Dogs of the World. By Camden Mumford

Transcription

1 Dogs of the World By Camden Mumford

2 Table of Contents K9 FAQS. Man s Best Friend 1 2 Surprising Senses 3 Dogs Got Jobs. 4 Dogs of History.. 6 Glossary... 8

3 K9 FAQs Dogs belong to the family Canis lupus familiaris or commonly known as canines. They are a domestic animal and come in many breeds. Some of the most popular breeds are Labrador, bulldog, German shepherd, golden retriever, poodles, beagles, and terriers. Most dogs live human years. There is a way to calculate how old a dog is compared to human years. For the first two years of their life, a dog year is equal to 10.5 human years. After that, each dog year is equal to 4 human years. Canine Clue: They sleep about ten hours a day. Here are some interesting facts about dogs. Dogs can range in size from 6 inches to 34 inches at shoulder height depending on the breed. A mother dog is pregnant for days. She can have one or more puppies and the group is called a litter. Dogs are mammals and they are predators and scavengers, but most pet dogs eat dog food from their owners. There are many cool things to learn about dogs. Boo the dog is the cutest dog in the world. 1

4 Man s Best Friend Joshua Mumford kayaking with Ginger the dog. Dogs and humans have been together for thousands of years. Millions of dogs live with people as pets and they share lots of things such as food, shelter, and companionship. Dogs and people have had many experiences together throughout history. For example they ve hunted together, played together, and worked together. Canine Clue: Dogs are the oldest domesticated animals and have been with humans for over 33,000 years. A dog can be a great partner. Some people adopt a puppy and create a relationship as they train their dog. A dog knows its owner by its smell. The owner can teach the puppy tricks by rewarding the dog with treats or love. Some people adopt older dogs at a shelter and these dogs are great companions too. The dog respects and shows loyalty to its owner. A dog can comfort and keep its owner company when they re lonely, scared or sad. 2

5 Dogs have five senses just like humans but theirs are much more sensitive. Humans have five million smell cells and that sounds like a lot but that s nothing compared to German shepherds and bloodhounds. They have two hundred million smell cells. Dogs have special noses that are good for smelling and they even have more of their brain that works on smelling than human brains. Over 1/3 of a dog brain is focused on smelling. Surprising Senses Canine Clue: A dog can hear noises four times farther away than people. That s why a watchdog barks before you can hear anything. Bloodhound that smells something. Even though dogs can smell better than humans, they can only see two colors: blue-violet and yellow. This means that the rest of what they see appears grey. The world they see looks like a dreary snowy day. Scientists just made this discovery about dog vision in

6 Dogs Got Jobs Dogs are helping people all around the world. All of the dogs that work have different abilities like service dogs, police and search and rescue dogs, and farm dogs. Farm dogs can guard chicken coops, herd sheep, and be the farmer s pet and companion. Police dogs and military dogs help keep our country safe. They can do search & rescue, catch criminals, and smell illegal drugs or Dog herding sheep. bombs after tons of training. Police use dogs with a strong sense of smell and start training them when they are puppies. Canine Clue: Dogs can be companions for soldiers after war. The soldiers sometimes have injuries or fears that the dog can help with. Service dogs are special dogs that are trained to comfort and assist people. They can visit the hospital to cheer up the patients. They can also be Seeing Eye dogs for blind people. They help them walk safely in the street and help them get around places that aren t familiar. 4

7 Acting is another kind of job for dogs. Some dogs are natural entertainers. A dog must be friendly and obedient if they want to be in shows and commercials. Some famous shows with dogs are Marley and Me, Benji, Lassie, Max, Space Buddies, and Old Yeller. Talented dogs make shows funny and people love dog movies. German Shepherd Police Dog Seeing Eye dog assisting a blind man Cover of the Space Buddies Movie 5

8 Dogs of History Dogs have an impressive history. Most scientists believe dogs are descendants of the gray wolf. Some scientists think all modern dogs come from three pups in China thousands of years ago. Dogs have changed over time from their ancestors. Their behavior changed from wolves. They got shorter muzzles and they now have smaller bodies and teeth. Dogs still have strong jaws and teeth like their cousin the wolf so they can tear meat. Dog Family Tree 6

9 Dogs play an important role in history. Cave paintings show pictures of dogs hunting with their masters. Scientists found the remains of a dog hunched over his boy owner trying to save him when they dug up the ruins of Pompeii. The archeologists named the dead dog Delta. Laika was a dog pulled from the streets in Russia and trained to be a space dog. After her training, she got to go on Sputnik II in There have been many other interesting dogs in history. Canine Clue: Lewis and Clark had a dog named Seaman that helped them explore America. Cave painting of a hunter with his dog 7

10 Glossary ancestor- an early type of animal or plant from which others have evolved breed- a specific group of animals with similar characteristics companion- a partner that you spend a lot of time with descendant- an animal that is descended from a particular ancestor domesticated- a tame animal kept as a pet or on a farm muzzle- the nose and mouth that stick out on an animal patient- someone receiving medical care in a hospital sensitive- quick to detect or respond to slight changes search & rescue- finding and saving someone in an emergency 8