Doggos

Anatomy

Main article: Dog anatomy

Skull of a dog

Domestic dogs have been selectively bred for millennia for various behaviors, sensory
capabilities, and physical attributes.[17] Modern dog breeds show more variation in size,
appearance, and behavior than any other domestic animal.[17] Dogs are predators and scavengers,
and like many other predatory mammals, the dog has powerful muscles, fused wrist bones, a
cardiovascular system that supports both sprinting and endurance, and teeth for catching and
tearing.

Size and weight

Dogs are highly variable in height and weight. The smallest known adult dog was a Yorkshire
Terrier, that stood only 6.3 cm (2.5 in) at the shoulder, 9.5 cm (3.7 in) in length along the head-
and-body, and weighed only 113 grams (4.0 oz). The largest known dog was an English Mastiff
which weighed 155.6 kg (343 lb) and was 250 cm (98 in) from the snout to the tail.[29] The tallest
dog is a Great Dane that stands 106.7 cm (42.0 in) at the shoulder.[30]

Senses

Further information: Dog anatomy § Senses

The dog's senses include vision, hearing, sense of smell, sense of taste, touch and sensitivity to
the earth's magnetic field. Another study suggested that dogs can see the earth's magnetic
field.[31][32][33]

Coat

Main article: Coat (dog)

Dogs display a wide variation on coat type, density, length, color, and composition

The coats of domestic dogs are of two varieties: "double" being common with dogs (as well as
wolves) originating from colder climates, made up of a coarse guard hair and a soft down hair, or
"single", with the topcoat only. Breeds may have an occasional "blaze", stripe, or "star" of white
fur on their chest or underside.[34]

Regarding coat appearance or health, the coat can be maintained or affected by multiple nutrients
present in the diet, see Coat (dog) for more information.

Tail

See also: Docking

There are many different shapes for dog tails: straight, straight up, sickle, curled, or cork-screw.
As with many canids, one of the primary functions of a dog's tail is to communicate their
emotional state, which can be important in getting along with others. In some hunting dogs,
however, the tail is traditionally docked to avoid injuries.[35] In some breeds, such as the Braque
du Bourbonnais, puppies can be born with a short tail or no tail at all.[36]

Differences from wolves

The Saarloos wolfdog carries more gray wolf DNA than any other dog breed[37]

Despite their close genetic relationship and the ability to inter-breed, there are a number of
diagnostic features to distinguish the gray wolves from domestic dogs. Domesticated dogs are
clearly distinguishable from wolves by starch gel electrophoresis of red blood cell acid
phosphatase.[38] The tympanic bullae are large, convex and almost spherical in gray wolves,
while the bullae of dogs are smaller, compressed and slightly crumpled.[39] Compared with
equally sized wolves, dogs tend to have 20% smaller skulls and 30% smaller brains.[40]:35 The
teeth of gray wolves are also proportionately larger than those of dogs.[41] Dogs have a more
domed forehead and a distinctive "stop" between forehead and nose.[42] The temporalis muscle
that closes the jaws is more robust in wolves.[5]:p158 Wolves do not have dewclaws on their back
legs, unless there has been admixture with dogs that had them.[43] Most dogs lack a functioning
pre-caudal gland and enter estrus twice yearly, unlike gray wolves which only do so once a
year.[44] So-called primitive dogs such as dingoes and Basenjis retain the yearly estrus cycle.[45]

Dogs generally have brown eyes and wolves almost always have amber or light colored eyes.[46]
The skin of domestic dogs tends to be thicker than that of wolves, with some Inuit tribes favoring
the former for use as clothing due to its greater resistance to wear and tear in harsh weather.[47]
The paws of a dog are half the size of those of a wolf, and their tails tend to curl upwards,
another trait not found in wolves.[48] The dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds, and
shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal.[49] For
example, height measured to the withers ranges from a 6 inches (150 mm) in the chihuahua to
3.3 feet (1.0 m) 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.[50] It is
common for most breeds to shed their coat.

Health

Main article: Dog health

There are many household plants that are poisonous to dogs (and other mammals) including
begonia, Poinsettia and aloe vera.[51]

Some breeds of dogs are prone to certain genetic ailments such as elbow and hip dysplasia,
blindness, deafness, pulmonic stenosis, cleft palate, and trick knees. Two serious medical
conditions particularly affecting dogs are pyometra, affecting unspayed females of all types and
ages, and gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat), which affects the larger breeds or deep-chested dogs.
Both of these are acute conditions, and can kill rapidly. Dogs are also susceptible to parasites
such as fleas, ticks, mites, hookworms, tapeworms, roundworms, and heartworms (roundworm
species that lives in the heart of dogs).

A number of common human foods and household ingestibles are toxic to dogs, including
chocolate solids (theobromine poisoning), onion and garlic (thiosulphate, sulfoxide or disulfide
poisoning),[52] grapes and raisins, macadamia nuts, xylitol,[53] as well as various plants and other
potentially ingested materials.[54][55] The nicotine in tobacco can also be dangerous. Dogs can be
exposed to the substance by scavenging through garbage bins or ashtrays and eating cigars and
cigarettes. Signs can be vomiting of large amounts (e.g., from eating cigar butts) or diarrhea.
Some other signs are abdominal pain, loss of coordination, collapse, or death.[56] Dogs are
susceptible to theobromine poisoning, typically from ingestion of chocolate. Theobromine is
toxic to dogs because, although the dog's metabolism is capable of breaking down the chemical,
the process is so slow that for some dogs even small amounts of chocolate can be fatal,
especially dark chocolate.

