Mucuchies Dog Stock Vector Cartoon Illustration

By Denise S. Dawson on April 16 2018 19:35:36

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Today there are over 400 recognized breeds of dogs in the world. Many of them have historical origins dating back hundreds, even thousands of years. Wherever humans have lived, dogs have been alongside them performing various tasks. One of the reasons dogs have been such a successful species is because they are so adaptable. They have made themselves useful in countless ways to humans so we kept feeding them, providing shelter for them, and, yes, breeding them. It’s no accident that we have dogs able to hunt, herd, guard, track, and do so many other things at an expert level. Humans figured out early on that if you bred dogs that were good at these things, you would get offspring that were also good at doing them. All of these jobs performed by dogs were necessary for our own species to survive. It’s no secret that we owe a lot to dogs, just as we do to other animals.

The study found distinct genetic clusters within modern dogs that largely corresponded to phenotype or function. These included spitz-breeds, toy dogs, spaniels, Mastiff-like breeds, small terriers, retrievers, herding dogs, scent-hounds, and sight-hounds. There were 17 breeds that conflicted with phenotype or function and these were thought to be the result of crossing some of the other phenotypes. As in a 2004 study that found 9 ‘ancient breeds’ to be genetically divergent, the study found 13 breeds that were genetically divergent from the modern breeds: the Basenji, Saluki, Afghan hound, Samoyed, Canaan dog, New Guinea singing dog, dingo, Chow Chow, Chinese Shar Pei, Akita, Alaskan malamute, Siberian husky and American Eskimo dog. Results also indicated that the Basenji had recent admixture with Middle Eastern wolves.

Dogs with short coats require virtually no grooming, just a brush and wipe down every so often. Pet dogs with long coats require either regular clipping every eight weeks or so (where their coats are clipped short) or there long coats need to be brushed practically every day. Show dogs, or dogs with long coats, require daily brushing or else there coat will become matted and tangled. Not only can it hurt your dog if he has tangled and matted hair, but it will also become dirty and he will look shaggy and ugly if you do not regularly brush his coat.

You do not have to have own a large house to own a large dog (although a tiny apartment is not going to be big enough for one of the giant breeds). If you can take him outside for a good hour of two of exercise every day... a large dog can live in a small house or apartment just fine.