Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Nature/Dogs

1. Give the scientific name of the dog family.
The scientific name of the dog family is Canidae, or Canine.

2. Name five distinctive characteristics of the dog family.

 * 1) Canines have 42 teeth.
 * 2) They walk on their toes.
 * 3) They have four claws on their hind feet, and five on the front.
 * 4) They have two coats - an outer coat of coarse hair, and an inner coat of fine hair.
 * 5) They have a keen sense of smell.
 * 6) They have excellent hearing due to ear flaps called leathers.
 * 7) They can see colors but not as clearly as we can.

3. Identify from pictures or personal observation five wild members of the dog family.
We present here several species of fox, but as the instructor, you should feel free to present them as one "member." This is also true of the jackal.

Dhole
The dhole or Asiatic Wild Dog (Cuon alpinus) is about the size of a border collie (12–18 kg), but looks quite different. The coat is usually a rusty red colour, but varies regionally from sandy yellow to dark grey. See our dhole map page for details of regional colour variation (frame-compliant browsers only). Usually it has a black bushy tail and white patches on its chest, paws and belly. Its ears are rounded, and its hooded amber eyes portray an intelligent nature.

Within the canid family the dhole is something of an enigma. It doesn't fit neatly into any of the sub-families (i.e. the foxes or wolf-like dogs) and is classified in a genus of its own - Cuon. Among its unusual features is a strange whistle call which it uses to re-assemble the pack when animals become separated in dense forest. The dhole also has more teets than most other dogs and has a shorter jaw with one less molar on each side of its lower jaw.t

4. Identify from pictures or personal observation 25 different breeds of dogs.
The South Pacific Division has revised this requirement and reduced to 15 different breeds of dogs.

When teaching this honour point out the 7 different categories of dogs as viewed by a kennel club (some kennel clubs in other countries may have different categories) : Toy, Terrier, Gundog, Hound, Working, Utility, Non Sporting. See if they can identify dogs from each of these to make the honour more relevant.

Several dog breeds are presented here, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. No toy dog breeds are presented here as they can be found in requirement 9.

5. Name five contributions the dog family has made to man.

 * Companion animals.
 * Seeing-eye dogs help the blind gain independence.
 * Watchdogs protect property (and their owners).
 * Hunting dogs help retrieve and flush out game.
 * Sled dogs are used as transportation.
 * Dogs herd cattle, sheep and other livestock.
 * They can be used to follow a scent trail, whether to catch a criminal or find a missing person.
 * They can detect explosives.
 * They are used to search through earthquake rubble for victims.

6. Give the name of the smallest and largest breed of dog.
The smallest breed of dog is the Chihuahua. Many breeds can claim to be the "largest" depending on how "largest" is defined. The tallest is the Irish Wolfhound, but it is outweighed by the Mastiff, the Great Dane, and the Saint Bernard. The heaviest of these is the Saint Bernard.

a. Seeing-eye
Seeing-eye dogs, or guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. The human half of the guide dog team does the directing, based upon skills acquired through previous mobility training. The handler might be likened to an aircraft's navigator, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog is the pilot, who gets them there safely.

Despite regulations or rules that deny access to animals in restaurants and other public places, in many countries, guide dogs and other types of assistance dogs are protected by law, and therefore may accompany their handlers most places that are open to the public.

b. Saint Bernard
The ancestors of the St. Bernard are the herding dogs of Swiss farmers as well as hunting dogs and watchdogs. Their history has also been connected with the hospice at the Great St. Bernard Pass.

The most famous Saint Bernard to save people at the pass was Barry, who reportedly saved somewhere between 40 and 100 lives. There is a monument to Barry in the Cimetière des Chiens, and his body was preserved in the Natural History Museum in Berne, Switzerland.

The classic St. Bernard looked very different from the St. Bernard of today, as an avalanche killed off many of the dogs used for its breeding. Breeders crossed the remaining dogs with other dogs, but in the process they lost much of their use as rescue dogs.

c. Shepherd
A shepherd dog is a type of domestic dog whose original purpose was to herd or guard sheep, though they have been used for other types of livestock as well. A herding dog will keep a herd or flock of animals together and help a farmer direct them from one place to another (such as from a sheep fold to a pasture). They will also guard livestock from predators.

d. Collie
Collies are a type of shepherd dog. Some say the Border Collie is the most intelligent breed of dog.

e. Eskimo
The Eskimo Dog, otherwise known as the Qimmiq (Inuit for "dog"), or what is considered to be the more culturally sensitive Canadian Inuit Dog, is the largest breed of Arctic dog commonly found pulling sleds for their Inuit counterparts. However, as snowmobiles tend to be faster and more efficient, the Eskimo Dog is now a rare breed.

8. Write or tell what special contribution dogs have made to man in wartime.
Dogs have been used by the military since ancient times. They have been used:
 * To sniff out landmines
 * To carry messages
 * As sentries
 * As scouts to detect booby-traps
 * As attack dogs in battle

10. What is the only dog that has a wholly blue or black tongue?
The Chow chow.

11. Which is the fastest-running dog?
The matter of which dog breed is the fastest is a matter of dispute. Some say the Saluki, and others say the Greyhound.

12. Which member of the "toy" dogs has become the most popular?
The Yorkshire Terrier  is currently the most popular breed of toy dog, and the third most popular dog breed overall (nearly overtaking the Golden Retriever for second place in 2005).

The answer to this question will vary country to country and change in different era's. Labrador Retrievers are still New Zealand's most popular dogs according to 2006 registrations with the NZ Kennel Club.10th Chihuahuas (long coat) (no change from 2005, was 15th in 2004). The Chihuahua is the most popular Toy Dog in New Zealand as of 2005. Different areas of a country may have a more popular breed of dog. So you need to expect a wide variation in answers to this question. Personally at present in my part of the country (NZ) the Bichon Frise.

13. What dog has been especially helpful in tracking criminals?
The Bloodhound has been used extensively to track the scent not only of criminals, but also of lost children and even adults suffering from dementia.

The Australian Police use the German Shepherd for tracking criminals and lost people. Many years ago they did use Bloodhounds but found them too difficult to use tracking a criminal as this breed is a large dog and the handler has to lift the dog over fences so they do not use them anymore.

The New Zealand Police Dog teams and Search and Rescue teams use the German Shepherd for general roles but use the Labrador Retrievers for more specialist roles.

The United Kingdom used to use the Bloodhound for tracking criminals. Their size was certainly an effective deterrent. But in practice the Bloodhound when it caught up with the offender rushed up knocked him over and wanted to play. They do not grab with the jaw of stand over the offender to subdue him. These dogs are not good around young children unsupervised. They do not realize their own size and strength and usually end up hurting or scaring the child. The Police in the UK no longer use this breed they have changed to mainly using the German Shepherd.

14. Write or tell a dog story.
As the instructor it will be up to you to moderate the story-telling event, or to encourage the Pathfinders to write their essays. The more extroverted Pathfinders in your group may prefer to tell the stories, while the introverted ones may prefer to write theirs. Allow each Pathfinder to choose which method they will use.