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
This article is about the domestic dog. For related species known as "dogs", see Canidae. For
other uses, see Dog (disambiguation).
Domestic dog
Temporal range: 0.0330Ma
Pre

O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N

Pleistocene Recent

Nine different dog breeds
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: C. lupus
Subspecies: C. l. familiaris
[1]

Trinomial name
Canis lupus familiaris
[2]

Synonyms
Species synonymy[show]

The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris,
[2][3]
or Canis familiaris) is a member of the Canidae
family of the mammalian order Carnivora. The term "domestic dog" is generally used for both
domesticated and feral varieties. The dog was the first domesticated animal
[4][5]
and has been the
most widely kept working, hunting, and pet animal in human history.
[citation needed]
The word "dog"
can also refer to the male of a canine species,
[6]
as opposed to the word "bitch" which refers to the
female of the species.
Recent studies of "well-preserved remains of a dog-like canid from the Razboinichya Cave" in
the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia concluded that a particular instance of early wolf
domestication approximately 33,000 years ago did not result in modern dog lineages, possibly
because of climate disruption during the Last Glacial Maximum.
[4][7]
The authors postulate that at
least several such incipient events have occurred. A study of fossil dogs and wolves in Belgium,
Ukraine, and Russia tentatively dates domestication from 14,000 years ago to more than 31,700
years ago.
[8]
Another recent study has found support for claims of dog domestication between
14,000 and 16,000 years ago, with a range between 9,000 and 34,000 years ago, depending on
mutation rate assumptions.
[9]
Dogs' value to early human hunter-gatherers led to them quickly
becoming ubiquitous across world cultures. Dogs perform many roles for people, such as
hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship, and,
more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This impact on human society has given them the
nickname "man's best friend" in the Western world. In some cultures, however, dogs are also a
source of meat.
[10][11]
In 2001, there were estimated to be 400 million dogs in the world.
[12]

Most breeds of dog are at most a few hundred years old, having been artificially selected for
particular morphologies and behaviors by people for specific functional roles. Through this
selective breeding, the dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds, and shows more
behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal.
[13]
For example, height
measured to the withers ranges from 15.2 centimetres (6.0 in) in the Chihuahua to about 76 cm
(30 in) in the Irish Wolfhound; color varies from white through grays (usually called "blue") to
black, and browns from light (tan) to dark ("red" or "chocolate") in a wide variation of patterns;
coats can be short or long, coarse-haired to wool-like, straight, curly, or smooth.
[14]
It is common
for most breeds to shed this coat.
Contents
[hide]
1 Etymology and related terminology
2 Taxonomy
3 History and evolution
o 3.1 DNA studies
4 Roles with humans
o 4.1 Early roles
o 4.2 As pets
o 4.3 Work
o 4.4 Sports and shows
o 4.5 As a food source
o 4.6 Health risks to humans
o 4.7 Health benefits for humans
o 4.8 Shelters
5 Biology
o 5.1 Senses
5.1.1 Vision
5.1.2 Hearing
5.1.3 Smell
o 5.2 Physical characteristics
5.2.1 Coat
5.2.2 Tail
o 5.3 Types and breeds
o 5.4 Health
5.4.1 Mortality
5.4.2 Predation
o 5.5 Diet
5.5.1 Foods toxic to dogs
o 5.6 Reproduction
5.6.1 Neutering
o 5.7 Communication
6 Intelligence and behavior
o 6.1 Intelligence
o 6.2 Behavior
o 6.3 Dog growl
7 Differences from wolves
o 7.1 Physical characteristics
o 7.2 Behavioral differences
o 7.3 Trainability
8 Cultural depictions
o 8.1 Mythology
o 8.2 Gallery of dogs in art
9 See also
10 References
11 Bibliography
12 External links
Etymology and related terminology
Dog is the common use term that refers to members of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris
(canis, "dog"; lupus, "wolf"; familiaris, "of a household" or "domestic"). The term can also be
used to refer to a wider range of related species, such as the members of the genus Canis, or "true
dogs", including the wolf, coyote, and jackals, or it can refer to the members of the tribe Canini,
which would also include the African wild dog, or it can be used to refer to any member of the
family Canidae, which would also include the foxes, bush dog, raccoon dog, and others.
[15]
Some
members of the family have dog in their common names, such as the raccoon dog and the
African wild dog. A few animals have dog in their common names but are not canids, such as the
prairie dog.
The English word dog comes from Middle English dogge, from Old English docga, a "powerful
dog breed".
[16]
The term may possibly derive from Proto-Germanic *dukkn, represented in Old
English finger-docce ("finger-muscle").
[17]
The word also shows the familiar petname diminutive
-ga also seen in frogga "frog", picga "pig", stagga "stag", wicga "beetle, worm", among others.
[18]

The term dog may ultimately derive from the earliest layer of Proto-Indo-European vocabulary,
reflecting the role of the dog as the earliest domesticated animal.
[19]

In 14th-century England, hound (from Old English: hund) was the general word for all domestic
canines, and dog referred to a subtype of hound, a group including the mastiff. It is believed this
"dog" type was so common, it eventually became the prototype of the category "hound".
[20]
By
the 16th century, dog had become the general word, and hound had begun to refer only to types
used for hunting.
[21]
Hound, cognate to German Hund, Dutch hond, common Scandinavian hund,
and Icelandic hundur, is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European *kwon- "dog", found
in Sanskrit kukuur (

),
[22]
Welsh ci (plural cwn), Latin canis, Greek kn, and Lithuanian
u.
[23]

In breeding circles, a male canine is referred to as a dog, while a female is called a bitch (Middle
English bicche, from Old English bicce, ultimately from Old Norse bikkja). A group of offspring
is a litter. The father of a litter is called the sire, and the mother is called the dam. Offspring are,
in general, called pups or puppies, from French poupe, until they are about a year old. The
process of birth is whelping, from the Old English word hwelp (cf. German Welpe, Dutch welp,
Swedish valpa, Icelandic hvelpur).
[24]
The term "whelp" can also be used to refer to the young of
any canid, or as a (somewhat archaic) alternative to "puppy".