The dog has been man's best friend and pet for thousands of years. Dogs originally descended from the wolf which once roamed Europe, Asia, and North America. Scientists today believe that man and dog have had a relationship for many years through their study of cave drawings, early pottery, and Asian ivory carvings.

The Romans first classified dogs into six catergories:

House Dogs, Shepherd, Sporting, War, Dogs that ran by scent and Dogs that ran by sight.

Today we clasify dogs into similar categories;

Terrier, Working, Sporting, Hound, Herding, Toy and Nonsporting.

Dogs vary greatly from breed to breed, the smallest being is the Chihuahua weighing only 4Ib pounds and 5 inches high at the shoulders to the tallest which is the Irish wolfhound which stands about thirty-nine inches at the shoulder. The St. Bernard is the heaviest dog weighing about 200Ib while the Yorkshire terrier has hair that can be two feet long.  Many breeds have pointed ears that stand up, others have pendulous ears than hang down. Some dogs have long legs such as the greyhound, others are extremely short such as the basset hound and the dachshund.

Even though all these dogs vary greatly in appearance, they are identical in anatomy. They have 321 bones and 42 permanent teeth. Most dogs are able to detect scents far better than humans. They can also hear high-pitched sounds.

The other thing that all these animals have in common, is us, their doting masters.