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The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was domesticated from an extinct population of Pleistocene wolves over 14,000 years ago. The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. Experts estimate that hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs more than 15,000 years ago, which was before the development of agriculture. Due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.
The West Highland White Terrier, commonly known as the Westie, is a breed of dog from Scotland with a distinctive white harsh coat with a somewhat soft white undercoat. It is a medium-sized terrier, although with longer legs than other Scottish breeds of terrier. It has a white double coat of fur which fills out the dog's face, giving it a rounded appearance.
The breed is intelligent, quick to learn, and can be good with children, but does not always tolerate rough handling. The Westie is an active breed, and is social with a high prey drive, as they were once used to hunt rodents. (Full article...)
Purebred dogs, such as these Airedale Terriers, may participates in conformation dog shows with its owner or handler. Dog shows (and the related sport of Junior Handling for children and young people) are a popular activity; a single show, the 2006 Crufts dog show alone had 143,000 spectators, with 24,640 purebred dogs entered, representing 178 different breeds from 35 different countries.
A hairless Chinese Crested taking part in an agility competition
Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles. The handler's controls are limited to voice, movement, and various body signals, requiring exceptional training of the animal and coordination of the handler.
An agility course consists of a set of standard obstacles laid out by a judge in a design of their own choosing in an area of a specified size. The surface may be of grass, dirt, rubber, or special matting. Depending on the type of competition, the obstacles may be marked with numbers indicating the order in which they must be completed. (Full article...)
Image 21A wolf mandible diagram showing the names and positions of the teeth (from Dog anatomy)
Image 22Schematic anatomy of the ear. In dogs, the ear canal has a "L" shape, with the vertical canal (first half) and the horizontal canal (deeper half, ending with the eardrum) (from Dog anatomy)
Image 33A drawing by Konrad Lorenz showing facial expressions of a dog - a communication behavior. X-axis is aggression, y-axis is fear. (from Dog behavior)
Image 34Lateral view of a dog skull, jaw closed (from Dog anatomy)
Image 38The difference in body size between a Cane Corso (Italian mastiff) and a Yorkshire Terrier is over 30-fold; both are members of the same species. (from Dog anatomy)
... that Miller's Anatomy of the Dog, a textbook dedicated to canines, was found by a specialist feline publication to be bereft of information about cats?
... that philosopher George Pitcher adopted a stray dog and her puppy that he took everywhere, including on a trip to France aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2?
... that after U.S. Navy pilot Royce Williams engaged in a solo dogfight with seven Soviet MiG-15s during the Korean War, he was ordered never to tell anyone about it?
... that after decades of being a central hub for river dredging operations, Stony Island's population was reduced to a caretaker and his two dogs?
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