All About Dogs
A dog is a mammal from the family Canidae. It has been domesticated by humans for a long time. Its other
name is canis familiaris. It can be a pet, because it is usually friendly and noble to humans. They are
sometimes called "canines" from the Latin word for dog - canis. Sometimes people also use "dog" to refer
to other canids, such as wolves. A baby dog is called a pup or puppy. A dog is called a puppy until it is
about one year old. Children may call dogs "doggies".
Dogs can smell and hear very well, but can not see well in colour or they are colour blind. Dogs can hear from a distance of 5000 or more meters away.
The usual life span of a dog from pup to an adult is about 10 years or more. The size and the breed of the dog may change how long the dog lives. Smaller dog breeds usually live longer.
Like wolves, wild dogs travel in groups called packs. Packs of dogs are ordered by rank, and dogs with low rank will submit to other dogs with higher rank. The highest ranked dog is called the alpha male. A dog in a group helps and cares about others.
Dogs have lived with people for at least 14,000 years. Dogs can serve people in many ways. They are often called "man's best friend". For example, there are guard dogs, hunting dogs, herding dogs, and guide dogs for blind people. There are also dogs that are trained to smell for diseases in the human body, drugs, and bombs. Dogs have even been sent by Russians into outer space, a few years before any human being.
There are at least 400 breeds (kinds) of dogs. Dogs whose parents were the same breed will also be that breed: these dogs are called purebred or pure pedigree dogs. Dogs with parents from different breeds no longer belong to one breed: they are called mutts, mixed-breed dogs, hybrids, or mongrels. Some of the most popular breeds are sheepdogs, collies, poodles and retrievers. It is becoming popular to be breed two different breeds of dogs and calling the new dog's breed a name that is a mixture of the parents' breeds' two names. A puppy with a poodle and a pomeranian as parents might be called a Pomapoo. These kinds of dogs, instead of being called mutts, are known as designer breeds.