The Dogs Portal

The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from extinct gray wolves, and the gray wolf is the dog's closest living relative. 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 dog has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes. Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and the military, companionship, therapy, and aiding disabled people. Over the millennia, dogs became uniquely adapted to human behavior, and the human–canine bond has been a topic of frequent study. This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend". (Full article...)

The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a medium-sized gundog bred primarily for hunting. It is often referred to as a "toller". It is the smallest of the retrievers, and is often mistaken for a small Golden Retriever. Tollers are intelligent, eager to please, alert, and energetic. The name "toller" is derived from their ability to lure waterfowl within gunshot range. The breed originated in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The American Kennel Club ranks the toller as the 87th most popular dog breed. (Full article...)
List of selected breeds

Selected image

Border Collie
Border Collie
Credit: Paul Englefield

A Border Collie correctly maneouvring through weave poles in dog agility. Border Collies are an extremely intelligent breed with an instinctive desire to work. They are also extremely energetic and require a lot of attention, but are very responsive to training. They are better off in a household that can provide them with plenty of exercise and a job to do.

Gallery

Topics

Selected article - show another

An engraving of Moustache at the Battle of Austerlitz, from 1836

Moustache, sometimes abbreviated to Mous, (September 1799 – 11 March 1812) was a barbet who is reputed to have played a part in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. His story is recounted in many publications but may be partly fictionalised. Moustache is said to have been born in Falaise, Normandy, France, in 1799 and to have joined a grenadier regiment at Caen. He followed the regiment through the Italian Campaign of the Revolutionary Wars and is said to have alerted the regiment to a surprise night attack by Austrian forces. He is reported to have been present at the Battle of Marengo, during which he lost an ear, and with a cuirassier regiment at the Battle of Austerlitz.

At Austerlitz Moustache was apparently responsible for the discovery of an Austrian spy, and the recovery of the regiment's standard from the Austrians. As a result of wounds taken at Austerlitz Moustache had a leg amputated and was reportedly rewarded with a medal by Marshal Jean Lannes. He is later said to have followed a unit of dragoons to Spain where he fought in several actions of the Peninsular War. Seeing action in the Sierra Morena and later, with a gunboat unit, at the Battle of Badajoz, where he was killed by a cannonball. Moustache was interred beneath a gravestone on the battlefield but his memorial is said to have been smashed and his bones burned after the war. (Full article...)
List of selected articles

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various dog-related articles on Wikipedia.

Did you know (auto-generated) - show different entries

  • ... that the album series Jingle Cats spawned Jingle Dogs, Jingle Babies, and a Japanese video game in which "the object is to breed and care for cats, which begin to sing when they're done copulating"?
  • ... that Open Philanthropy has made grants to causes ranging from recession prevention to cancer vaccines for dogs?
  • ... that the collapse of Cloghan Castle in County Cork, Ireland, was said to have been caused by the barking of a ghostly black dog?
  • ... that Snoop Dogg's original lyrics about cannabis for the song "Sunday" were sung over by Ben Rector to keep the song clean?
  • ... that Moondog was released 13 years after Moondog's previous Moondog?
  • ... that a flat on London's Cadogan Lane has been described as "one of the happiest turn-on centres there's ever been" due to experiments with LSD done there?

More did you know... - show different entries

Bummer and Lazarus

  • ...that the stray dogs Bummer and Lazarus (pictured) were so popular with the people of San Francisco in the 1860s that they were given special exemption from the leash laws?
  • ...that Manuel Benito de Castro assumed the Presidency of Cundinamarca, with the condition that he would be allowed to leave Congress at a certain time to feed his dog?
  • ...that the namesake for Hondo Dog Park in Hillsboro, Oregon, won an award for valor just weeks before being killed in the line of duty?
  • ...that most of the dogs seen in the 2007 Thai film, Ma-Mha, were strays rescued from shelters and trained specifically for the film?

List articles

Subcategories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories

Related portals

Things you can do


Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Recognized content

Featured articles

Featured lists

Good articles

Featured pictures

Former featured pictures

WikiProject

For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's dog-related articles, see WikiProject Dogs.

Need assistance?

Do you have a question about dogs that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.

Associated Wiki How

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals