Which country has no stray dogs? How did the Romans treat their dogs? How many dogs in the world roam freely rather than live with their owners? What is the relationship between dogs and skunks? Read interesting facts about dogs! Read the first part of the collection here.
Photo: Emile Kerss/Pixabay
There are no stray dogs in the Netherlands
As a result of government measures codenamed PSVIR (trapping, sterilization, vaccination, identification and return), by 2016 the Netherlands managed to completely get rid of the phenomenon of street dogs. Owners were found for all animals, or they were sterilized and placed in nurseries, where they are provided with care and comfort.
Photo: HAROLDPH / Pixabay
New types of dogs
Before breeding a new breed, a standard is thought out: the main characteristics are prescribed, and the feasibility of these characteristics is assessed. Breeds for crossing are selected as close as possible to the expected result.
The smallest dog in the world: TOP breeds
Parents should have approximately the same body weight. After birth, the healthiest and strongest puppies with the most striking desirable traits are selected and crossed with each other. Selection and crossing occurs until the animal acquires the characteristics previously prescribed in the standard.
Note! The process of emergence and registration of a new breed takes from 20 to 50 years. To be recognized as a new breed, it must be registered with the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.
French Bulldog
Vilna and Kaplya
The space dogs Belka and Strelka received these names only six days before the flight. Before that, Belka was Vilna, and Strelka was Kapleya, and even earlier, either Silva or Martian. This data was found in the archival notebook of Oleg Gazenko, who supervised the physiological training of these and many other dogs in the Soviet space program.
Vilna and Kaplya
How many dogs live in the whole world?
More than 7 billion people now live on Earth. You can read about this gigantic figure everywhere. I wonder how many dogs live in this world? How to individually (at least approximately) count all the puppies and their parents living on the planet today? The task, of course, is incredibly complex and not completely solvable. Not all people register their pets with kennel clubs or government agencies. In many countries, stray dogs roam, the total number of which is unknown to anyone.
Extras, they are extras. They are interested in everything that has to do with numbers. Quite recently, the results of statistical data on the number of dogs living on Earth were announced. The data is far from perfect for the reasons stated above. But still, the majority of dogs in highly developed countries and large cities were counted. Representatives of dog food companies provided great assistance in the study. Many people now buy ready-made food for their pets. The creators and employees of the “feed” business receive good money for this. And they would like to know how many animals they can feed in their country, taking into account the profit from the sale of feed.
Entrepreneurs in the United States were especially interested in marketing research on dog counting. Yes, this is understandable: almost every American family has a dog (often several dogs). A lot of money is spent to feed them. Americans spend almost 40 billion dollars a year on food for their pets! This colossal amount helps to understand that there are a lot of dogs in the USA. The approximate number of individuals in the canid family is 73 million. More than forty million families have four-legged friends. But in Canada there are significantly fewer dogs than in the USA - there are a little more than 6 million of them.
The total number of animals living in Western Europe was also calculated. Interestingly, France has more dogs (8.8 million) than other Western European countries. Maybe this is connected with the mentality of the state and its age-old traditions? There are almost 6.8 million dogs living in the UK. Italy and Poland have almost equal numbers - 7.5 million.
South America was represented in the so-called dog census by three countries: Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. It was possible to establish that about 30,000,000 dogs live in Brazil, 6,500,000 in Argentina, and 5,000,000 dogs in Colombia. And this is not counting the stray tailed animals, of which there are so many in South America!
In Australia the situation is as follows: 4 million registered pets. There are documents for each such dog. Only here, according to unofficial information, there are still a huge number of wild and domestic (left without an owner) dogs living in the country. And this figure is very impressive!
Among Asian countries, only Japan can boast of pedantry: all dogs in the country are registered. There are 9.5 million of them. There are many people living in China and India. That’s why there are significantly more dogs there than in other countries. But there is no order in dog breeding. There are a lot of stray dogs, and even more unregistered ones. People in India and China don't care much about it. More than 110 million dogs live in China, and 52 million in India.
The World Health Organization recently announced that there are 70 million stray dogs in African underdeveloped countries. This indicator cannot but influence the incidence of rabies in people. 78 million dogs in these countries have owners. In South Africa, the summary of registered dogs comes down to the following figure: a little over 9 million.
Russia is a country where dogs live in almost every home. Calculations revealed the result: 12 million animals. There are 6.9 million fewer dogs in Ukraine.
If you add up all the given figures, you get 525 million. There are approximately 525 million dogs living on planet Earth. Although there are much more of them. But even this approximate total result makes you think: there are so many of them!
Countries that love cats more
The real fans of the cat tribe are the Japanese. One can rightfully say that the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun have an almost religious cult towards furry, mustachioed and tailed creatures.
In Japan, the national mascot is the three-colored neko, or cat in Japanese. Residents in cities have to huddle in small apartments, where it is easier to keep cats than dogs, which require a place to walk. And workaholic Japanese often do not have free time to take their pets for a walk outside
If it is not possible to have a cat at home, city residents are happy to drop into cafes, where they can not only drink tea and have a snack, but also cuddle and pet furry animals. In the Japanese city of Kagoshima there is even a Cat Temple dedicated to fighting pets that took part in the feudal war of the 17th century.
A large number of cat lovers live in Israel. These animals can be found literally at every step here. The baleen-striped ones can be considered one of the details of urban landscapes. Orphan pets are usually fed with the whole world and, of course, are not touched in any way. Israel even has several state laws protecting cats, for example, one of them prohibits cutting the animals' claws.
