Domesticated dogs constitute one of the most varied species in the animal kingdom. Ranging from the tiny Chihuahua to the Great Dane, they span a wide range of sizes, colors and shapes. But despite their physical differences, they share extremely close genetic ties to each other and their wild cousins.
Dog Obedience training is a broad term encompassing any number of methods used for teaching a dog to understand and respond appropriately to commands. It should not be confused with behavior modification, a form of training aimed specifically at changing problem behavior At the very least, every dog should receive basic obedience training. No matter how much time an owner spends researching, soul searching and selecting a breed to fit his or her personality and lifestyle, proper training can make the difference between a delightful or a disastrous experience. When approached with fun in mind, obedience training not only creates an effective channel of communication between you and your dog m but lays the foundation fro a healthy and pleasurable relationship.
There are several characteristics that distinguish dogs from other members of athe animal world, and enable enable them to constitute a group uniquely their own.
About 60 million years ago, a rodent-like mammal finally caught a break. The dinosaurs had disappeared, making room for this small-brained, sharp-toothed animal to develop into new forms. Within 25 million years, a larger omnivore had evolved and then split into two distinct lins. The larger carniborous group vanished around 2.5 million years ago, but Leptocyon, with its thinner body, narrower dface and plant-mashing teeth, survived as the modern canine ancester.
Clipped ears have become part of the standard for some breeds, including Doberman Pinschers. Although some functional purpose for this alteration (such as protecting the ears in low brush) may have existed in the past, ear slipping generally done today for cosmetic reasons or to suit a breed standard. If you do have your dog;’s ears clipped, consult with a veterinarian to discuss the proper age, procedure and follow up for this surgery.
While all dogs can detect object in motion, visual acuity and visual fields vary from breed to breed andf from dog to dog. Sight Hounds, for example, see better than dogs that hunt and sense primarily by scent. Sight Hounds can also see nearly three-quarters of the way around their heads. The Visual field of Scent Hounds, on the other hand, is limited to slightly more than halfway around their heads. This field is quite broad, however, when compared to humans, who only see within one-third of the range around tier heads. Dogs also possess stereoscopic ability, or the physical set-up to see objects in three dimensions, due to the forward position of their eyes. This skill is limited, however, to a far narrower range than that of humans, Most dogs have difficulty focusing on objects at close range or distinguishing how far an object is from their vantage point. They can see in color, but have a form of green color blindness, which alters their perception of blues, greens and reds. Blues and greens appear white, while reds appear yellow. Overall, dogs can still distinguish many colors, but perceive them differently and in a more limited way than humans do.
Although all dogs possess excellent hearing, they vary in their abilities. In dogs with erect ears, the outside part help focus sound waves. These extension are controlled by 17 muscles, whic enable the dog to move its ears in the direction of the sound. Dogs with low, droopy ears do not have this skill, and probably lack the extremely keen hearing of erect-ear breeds.
Although dogs vary in their ability to smell, they all possess extremel keen noses. In fact, smell is the most highly developed sense in domestic and wild dogs. While age, diet and environment may affect the sscenting skill of a single dog or breed, a dog’s sense of smell is, on average, about one million times more sensitive than our own.
Some dogs, such as Greyhounds and Whippets, are built for speed and can reach rates of approximately 35 to 30 miles per hour. Most dogs are only moderately fast, however, but possess great stamina. As a result, they do not excel at overtaking moving objects, but can track and pursue over long periods. Such endurance is made possible by a dog’s physical structure, including its keletal and muscular configuration, and aits ability to work in cooperation with its owner.
Dog’s coats exist in a wide variety of colors and color combinations. They range from pure white to solid black and include nearly every shade of yellow, red, brown and gray. Special color combinations exist and are known by common names. A solid coat has a single, even color across the entire body. A particolor contains disnt patches of two or more colors, though some people define particolor patterns more structly: bicolors as two colors mixes, tricolors as three colors and trus particolors as four or more colors. A roan pattern gently blends white and colored hairs into a subtle combination. A saddle pattern describes a coat with a dark oval shape across the back in combination with any base color, though tan and brown are commob. Sable coats have gray, tan, gold or silver hairs with black tips. When black coats form a striped patern with any other light color, the result is called brindle.Grizzle coats mix blue, gray, red and black hairs in a seemingly random pattern. Merle patterns are marbled combinations of black, gray and either blue or red hairs.