There are different accounts of when dogs were domesticated by humans. But here’s what experts agree on: the first domesticated animal was a dog. As I. Akimushkin writes in one of his books about animals, “this mutually beneficial alliance was concluded... 15 or even 20 thousand years ago.” What did a person need who tamed a strong and brave animal? So that it becomes his ally. And this means - it protected housing, crops, and livestock. In other words, it acted as a watchman. Watchman is probably the very first and oldest dog specialty. And the hunter too. It was difficult for primitive people to get food for themselves. They approached the beast almost with their bare hands. The man quickly appreciated the value of a dog on a hunt. She will track down the animal, drive it out of the hole, and drive it into the trapping hole. And dogs were good helpers in fishing. But this was later, when man began to catch fish with a net. The dogs helped pull it to the shore after fishing to dry.

But dogs had not only such, purely peaceful, specialties. B. Ryabinin in the book “A Friend Raised by You” writes that “warrior dogs” were in the armies of Assyria and Babylon, and the conqueror of the world, Alexander the Great. The Teutons unleashed terrible mastiff-like dogs on the enemy. These kind of shock troops did not know pity or fear, and the outcome of the entire battle often depended on the success of their actions.

During the Great Patriotic War, dogs helped to establish communications and deliver reports, carry the wounded from the battlefield and search for mines, and blow up enemy railway trains and tanks. At the beginning of 1944, there were about 60 thousand dogs of various special services at the fronts. Many, many thousands of wounded soldiers and officers were taken from the battlefield by ambulance teams. Here's another example. During the work of the combined detachment of the Central School of Dog Breeding on the Steppe Front, in just two months, 381 minefields were discovered and neutralized with the help of dogs, 85,860 mines of various types were seized, 3,089 land mines were cleared, 783 kilometers of roads were cleared of mines. Dogs took part in demining Kharkov, Kyiv, Warsaw, Prague, Vienna and other cities. Mino-search dogs marched in ceremonial formation along Red Square at the Victory Parade in 1945. The book “Dogs in War,” published in the United States in 1946, states that “nowhere have military dogs been used as effectively as in Russia.”

There are other behavioral features of dogs that have recently come to the attention of scientists. Even our distant ancestors drew attention to the relationship between the behavior of a dog and certain natural phenomena. No one has yet thoroughly studied the behavior of these animals in the hours preceding natural disasters and, in particular, earthquakes.

There are more than 400 dog breeds in the world. All of them are divided into service, hunting and decorative (indoor). I will name the most common breeds belonging to a particular group.

Working dogs: German shepherds, collies, Great Danes, Dobermans, boxers, Rottweilers, Giant Schnauzers, Newfoundlands, St. Bernards, Airedales, boxers and others.

Hunting dogs: greyhounds, hounds, pointers.

Ornamental (indoor) dogs: poodles, chow-chows, lapdogs, Japanese chins, Pekingese, Chihuahuas, miniature pinschers, bulldogs, Dalmatian dogs and others.

For those who have decided to make a four-legged friend for the first time, it is better not to take large and strong dogs, such as Great Dane, Newfoundland, Moscow Watchdog, St. Bernard. And, in addition, dogs that are difficult to train - the South Russian Shepherd, the black terrier, the Moscow watchdog.

Young dog owners can buy a German Shepherd, Collie, Airedale, Cory Blue Terrier, and Boxer. It is good to participate with them in various competitions that are held both in summer and winter. Outdoor training and physical activity will also be useful for the owners themselves.

Of course, everyone is free to get themselves a dog of the breed that they like best. You can find contact with any dog ​​and train it well. It all depends on how seriously a person takes raising his four-legged friend.

Giving a dog a name is up to the owner. But which letter of the alphabet is decided by the kennel club.

It happens that the owner, even before purchasing the puppy, outlined a nickname for him, but the club determined a different initial letter. There's nothing wrong with that. A dog can have a double name. One nickname will begin with the letter that the club suggested, and the other nickname will be the one you chose. For example, you decided to name the puppy Ike, but the club said that the nickname should begin with the letter “N”. Let's say you choose North. Then in the pedigree they would write: North Ike.

It is not recommended to name dogs after people.

The names of natural phenomena are used as nicknames - Thunder, Buran; planets – Mars, Saturn; musical instruments – Lyre, Clarinet; animals - Squirrel, Lynx; geographical names - Amur, Kazbek and so on.

You can “compose” a nickname this way: take the initial letters of the names of your family members. Let's say, the names Grigory, Raisa, Elena make up a good nickname “Gray”. You can combine letters and syllables of the nicknames of your pet's ancestors.

In the pedigrees of some dog breeds, the particles “von” and “de” are found. For example, Atrix von Malchover See or Lutin de Jardin Pencon. The particle indicates that what follows is the name of the kennel where the dog was born. In the first case, this is the nursery Malchover See (Germany), and in the second - Jardin Pancon (France).

The nickname itself is sometimes a very eloquent characteristic of a dog. “Pushinka” means a small, shaggy, white dog, affectionate, kind. But “Caesar” is something solid: perhaps a Great Dane, St. Bernard, Newfoundland, Moscow Watchdog, Shepherd. In short, the dog is big and strict.

But in all cases, it is desirable that the nickname be short, sonorous, easy to pronounce, and, if possible, not used often.

In a city apartment, a permanent place must be allocated for the dog where it can rest.

In the room, such a “dog corner” should be well lit and located away from the heating radiator and refrigerator.

You should place a rug or an old blanket folded several times on the floor. A cloth bedding is placed on top of the rug or blanket, which needs to be changed from time to time. The resting place must always be clean.

You can also make a wooden bed. From four carefully planed boards, you need to knock down a frame 1.5 X 1.0 X 0.1 m, like a children's sandbox. Stretch tarpaulin, canvas, burlap or some thick fabric over the frame and nail it. A cloth bedding should also be placed on top.

This is how they equip a resting place for large dogs - boxers, Dobermans, shepherds and others. And for small dogs - dwarf poodles, spitzes, Japanese chins and others - it is enough to put a cardboard box with low sides or a basket with a rug or thick fabric there.

You cannot arrange a place for a dog in the kitchen, in the hallway, and especially in the bathroom.

To keep a dog in a yard, you need a booth. It is also made from well-planed boards. Dimensions of the booth: length - 1 m, width - 0.9 m, height - 0.8 m. The roof must be flat, slope back, and removable. In front of the booth you can put a shield 1.0 x 1.7 m.

A post with a ring for attaching a chain is usually dug in next to the booth.

When you decide to take a four-legged pet into your home, you should also take care of such items as a leash and collar. You will purchase a muzzle later, when the dog grows up.

You need to have two collars: soft leather for a puppy and a thick, strong one for an adult dog. You will also need two leashes: one 3-meter and the other 5-meter.

For walking large, strong dogs - German Shepherd, Caucasian Shepherd, Great Dane - you can purchase a strict collar. But it will only be useful if the dog is not obedient enough during walks.

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