Kingdom animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order carnivora
Family Canidae
Gender Kennels
Specieskennels lupus
Subspecies Canis lupus familiaris
Canids are medium to small animals that feed predominantly on meat. Foxes, jackals, coyotes, wild animals, wolves and dogs belong to this family.
The dog, also called a dog, is actually a subspecies of the wolf: the gray one. It was domesticated over 130,000 years ago, helping humans to hunt and guard their territories; becoming, in the course of that time, also a great companion.
Dogs tend to be sociable - at least with their owners. They have good night vision, a very refined sense of smell (they have thirty times more olfactory sensors than a human being human), as well as hearing (they are able to hear sounds four times farther than man, in addition to ultrasound); and also great endurance and learning ability. Thus, for several functions, in addition to those already mentioned, they are usually required, such as: guides for the visual and hearing impaired, herdsmen, sniffers, rescuers, and animals carrying lighter loads (such as sledges, with their respective passengers).
Although there is a wide variety of dogs, they all belong to the same species, the breeds being the result of several factors, such as social, geographic and climatic conditions; besides the artificial selection, made by our species, aiming to obtain animals suitable for particular purposes.
Some of the best known breeds are: basset, boxer, bulldog, bull terrier, chihuahua, chow chow, cocker spaniel, collie, dachshund (the “cofap”), dalmatian, doberman, Brazilian Fila, Golden Retriever, Siberian Husky, Labrador, Lhasa Apso, Maltese, German Shepherd, Pinscher, Pibull, Poodle, Rottweiler, San Bernardo, Shih Tzu and yorkshire.
From the crossing between two purebred dogs, we have as a result animals that are usually called mestizos. As for those popularly known as mutts, they are those whose appearance does not allow us to identify them as individuals of a specific race. For this reason, they are often called by veterinarians by the acronym SRD, or by the expression “without a defined race”.
Whereas dogs began to be artificially selected to meet specific convenient characteristics; and that mutts have a very heterogeneous genome; these individuals tend to have a range of good traits, and tend to be more resistant or even immune to diseases that affect specific breeds - since, along with the desired genes, other undesirable traits also end up being transmitted to the descendants.
To conclude: the best and oldest companions of our species deserve to be well taken care of, regardless of their race (or not). Bathe frequently, provide clean water, give food that is okay for them, take it to the veterinarian at least once a year or when something goes wrong and never neglect the vaccinations; are good measures. In addition, considering the large number of abandoned dogs on the streets, here's a tip: prefer to adopt than buy one of these companions, and evaluate the possibility of neutering your pet. Also avoid that it remains loose outside the house, since, if it is not neutered, it may procreate; and also because that way you can acquire, in addition to ticks and fleas, diseases – some of which are very serious.
By Mariana Araguaia
Biologist, specialist in Environmental Education
