The dog is man’s best friend. Its family is one of the eleven that make up the large group of intelligent, back-boned, flesh eating mammals known as Carnivores. This group includes varied animals like the bear, panda, raccoons, cats, hyenas and even seals. The dog family itself has many wild species like wolves, foxes, coyotes, jackals and wild dogs. The dog of today, resting with its head on my lap in the apartment, is the only domesticated member of the canine family.
There is a wealth of information about dogs. The ancestor of all the members is the wolf or wolf-like animal, Tomarctus, which lived about 15 million years ago. Dogs were the first animals tamed by man – perhaps 20,000 years ago. It was a partnership of mutual advantage. The dog got his food and shelter while man benefited ten times more from his loyal friend. Dogs came to be used for hunting because of their keen sense of smell. Then they began to haul loads. Primarily they are guard dogs and are indispensable to the shepherd in looking after the herd. In course of time the most important function of the dog was to become a companion to his master – his loyal friend. Today doctors advising people suffering from depression and loneliness to adopt dogs as a remedy and cure.
Controlled breeding has produced more than 200 recognized breeds. In this respect dog breeders have contributed much to the science that involves indirect genetic manipulation through selective breeding. To be a registered, pedigreed pure-breed, a dog’s sire and dam must be of the same breed and must be registered with a kennel club. All this, however, does not make a pedigreed dog smarter or better than a pet that is a cross-bred or mongrel! Pedigreed dogs consist of six groups – sporting dogs, hounds, working dogs, terriers, toy dogs and non-sporting dogs.
Dogs may be as large as the giant Irish Wolfhound or as small as the Chihuahua. Usually dogs have a double-layered coat – a weather-proof outer layer over a warm under-layer of fur. The front feet of dogs have five claws, the hind feet four but these are not retractable like those of the cat-family. On an average the life span of a dog is 12 or 13 years. At the end of two years the dog is considered mature. From the age of ten it starts to age.
The most intelligent of all domestic animals, dogs can be trained to obey commands by constant repetition followed by rewards of tit-bits and the like. Breeders have bred dogs in such a way that each breed has developed certain distinctive tendencies. This is known as selective breeding. A dog should be given food or a kind word when he obeys to the call of ‘come’. He will soon learn to connect these pleasurable words with the action of running to his master. The dog should never be slapped if he fails to come. He will connect the command with an unhappy experience and become afraid. A dog’s learning capacity is not more than that of a two or three year old child. He must be trained with persistence and patience until each simple task is mastered. According to a famous movie dogs were trained to rob a bank! What about giving it a try?
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