Dog

The dog (Canis lupus familiaris, pronounced /ˈkeɪ.nis ˈluːpəs fʌˈmɪliɛəris/) is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties.


The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history. Amongst canine enthusiasts, the word "dog" may also mean the male of a canine species, as opposed to the word "bitch" (the female of the species).

The dog quickly became ubiquitous across culture in all parts of the world, and was extremely valuable to early human settlements. For instance, it is believed that the successful emigration across the Bering Strait might not have been possible without sled dogs.

Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, protection, companionship, and, more recently, assisting handicapped individuals. Currently, there are estimated to be 400 million dogs in the world.

Over the 15,000 year span that the dog had been domesticated, it diverged into only a handful of landraces, groups of similar animals whose morphology and behavior have been shaped by environmental factors and functional roles. As the modern understanding of genetics developed, humans began to intentionally breed dogs for a wide range of specific traits.

Through this process, the dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds, and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal.

For example, height measured to the withers ranges from a few inches in the Chihuahua to a few feet 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.

It is common for most breeds to shed this coat, but non-shedding breeds are also popular.

The English word dog comes from Middle English dogge, from Old English docga, a "powerful dog breed". The term may derive from Proto-Germanic *dukkōn, represented in Old English finger-docce ("finger-muscle").

The word also shows the familiar petname diminutive -ga also seen in frogga "frog", picga "pig", stagga "stag", wicga "beetle, worm", among others. Due to the archaic structure of the word, 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.

Dog ousted traditional English hound by the 16th century, before which time it had the meaning of "dog" rather than modern "hunting dog", as in other Germanic languages – it is cognate to German Hund, Dutch hond, common Scandinavian hund, and Icelandic hundur.

Hound itself is derived from the Proto-Indo-European *kwon- "dog", found in Welsh ci (plural cwn), Latin canis, Greek kýōn, Lithuanian šuõ, just to name a few. 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 generally called pups or puppies until they are about a year old.

Dog Breeds

Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock.

The term dog breed may also be used to refer to natural breeds or landraces, which arose through time in response to a particular environment which included humans, with little or no selective breeding by humans.

Such breeds are undocumented, and are identified by their appearance and often by a style of working. Ancient dog breeds are some of the modern (documented) descendants of such natural breeds. Dog breeds are not scientifically defined biological classifications, but rather are groupings defined by clubs of hobbyists called breed clubs.

A dog breed is represented by a sufficient number of individuals to stably transfer its specific characteristics over generations. Dogs of same breed have similar characteristics of appearance and behavior, primarily because they come from a select set of ancestors who had the same characteristics.

Dogs of a specific breed breed true, producing young closely similar to the parents. An individual dog is identified as a member of a breed through proof of ancestry, using genetic analysis or written records of ancestry. Without such proof , identification of a specific breed is not reliable.Such records, called stud books, may be maintained by individuals, clubs, or other organizations.

In biology, subspecies, race and breed are equivalent terms. Breed is usually applied to domestic animals; species and subspecies, to wild animals and to plants; and race, to humans.

Colloquial use of the term Dog breed, however, does not conform to scientific standards of
taxonomic classification. Breeds do not meet the criteria for subspecies since they are all
considered a subspecies of the gray wolf, an interbreeding group of individuals who pass on characteristic traits and would likely merge back into a single homogeneous group if external barriers were removed.

Pet Adoption ( part 2 )

Many owners claim to have developed allergies to their pets, or that their children have developed allergies to their pets. People deal with their unwanted pets in many ways.

Some people have the pet euthanized (also known as putting it down or putting it to sleep), although many veterinarians do not consider this to be an ethical use of their resources for young and healthy animals, while others argue that euthanasia is a more humane option than leaving a pet in a cage for very long periods of time.

Other people simply release the pet into the wild or otherwise abandon it, with the expectation that it will be able to take care of itself or that it will be found and adopted. More often, these pets succumb to hunger, weather, traffic, or common and treatable health problems.

