This Part of my site is dedicated to man's best friend Canis Lupus Familiaris and their relatives, the Family Canidae. Archiologists have found evidence that Canids have been Man's devoted helpers and companions for 15,000 years or more. Recent DNA analysis has shown that the Domestic Dog and Gray Wolves are most likely the same species, making Canis Lupus the most widespread and successful Mammalian Predator next to Homo Sapiens. Coyotes and the Simien Jackal are also very closely related to Gray Wolves and the Domestic Dog, and in fact any of them can breed with any of the members of this group and produce fertile offspring.

The Domestic Dog is the only animal that has willingly submitted to domestication. As Homo Sapiens wandered the face of the Earth, he brought his loyal companions and helpers with him. The Canidae are remarkable in their adaptation to Earth's many environments and are the most successful predators next to man largely due to their social hierachy and communication skills.

Don't remember where I found this, but it is a good short essay on the Canidae:

The Canidae is a relatively samll but homogeneous family of generalized hunters, but it counts among its members such species as the wolf, fox, coyote and domestic dog. The wild dog family contains 35 different species, ranging in size from the tiny fennic to the little studied bush dogs of the Amazon Basin. Eight species of wild dog live in North America: red and grey wolves, coyote, and four species of fox. Canids are the most vocal of the carnivores, having a variety of barks, howls and whines. Those members of the family that hunt in packs can bring down large animals, but the solitary hunters usually live on small rodents, insects, birds and berries when hunting is poor.

The canids are specifically adapted to running, and to maintaining a trot or galloping gate for great distances. The skeletal structure of all members is remarkably consistent, largely a reflection of a lack of specialization in terms of lifestyle. The most notible feature of the canid skeleton, when compared with other carnivores, is the relative length of limbs compared to body size. Most canids stand tall and upright on elongate and semi-rigid legs which end in four well developed distinctive paws, having five toes on each forefoot and four, with nonretractable nails, on the hind foot. Canids actually walk on their toes (digitgrade), which are specially adapted as part of the foot structure, to withstand the shock of impact during running.

Canids possess an impressive set of dental equipment, consisting of 42 teeth, paired except for the molars, 20 on the upper and 22 on the lower jaws. Most noticable are the four canine teeth located at the front corners of the mouth, quite large although not particularly sharp when compared to the felids, which are utilized in holding prey and tearing large pieces of flesh from the carcuss. The lower canines are positioned so that they fit just infront of the corresponding canines in the upper jaw, leaving a small gap (diastema) allowing the canines to lock together when the mouth is shut. The incissors, slightly curved rearward and situated between the canines in the front of the mouth, are used to hold prey and tear at small pieces of food. The premolars and molars complete the canids dentition allowing for shearing, crushing and even a certain amount of grinding, although canids do not spend much time chewing, rather bolt food down in large chunks.

Unlike most domestic dogs, wild canids generally breed only once during the year, the period closely related to season so that the young are born in the spring or summer when food is abundant. Breeding behavior is conditioned by changes of daylight and temperature, resulting in an increase of aggression related to territorial claims, scent marking, and displays of dominance. After maiting over a period of several days, and a gestation period of between 52 and 80 days, a litter containing one to 16 blind pups are born. The young are unabe to hunt or to care for themselves for a period of time ranging from several weeks to several months. This extended dependency appears to strengthen the development of strong social or family ties typically observed in the canids.

The canids display many desireable traits that probably led to them being domesticated by humans. Both males and females are dedicated to raising the young, they eat a variety of foods, and prefer the company of others. Their tails are a visible indicator of mood, holding it erect when playing or well fed, wag it when seeking acceptance, and buckle it between the hind legs indicating fear or uncertainty.

Canids rely largely on a combination of hearing and eyesight to track their prey, with the relative significance of each sense depending on individual species and their lifestyle. Keen hearing is important in the case of the more social canids who communicate with eachother by a series of vocalizations including howling, yelping and growling. Interestingly, wild canids do not bark loudly like domestic dogs where domestication seems to have led to barking becoming more frequent, much louder and often challanging in nature. Direct long range communication between individuals is accomplished by a number of distinctive howling vocalizations. Howling helps group members to stay in touch during hunting forays, tends to unify a pack, proclaims territorial rights and once started by an individual member of the pack is rapidly picked up by all. Canid howling, although somewhat uniform to the human ear, distinguishes individual pack members with characteristic tones and assures that no territorial incursions or unnecessary conflicts develop with neighboring packs.

The hunting methods and patterns of social life permit three principal types of canids to be distinguished. Solitary: The fox, which hunts small prey, generally rodents, on its own. Solitary-social: A transitional type of canid, usually hunting and livein alone, but frequently associating in more or less temporary pairs. Social: The wolves live in packs which may be very large and employ a method of hunting which, for the killing of large prey, relies on close cooperation