| Domestic animals are those animals, which since time immemorial have lived with man, whom he keeps near himself, and providing them shelter and food and who at the same time breed easily, transferring their qualities to the young ones naturally as well as under the influence of man. It is necessary to distinguish domestic animals from house animals and tamed ones. The first ones live in the house or near the habitation of man, against will, and are of no use to him, rather harm him. Rats, mice, cockroaches and so on are such animals.
The second type - in menageries and zoos where some of the wild animals are easily tamed, but most of them become infertile. Exceptions are rare. Tamed animals, hence, cannot pass-on their qualities, attained by them, to new generations, and each of them separately requires new efforts for taming by man. The elephant, for example, in captivity never breeds, but is tamed rather easily. Domestic animals (cows, horses, sheep, etc.), on the contrary, differ by their easy reproductively and fertility, and their descendants do not require taming any more, and the features, characterizing domestic animals, are passed-on to the next generation.
It is extremely remarkable, that the number of domestic animals, compared with the number of wild ones is very limited. While in all the parts of world there are a total of more than two thousand types of mammals, there are about 40 types of domestic animals. And if some useful insects are not taken into account, for example, the bee, cochineal, 2 - 3 types of silkworms and two breeds of fishes, small gold fish and carp, which are for some reason not considered as domestic ones, then the number of domestic animals will be of 27 types.
The main contingent of domestic animals was made up of a class of mammals, a group of artiodactyl, sub-group of ruminants, but also out of them in a real sense of the word domestic, i.e. such, whose existence is closely connected with man and without which, in turn, it is very difficult for humans, and therefore which have real historical value in culture, are of not more than 7 - 8 types. They are: the cow or large horned cattle, then the sheep, goat (small horned cattle), buffalo, two types of camels, llama, alpaca and northern deer. In Africa and Asia, the zebu replaces our bull, and in Tibet, the yak. If both the types of camel are considered as one, then out of the ruminants only ten may be considered as real domestic animals. Out of the artiodactyl, not ruminants, domestic animals include the pig, not artiodactyl - horse and donkey, from the carnivorous or predatory - dog and cat, from rodents - the rabbit and porpoise. From birds, the domestic animals include: from the larger group of fowls - hens, guinea fowl, pheasant, peacock and turkey, and dove like - the ordinary and Turkish pigeon and, at last, from the group of waterfowls - swan, goose and duck. One canary serves as the representative of the larger group of sparrows. From the group of running animals in Africa, ostriches are being reared in recent times. Not all the animals listed here have identical domesticity: mostly agricultural animals have been gifted with this quality. They possess highly developed adaptability, with the help of man, to all external conditions: can sustain, e.g., cold and heat, eat not only natural forages, but also artificially prepared. These are the cow, sheep, horse and pig. Therefore we see them as the most widespread. But there are also ones, which, e.g. the buffalo, camel, reindeer, llama, or alpaca, who live only in known regions either in very cold, or in hot regions of Asia and Africa or on the high mountains of Peru.
In the news: Dog owners in Washington can rejoice - the Humane Society has prepared a surprise for them and their canine friends - it opened the first dog yoga classes in history. Obviously the classes are not just for canines alone - humans are stretching on mats right next to their four legged pets. In fact the idea behind the endeavor is to help humans and pets interact in yoga and achieve relaxation as well as meditation and harmony together. Brenda Bryan, who teaches the class, is an experienced yoga instructor and has been a trainer of human yoga for years. She recently participated in a dog fashion show organized by the Humane Society where she was giving massage to some dogs, and the idea was born. The response was high - there were more people and their pet dogs that signed up then were expected. And there's a reason for it too. Dog owners see how it helps them stretch their muscles and relax together with their pets and word of mouth travels fast. With hardly any advertisements all seats for the class were filled in days.
Brenda calls her class "partner yoga". Whenever a human is doing a yoga exercise, his dog is lying on a mat next to him looking at him and helping him relax. One of the participants said it's an incredible feeling of calmness and harmony with your pet when you are standing on your head and next to you lies your pet looking in your eyes helping you relax. But exercises are not just for humans - most of them are for dogs where an owner helps his dog stretch in yoga poses, which a dog cannot do alone. Eighty percent of dog yoga is fun and the other twenty is hard work for physical and mental harmony with your pet, says one of the class participants.
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Humane Society opened the first yoga classes for dogs. The response was overwhelming. Thousands of people showed up after reading the announcement 