Entire colonies of cats live on the ruins of architectural sites in Italy. And no one chases animals. And most of them gather in Rome at Piazza Torrei-Argentina. The superintendent of the Eternal City even declared the felines a cultural heritage site. Cats are also very popular in Turkey, Greece, Belgium, England, Croatia, Montenegro, Thailand, Egypt and Germany.
Love for exotic pets
It is worth mentioning interesting statistics: the most popular pets that modern people most often keep in city apartments are aquarium fish. They require minimal care and attention. But in Japan, they prefer to keep exotic pets in home aquariums - axolotl amphibians.
Prim Englishmen, oddly enough, prefer cute hedgehogs, and in the American state of Texas, anteaters are bred as dogs on farms.
Austria
In 2004, the Austrian parliament unanimously passed an animal rights law that legally prohibits the use of metal collars. Also, displaying puppies and kittens in the windows of pet stores is prohibited. Although Austria can sometimes be too restrictive in its laws (for example, all dogs must be on a leash and muzzled if traveling on the train), Austrians are very big animal lovers and will welcome your pet with open arms.
Countries in the world that love dogs more
Dogs occupy the leading place among the pets of American citizens. The explanation for this phenomenon is very simple: every resident of the United States strives to become the owner of a private home. Most people take out a long-term mortgage on their home without worrying too much about it, because, firstly, the interest rate on such loans is quite low, and secondly, Americans already live from head to toe in loans, for them this is a completely normal phenomenon .
Well, a private home always comes with a dog - it is both a watchman and an active friend with whom you can play and jog. And in apartment buildings they keep decorative pocket dogs, which are often litter trained, like cats.
Residents of Latin America, France, Spain, Ireland and Portugal also love dogs. A barking pet acquires the status of practically a family member.
Classification of dog breeds by specialization
Dogs were domesticated primarily in order to have a dexterous and strong hunting assistant and a formidable guard in the house. Currently, even indoor types of dogs need productive walks and activities, because the hunter instinct is inherent in every four-legged individual.
Decorative
They were bred mainly to be a decoration for the home and an outlet for humans. Most decorative dogs are miniature (Pekingese, Toy terriers, Chihuahuas, Maltese, Bichons), such pets are very convenient to take with you anywhere, they are easy to train.
Despite the fact that these dogs spend most of their lives in apartments and are bred mainly “for the soul”, pets definitely need proper upbringing. Otherwise, four-legged friends can grow up very capricious and uncontrollable.
List of toy dog breeds
Sentinels
Guard dog breeds are used mainly to protect any objects (residential buildings, warehouses, bridges, etc.). The purpose of a guard dog is to notify with a loud bark that a stranger is approaching an object.
In addition, guard dogs can independently detain a violator before the owner or instructor arrives. A guard dog must have acute hearing and smell, be physically developed and distrustful of other people. Guard dogs include Alabais, Caucasian Shepherds, Dobermans, Moscow watchdogs and others.
List of guard dog breeds
Service
This group includes dogs intended to perform some kind of service to humans, for example, service dogs work in the police, guard the border, participate in search and rescue activities, and accompany blind people. Service breeds include German and East European Shepherds, Giant Schnauzers, Rottweilers, German Boxers and many others.
List of service dog breeds
Hunting
Since ancient times, some dog breeds have been used by humans as assistants in hunting wild animals. Hunting dogs share common traits: endurance, agility, strength, speed and ferocity towards prey. Hunting breeds include greyhounds, pointers, wolfhounds, hounds, dachshunds, huskies, spaniels, and terriers.
List of hunting dog breeds
Shepherd's
Since man domesticated wild cattle, the dog has been an invariable assistant in herding and protecting the herd.
There are four-legged friends specially bred for this purpose, which have special qualities: physical strength, endurance, thick hair that allows the animal to feel comfortable in various weather conditions, agility, acute hearing and complete obedience to humans. Herding breeds include all types of shepherd dogs.
List of herding dog breeds
Northern sleds
Dogs intended for sledding purposes have been living in the Far North for many centuries, so these dogs have special characteristics that distinguish them from their counterparts living in less harsh latitudes.
Severe frosts, strong winds and snow are not at all scary for northern dogs, because their constitution is designed in such a way that dense and coarse hair saves animals from any bad weather. The dogs' bodies are massive but light, their paws are long, which allows pets to easily move through deep snow.
There are few breeds of sled dogs, but the most popular are the Samoyed, Malamute and Siberian Husky.
List of Nordic sled dog breeds
Companion dogs
Companion dogs were bred for long leisurely walks or cozy home gatherings. This group differs from other brethren in its complaisance, balanced psyche, love and trust towards people.
Both a small dog and dogs with impressive body dimensions can act as a companion. The most popular companion dogs are golden retrievers and labradors.
List of companion dog breeds
Fighting breeds
In the modern world, fighting dog breeds are gaining particular popularity, but despite the fashion, not every person should have such a dog. Before you take a puppy into your home, you need to decide for what purpose such a dog is taken into the family, because in addition to their fighting qualities, these dogs become excellent guards for the family and nannies for children.
It should be taken into account that the fighting breed is the one that participates directly in fights with other similar individuals. As a rule, a fighting dog has no aggression towards humans at all. But despite this, it is necessary to raise a puppy from early childhood, otherwise the dog will become uncontrollable and may ignore all the owner’s commands.
List of fighting dog breeds
