Wolves Dogs Coyotes Jackals and Foxes: Canidae - Physical Characteristics

Canids (members of the dog family) have a uniform body color with markings on the head and tail tip. Dogs typically come in black, black and white, brown, or red. The only exception is the African wild dog that has patches of black, white, and yellow. The canid's coat consists of a dense underfur and an overcoat of waterproof guard hairs, which retain a large amount of body heat for survival in very cold climates. Canids range in weight from the fennec fox, at about 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms), to the gray wolf, which can be as heavy as 175 pounds (80 kilograms). They are digitigrade, walking on their toes. This enables them to make quick stops and turns. A keen sense of smell comes from more than 200 million scent cells in the nose (humans have about five million scent cells).