Dog
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
A dog is a mammal from the family Canidae. It has been domesticated by humans for a long time. It can be a pet, because it is usually friendly 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 pup or puppy. A dog is called a puppy until it is about one year old.
Dogs can smell and hear very well, but can not see well in colour.
Similar to 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. Dogs have even been sent by Russians into outer space, a few years before any human being.
The usual life span of a dog from pup to an adult is about 10+ years.
There are at least 800 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 Shepherd Dogs, Collies, Poodles and Retrievers.
[edit] See also
 Look up Dog in Wikispecies, a directory of species
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[edit] External links
[edit] Fansites
- Dog Show Club
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