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.
Relief of Marquesan Dog on the Tiki Makiʻi Tauʻa Pepe, from the meʻae Iʻipona at Puamaʻu Village, Hiva Oa
The Marquesan Dog or Marquesas Islands Dog is an extinct breed of dog from the Marquesas Islands. Similar to other strains of Polynesian dogs, it was introduced to the Marquesas by the ancestors of the Polynesian people during their migrations. Serving as a tribal totems and religious symbols, they were sometimes consumed as meat although less frequently than in other parts of the Pacific because of their scarcity. These native dogs are thought to have become extinct before the arrival of Europeans, who did not record their presence on the islands. Petroglyphic representations of dogs and the archaeological remains of dog bones and burials are the only evidence that the breed ever existed. Modern dog populations on the island are the descendants of foreign breeds later reintroduced in the 19th century as companions for European settlers. (Full article...)
The naming of the modern American hot dog is supposedly influenced by the dachshund. In 1852, the butcher's guild in Frankfurt am Main created a smoked, spiced sausage in a thin casing, dubbed a "little-dog" or "dachshund sausage" for its obvious resemblance to the low-riding German dog. The popular legend on the etymology of hot dog holds that a cartoonist named Tad Dorgan attended a polo match in New York in 1901 where vendors roamed the aisles imploring patrons to "get your red-hot dachshund sausages." Enchanted, Dorgan drew a smiling dachshund nestled in a long bun, but couldn't spell dachshund, so he captioned it "hot dog!" and thus the food got its name.
Image 23The 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)
Image 24Schematic 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 35A drawing by Konrad Lorenz showing facial expressions of a dog - a communication behavior. X-axis is aggression, y-axis is fear. (from Dog behavior)
... 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?
... that New Zealand's election mascot Orange Guy has a pet dog named Pup?
... that Chuck Eisenmann went from professionally pitching in baseball to owning and training the dogs that starred on the Canadian television series The Littlest Hobo?
... that Victoria Desintonio successfully proposed a "citizen observatory" watchdog to reduce gender violence in Ecuador?
... that an initial gameplay concept for Diggin' Dogs was "possibly going to be worms eating into a diseased brain", with design input from Edmund McMillen?