Some people euthanize pets because of terminal illnesses or injuries, while others even do it for common health problems that they cannot, or will not, pay for treating. More responsible owners will take the pet to a shelter, or call a rescue organization, where it will be cared for properly until a home can be found.

Homes cannot always be found, however, and euthanasia is often used for the excess animals to make room for newer pets, unless the place has a no-kill policy. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that 3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the US because of a lack of homes.

Animal protection advocates urge people to spay or neuter their pets and to adopt instead of buying animals in order to reduce the number of animals who have to be euthanized.To help lower the number of animals euthanized, some shelters have developed a no-kill policy. These shelters keep their animals as long as it takes to find them new homes. City shelters rarely have this policy because of the large number of animals they receive.

No-kill shelters are usually run by groups that have volunteers or individuals with enough space to foster pets until a permanent home can be found. However, many of these groups and individuals have a finite number of spaces available. This means they will not take in new animals unless a space opens up, although they will often take back pets that they have adopted out previously.

The central issue in the adoption of a pet is whether a new owner can provide a safe, secure, permanent home for the pet. Many shelters, pounds, and rescue organizations refuse to supply animals to people whom they judge cannot supply the animal with a suitable home. A new owner might also face training challenges with a pet who has been neglected or abused. In those cases, the owner must be extra patient with the animal and provide it with the right care to help the pet overcome the past.

One problem shelters are fighting to overcome is what they term "Big Black Dog syndrome". Big black dogs (BBDs) are consistently the hardest dogs to place — even if they’re friendly, well trained, and in perfect health.

This may be due to a number of factors, including fear stigma against certain breed types, attraction to ads and the fact that black dogs do not photograph as well as lighter coated ones, and the fact that black dogs are often portrayed as aggressive in film and on television. Organizations have started campaigns to educate the public about BBD syndrome.

Pet Adoption

Pet adoption usually refers to the process of taking guardianship of and responsibility for a pet that a previous owner has abandoned or otherwise abdicated responsibility for.


Common sources for adoptable pets are:

• Animal shelters, in the case of dogs also known as dog pounds.
• Rescue groups.
• Pets which are found out of captivity without identification, and which remain unclaimed by any owner.
• Advertisements placed by individuals who are trying to find a new home for their pet
• Pets that have been abused or neglected and have been confiscated from the offending owner
• A fast growing source is online pet adoption. These sites have databases of pets, maintained by thousands of animal shelters, and are searchable by the public.

Dogs adopted from shelters are often referred to as shelter dogs or pound puppies; dogs adopted from rescue organizations are often called rescue dogs (not to be confused with search and rescue dogs). Shelters have put together informational websites to help the public choose the right dog for their family.

Pets are taken to animal shelters for many reasons.

• Breeding: Breeders are a leading cause of overpopulation because they usually produce more pets than they can sell and often produce pets that do not fit their desired breeding specifications, and must be gotten rid of.
• Death: Owner dies and no one in the family wants to (or can) keep the pet.
• Changed circumstances: Financial or living arrangements change drastically and people feel that they can no longer provide an appropriate home for the pet. This might also include someone having to move to a new living situation where pets are not allowed.
• Second thoughts: A pet was purchased after the spur of the moment decision or as a gift (frequently for Christmas). Some time afterward, owners discover that caring for the pet is much more work than expected, or requires more space or exercise than they are prepared to give.
• Lost pet: Pet leaves home or cannot find its way back, and the owner does not succeed in finding it.
• Health: Severe health problems make it impossible to have a dog in the house or impossible for the owner to care for the dog.
• Practice babies: Shelters use this term for animals that have been adopted by couples, and who are then abandoned when the couple splits up, or when a real baby comes along and they no longer have the time or inclination to care for their pet.
• Moving across borders: People leave the country; quarantine laws in some countries can be traumatic to pets and owners, so to avoid the stress, the pet is surrendered to an animal shelter.

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