Prairie dog and Clark in 1804. Lewis described it in more detail in 1806, calling it the "barking squirrel". On average, these stout-bodied rodents will grow to be between long, including the short tail, and weigh between . Sexual dimorphism in body mass in the prairie dog varies 105 to 136% between the sexes. Among the species, black-tailed prairie dogs tend to be the least sexually dimorphic, and white-tailed prairie dogs tend to be the most sexually dimorphic. Sexual dimorphism peaks during weaning, when the females lose weight and the males start eating more, and is at its lowest when the females
Dog type on dog types such as "hound" or "terrier". Some group categories cover more than one type; working dog refers to dogs that do some sort of work for humans, in contrast to companion dogs which are pets, although working dogs can also be companions, and companion dogs can do useful work. The terminology is unclear; see Working Group and Utility Group. Mixed-breed dogs can have any combination of working and companion functions and be of any type. Toy dogs are very small dogs of any type. See Toy Group. Ancient dog breeds are modern breeds genetically identified as descending from