Dachshunds are a small dog with a long body and short legs, sometimes called a sausage dog. Some people say that a dachshund is "two dogs long and half a dog high". They are the shape they are because they were bred to hunt animals that live down burrows, such as badgers and rabbits. Dachshunds come in a variety of colours, and can have long or short hair.
Dis forDapple grey
A dapple grey horse has white spots surrounded by dark hair, making an attractive pattern. Young horses that are dapple grey often slowly turn white.
Scientific name: Octodon degus
A degu is a small, brown rodent with a grayish belly, a pointed snout, and a bushy tail with a tuft at the end. It lives in rocky, dry areas of western South America. Degus are active during the day.
Scientific name: canis lupus dingo
Dinosaurs lived on the Earth millions of years ago. They came in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. Some dinosaurs were tall and walked on two legs, others walked on all fours. Some dinosaurs ate grass and leaves, other dinosaurs ate smaller dinosaurs.
Doberman dogs, also called dobermann Pinschers, are a large, slim dog originally from Germany. They were used most often as guard dogs or police dogs, but are now most common as pets. They are an extremely loyal, protective, intelligent dog. They have developed a reputation for aggression, this has been selectively bred out in recent years but the reputation remains and is still popularised on TV and in movies.
The dodo was a large, flightless bird with a heavy body, a short beak, and grayish-brown feathers. It lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Dodos walked on the ground, ate fruits and other plants, and foraged for food in forests.
They are now extinct.
Scientific name: canis lupus familiaris
People have been keeping dogs as pets for thousands of years. Dogs can be used to herd animals like sheep, and if they are well trained they will obey commands like sit and fetch.
Dogs come in a huge variety of different colours and sizes, from tiny Chihuahuas right up to huge dogs like the Great Dane. A female dog is called a bitch and a baby dog is called a puppy. Modern dogs were domesticated from wolves, and were originally kept as hunting companions.