Читать книгу The Dog Owner's Handbook - Graham Meadows - Страница 7

Dog ownership brings with it a number of therapeutic benefits, not only the joy of companionship. Dog owners suffer less stress, are less aggressive and judgmental and live longer.

If you have ever thought that Alaskan Malamutes and German Shepherd dogs look very much like wolves, you are pretty close to the mark. Despite many opinions as to exactly how and where our modern dog breeds originated, there is very strong evidence (DNA analysis) that domesticated wolves were their common distant ancestors.

Dogs and wolves are both classified as members of the family Canidae and share similar characteristics:

º forty-two teeth

º fifty to 52 vertebrae (seven cervical, 13 thoracic, seven lumbar, three sacral, 20–22 coccygeal)

º a circularly contracting iris

º a similar sense of smell

º similar diseases

º similar behaviour

º an exceptional sense of direction

º nocturnal habits

º a propensity to dig

º gestation of nine weeks

º their puppies’ eyes open at about two weeks of age.

Wolves (Canis lupus), also known as grey wolves, are found only in the northern hemisphere, throughout Europe, North America and Asia. Wolves in the far north vary in colour: animals in a single pack may be black, grey-brown, and white. Those in warmer climates are less aggressive, smaller, more uniform in colour, often yellowish-fawn or grizzled grey-brown like the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).