Dogs are also vulnerable to some of the same health conditions as humans, including diabetes,
dental and heart disease, epilepsy, cancer, hypothyroidism, and arthritis.[57]

Lifespan

Further information: Aging in dogs

Mixed-breed dogs such as this terrier have been found to run faster and live longer than their
pure-bred parents (see Heterosis).
In 2013, a study found that mixed breeds live on average 1.2 years longer than pure breeds, and
that increasing body-weight was negatively correlated with longevity (i.e. the heavier the dog the
shorter its lifespan).[58]

The typical lifespan of dogs varies widely among breeds, but for most the median longevity, the
age at which half the dogs in a population have died and half are still alive, ranges from 10 to 13
years.[59][60][61][62] Individual dogs may live well beyond the median of their breed.

The breed with the shortest lifespan (among breeds for which there is a questionnaire survey
with a reasonable sample size) is the Dogue de Bordeaux, with a median longevity of about 5.2
years, but several breeds, including miniature bull terriers, bloodhounds, and Irish wolfhounds
are nearly as short-lived, with median longevities of 6 to 7 years.[62]

The longest-lived breeds, including toy poodles, Japanese spitz, Border terriers, and Tibetan
spaniels, have median longevities of 14 to 15 years.[62] The median longevity of mixed-breed
dogs, taken as an average of all sizes, is one or more years longer than that of purebred dogs
when all breeds are averaged.[60][61][62][63] The longest-lived dog was "Bluey", an Australian
Cattle Dog who died in 1939 at age 29.5 years of age.[64][65]

Reproduction

Main article: Canine reproduction

Female dog nursing newborn puppies

In domestic dogs, sexual maturity happens around six to twelve months of age for both males
and females,[17][66] although this can be delayed until up to two years old for some large breeds.
This is the time at which female dogs will have their first estrous cycle. They will experience
subsequent estrous cycles semiannually, during which the body prepares for pregnancy. At the
peak of the cycle, females will come into estrus, being mentally and physically receptive to
copulation.[17] Because the ova survive and are capable of being fertilized for a week after
ovulation, it is possible for more than one male to sire the same litter.[17]

Fertilization typically occurs 2–5 days after ovulation; 14–16 days after ovulation, the embryo
attaches to the uterus, and after 7-8 more days the heart beat is detectable.[67][68]
Dogs bear their litters roughly 58 to 68 days after fertilization,[17][69] with an average of 63 days,
although the length of gestation can vary. An average litter consists of about six puppies,[70]
though this number may vary widely based on the breed of dog. In general, toy dogs produce
from one to four puppies in each litter, while much larger breeds may average as many as twelve.

Some dog breeds have acquired traits through selective breeding that interfere with reproduction.
Male French Bulldogs, for instance, are incapable of mounting the female. For many dogs of this
breed, the female must be artificially inseminated in order to reproduce.[71]

Neutering

A feral dog from Sri Lanka nursing very well-developed puppies

Neutering refers to the sterilization of animals, usually by removal of the male's testicles or the
female's ovaries and uterus, in order to eliminate the ability to procreate and reduce sex drive.
Because of the overpopulation of dogs in some countries, many animal control agencies, such as
the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), advise that dogs not
intended for further breeding should be neutered, so that they do not have undesired puppies that
may later be euthanized.[72]

According to the Humane Society of the United States, 3–4 million dogs and cats are euthanized
each year in the United States and many more are confined to cages in shelters because there are
many more animals than there are homes. Spaying or castrating dogs helps keep overpopulation
down.[73] Local humane societies, SPCAs, and other animal protection organizations urge people
to neuter their pets and to adopt animals from shelters instead of purchasing them.

Neutering reduces problems caused by hypersexuality, especially in male dogs.[74] Spayed

female dogs are less likely to develop some forms of cancer, affecting mammary glands, ovaries,
and other reproductive organs.[75] However, neutering increases the risk of urinary incontinence
in female dogs,[76] and prostate cancer in males,[77] as well as osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma,
cruciate ligament rupture, obesity, and diabetes mellitus in either sex.[78]

Inbreeding depression
A common breeding practice for pet dogs is mating between close relatives (e.g. between half-
and full siblings).[79] Inbreeding depression is considered to be due largely to the expression of
homozygous deleterious recessive mutations.[80] Outcrossing between unrelated individuals,
including dogs of different breeds, results in the beneficial masking of deleterious recessive
mutations in progeny.[81]

In a study of seven breeds of dogs (Bernese mountain dog, basset hound, Cairn terrier, Epagneul
Breton, German Shepherd dog, Leonberger, and West Highland white terrier) it was found that
inbreeding decreases litter size and survival.[82] Another analysis of data on 42,855 dachshund
litters found that as the inbreeding coefficient increased, litter size decreased and the percentage
of stillborn puppies increased, thus indicating inbreeding depression.[83] In a study of boxer
litters, 22% of puppies died before reaching 7 weeks of age.[84] Stillbirth was the most frequent
cause of death, followed by infection. Mortality due to infection increased significantly with
increases in inbreeding.[84]