Portal:Dogs/Selected article
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[edit] Selected articles list
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A dog breed is a group of dogs that have very similar or nearly identical characteristics of appearance or behavior or, usually, both, primarily because they come from a select set of ancestors who had the same characteristics. Dogs have been selectively bred for specific characteristics for thousands of years. Initially the selections would have centered on domestication and useful behavior such as hunting ability. Later, dogs were also selected for attractive and distinctive forms, resulting in a vast variety of types.
Many traditional dog breeds recognized by the main breed registries are said to be "purebred". Only individuals whose parentage consists only of other purebred examples of the breed are regarded as part of that breed. This concept has caused controversy both because of the difficulty of regulation and because of the possible genetic consequences of a limited population (inbreeding). Recent work has been done to genetically classify the various breeds, with some surprising results regarding the estimated age and interrelations of the breeds.
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A puppy is a juvenile dog, generally less than one year of age. The term is sometimes abbreviated to pup, and in that form is used for the young of some other animals, such as the wolf. The number of puppies in a litter varies greatly by breed. Some smaller dogs typically bear only one or two puppies at a time, while some larger breeds bear a dozen or more. In some cases, one puppy will be the runt of the litter, being noticeably smaller than the others.
Born after approximately 63 days of gestation, puppies emerge in an amnion which is bitten off and eaten by the mother dog. At first, puppies spend ninety percent of their time sleeping and the rest feeding. Puppies develop very quickly during their first three months, particularly after their eyes and ears open and they are no longer completely dependent on their mother. Puppies are highly social animals and spend most of their waking hours interacting with either their mother or littermates. It is important that the puppy receive regular positive socialisation with other dogs and humans during the first sensitive period (eight to twelve weeks).
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Laika (from Russian: Лайка, "Barker", as well as a name of a dog breed) was a Russian space dog that became the first living creature from Earth to enter orbit. She was found as a stray wandering the streets of Moscow. Originally named Kudryavka, she was renamed Laika after her breed type. After undergoing training with two other dogs, she was selected to be the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 and was launched into space on November 3, 1957.
Laika died a few hours after launch from stress and overheating, likely due to a malfunction in the thermal control system. The true cause of her death was not made public until decades after the flight. Some former Soviet scientists have since expressed regret that Laika was allowed to die.
Although Laika did not survive the trip, the experiment proved that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness. It paved the way for human spaceflight and provided scientists with some of the first data on how living organisms react to spaceflight environments.
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A mixed-breed dog (also called a bastard, mutt (shortened from muttonhead), crossbreed, mongrel, tyke, cur, or random-bred dog), is a dog that is a mixture of two or more breeds, or a descendant of feral or pariah dog populations. Except for extreme variations in size, dogs interbreed freely, mixed-breed dogs vary in size, shape, and color, making them hard to classify physically. Historically, all purebred dogs have been selected from a mixed-breed population. See Golden Retriever for an example.
All possible body shapes, tongue color, ear types, and tail styles can appear in mixed breeds. Extremes in appearance, such as the flattened face of the English Bulldog or the extremely curled tail of the Pug, seldom survive even the first crossbreeding. Mixed breeds also tend to have a size between that of their parents, thus tending eventually toward the norm.
It's important to note that all dog breeds are man-made creations. Dogs were traditionally bred for specific functions. Most existing dog breeds began as mixed breeds, either by random occurrence or by deliberate crosses of existing breeds.
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