Dogs Information :

Dogs (and wolves and foxes) come from a small, mammal called the Miacis and existed about 40 million years ago. The domesticated dogs today, first appeared in asia and were probably a direct descendant of a small wolf(not from the type of jackal or jackal/wolf as previously thought). The dingo was introduced to australia thousands of years ago by the first immigrants. Dogs were first domesticated by cavemen and were gradually bred into the breeds known today.

Habitat:

Dogs are pack animals and will want to live with the leader of the pack who will be the dog’s owner. Dogs live indoors or outdoors depending on their masters home. Of course they also live in kennels and dog shelters.

Diet; Food and eating habbits:

A dog’s diet consists mainly of what the owner will feed it. Ususaly dog food is dried or meaty pet food. Dogs may also eat a raw diet and be given bones to chew. Some dogs also eat grass but it can make them sick. 

Predators:

Dogs are natural pack animals and in the wild are known predators. However when dogs are domesticated and live with human’s predatory behaviour is unlikely.  

Social Structure:

Dogs will live in all sorts of mixed groups. Social ranking is usualy determined by age, although being a male or female will play a part.
Dogs kept exclusively in cages and kenneled and not exposed to people may have severely undeveloped social skills.  

Birth, Offspring:

Dog breeders will breed pedigree puppies for profit. The female dog comes into heat about every six months, although for large breeds of dogs it might happen every eight to ten months. The heat period lasts about three weeks. Pregnancy, also called the gestation period averages 63 days. Depending on the breed, they can have from one or two puppies up to a dozen or more in the larger animals. To prevent them mating dogs can be neutered or spayed.  

Attributes:

A dog's hearing is very acute. They can register sounds of 35,000 vibrations a second (compared to our 20,000 and a cat's 25,000). Dogs have an amazing sense of smell. They can be trained to perform tricks such as fetch and obedience training is also popular. Dogs are known as man's best friend due to their loyalty and close relationships with their owners. 

Fun Facts:

1. A puppy is born without teeth. When the pup is three to four weeks old, 28 teeth will break through the gums so the puppy will be able to eat solid food.
2. Dogs were the first animals domesticated by people.
3. Lassie was the first animal named to the Animal Hall of Fame in 1969.