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CHINESE MINIATURES
During the 400 years of kingdom of the Han dynasty (that started in the III century B. C.) numerous canine portraits we done in ceramics. They represent the burying of the favorite dogs along with their masters.
The Chinese are responsible for a great part of canine domestication. Many experts believe that Chinese were the first ones to create dwarf dog and miniature varieties. The tiny dogs (Toys) were used as portable warmers and transported between the folds of their wide sleeves. For them, black dogs were the same thing black cats represent for westerners. The Fu Dog or Lion Dog, that used to bring good luck and happiness to its owner, frequently appears in their folklore, religion and Chinese mythology.
BEWARE OF THE DOG
The excavations that took place in Pompeii (Roman city destroyed by the eruption of the Vesuvius in 79) brought out the remains of a dog lying on a child, apparently to protect it. The Romans trusted the guardian dogs blindly, maybe because they thought a dog was the guardian of inferno's doors (in other words, Hades). Dog Collars
There was a time which there was so many dogs that the houses equipped with a guardian dog should have the following warning on the entrance: cave canem, which means: "beware of the dog. The roman army used dogs also to take and bring information and as attack weapons.
In this case, they protected their moloses with light amour and throw them against the enemies armed with thorns and boiling cooper-smiths.
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INCREDIBLE DOGS
The most robust dogs are the Old English Mastiff and the Saint Bernard. Both of them can weigh around 77 and 91 kg when full grown. The biggest dog from which it has been hear was called Aicama Zorba de La-Susa and had a weight of 144.55 kg.
The tiniest adult dog it has been heard about was a Yorkshire terrier that died in 1945, when it was two years old and it was 6.3 cm of height at the cross.
The most long-living dog in history was Blue, from Victory (Australia) that lived for 29 years.
The tallest dogs are the Great Danes and the Irish wolfhound that can be over 90 cm at the cross. The tallest Great Dane was 105.4 cm tall when it died in 1984.
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