adorable puppies $3.99 created by: Rachel Kao
the history of dogs The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris,or Canis familiaris) is a member of the Canidae family of the mammalian order Carnivora. The term “domestic dog” is generally used for both domesticated and feral varieties. The dog was the first domesticated animal and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and pet animal in human history.[citation needed] The word “dog” can also refer to the male of a canine species,[6] as opposed to the word “bitch” which refers to the female of the species. Recent studies of “well-preserved remains of a doglike canid from the Razboinichya Cave” in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia concluded that a particular instance of early wolf domestication approximately 33,000 years ago did not result in modern dog lineages, possibly because of climate disruption during the Last Glacial Maximum.The authors postulate that at least several such incipient events have occurred. A study of fossil dogs and wolves in Belgium, Ukraine, and Russia tentatively dates domestication from 14,000 years ago to more than 31,700 years ago.Another recent study has found support for claims of dog domestication between 14,000 and 16,000 years ago, with a range between 9,000 and 34,000 years ago, depending on mutation rate assumptions. Dogs’ value to early human hunter-gatherers led to them quickly becoming ubiquitous across world cultures. Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship, and, more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This impact on human society has given them the nickname “man’s best friend” in the Western world. In some cultures, however, dogs are also a source of meat.In 2001, there were estimated to be 400 million dogs in the world. Most breeds of dog are at most a few hundred years old, having been artificially selected for particular morphologies and behaviors by people for specific functional roles. Through this selective breeding, the dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds, and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal For example, height measured to the withers ranges from 15.2 centimetres (6.0 in) in the Chihuahua to about 76 cm (30 in) in the Irish Wolfhound; color varies from white through grays (usually called “blue”) to black, and browns from light (tan) to dark (“red” or “chocolate”) in a wide variation of patterns; coats can be short or long, coarse-haired to wool-like, straight, curly, or smooth. It is common for most breeds to shed this coat.
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cute puppies
orn after an average of 63 days of gestation, puppies emerge in an amnion that is bitten off and eaten by the mother dog. Puppies begin to nurse almost immediately. If the litter exceeds six puppies, particularly if one or more are obvious runts, human intervention in hand-feeding the stronger puppies is necessary to ensure that the runts get proper nourishment and attention from the mother. As they reach one month of age, puppies are gradually weaned and begin to eat solid food. At first, puppies spend the large majority of their time sleeping and the rest feeding. They instinctively pile together into a heap, and become distressed if separated from physical contact with their littermates, by even a short distance. Puppies are born with a fully functional sense of smell but can’t open their eyes. During their first two weeks, a puppy’s senses all develop rapidly. During this stage the nose is the primary sense organ used by puppies to find their mother’s teats, and to locate their litter-mates, if they become separated by a short distance. Puppies open their eyes about nine to eleven days following birth. At first, their retinas are poorly developed and their vision is poor. Puppies are not able to see as well as adult dogs. In addition, puppies’ ears remain sealed until about thirteen to seventeen days after birth, after which they respond more actively to sounds. Between two to four weeks old, puppies usually begin to growl, bite, wag their tails, and bark. 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.
Their coordination and strength improve, they spar with their litter-mates, and begin to explore the world outside the nest. They play wrestling, chase, dominance, and tug-of-war games. Puppies are highly social animals and spend most of their waking hours interacting with either their mother or littermates. When puppies are socialized with humans, particularly between the ages of eight and twelve weeks, they develop social skills around people. Those that do not receive adequate socialization during this period may display fearful behavior around humans or other dogs as adults. The optimum period for socialisation is between eight to twelve weeks; professional animal trainers and the American Kennel Club advise puppies should be introduced to “100 People by 12 Weeks� and have encountered a wide and varied selection of people and environments.The practice of docking began primarily as a preventive measure for injury among working dogs. Docking is now primarily performed for purely cosmetic reasons, and some breeds traditionally have their tails cropped anywhere from slightly to almost entirely. Many countries now ban cropping and docking for cosmetic purposes, like Australia, parts of Canada, the majority of the European countries (Austria, Greece, Finland, Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic, Turkey, Poland, Slovakia, England, Scotland, Slovenia, Ireland, Norway and Sweden), while others, such as the United States, permit it. The practice is currently opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Some breeders also prefer to declaw the dogs to prevent future injuries caused by scratching, or in the case of dewclaws, ingrown and ripped off nails. Docking and declawing procedures are usually performed within the first few days after birth, by a veterinarian, or by an experienced breeder.
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about golden retrivevers
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he Golden Retriever is a large-sized breed of dog. They were bred as gun dogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties,and were named retriever because of their ability to retrieve shot game undamaged. Golden Retrievers have an instinctive love of water, and are easy to train to basic or advanced obedience standards. They are a long-coated breed, with a dense inner coat that provides them with adequate warmth in the outdoors, and an outer coat that lies flat against their bodies and repels water. Golden Retrievers are well suited to residency in suburban or country environments. Although they need substantial outdoor exercise, they should be housed in a fenced area because of their instinctual tendency to roam.The dog sheds copiously, particularly at the change of seasons, and requires fairly regular grooming. The breed is a prominent participant in conformation shows for purebred dogs. The Golden Retrievers’ intelligence makes it a versatile breed and allows it to fill a variety of roles – common ones being guide dog for the blind, hearing dog for the deaf, hunting dog, detection dog, and search and rescue participant. The breed’s friendly, gentle temperament means it is unsuited to being a professional guard dog, but its temperament has also made it the third most popular family dog breed (by registration) in the United States,the fifth most popular in Australia,and the eighth most popular in the United Kingdom.Golden Retrievers are rarely choosy eaters, but require ample exercise (of two or more hours a day).The breed is fond of play but also highly trainable.
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special adoption day on December 9, 2014!