Shadowing Practice: ALL THE DOGS, EXPLAINED - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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This is a canine, and so is this, and this, and all of these good boys and girls are too.
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Wild canines are wildly diverse and live on almost every continent.
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And ever since the wild ancestors of dogs first cozied up to the fires of ancient hunter-gatherers somewhere between 15
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and 30,000 years ago, domestic dogs have reaped the benefits of one of the most successful cross-species partnerships in the history of the planet.
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An estimated 1 billion modern dogs live all over the world, including several who live with the people that made this video.
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Hi, I'm David, this is Kubu, and this is MinuteEarth.
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And in this video, I'm going to take you on a tour of the dog-normous diversity of the canine family.
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Oh yeah, this is a poster you can put on your wall.
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You can order it from our merch shop on DFTBA.com.
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I'll talk more about that at the end of the video.
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Okay, let's start with a few extinct canines first.
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This is Epicyon, the largest dog that ever existed.
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It was roughly the size of a grizzly bear.
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And this is the dire wolf, one of the apex predators of the ancient American West.
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If you go to the La Brea Tar Pits in California, you'll see hundreds of dire wolf skulls that have been excavated over the years.
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It seems these puppers just couldn't resist going after giant mammals that had gotten themselves trapped in the goo, and then the dire wolves got stuck too.
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And the last extinct canine we'll discuss is Leptocion, the literal dog father.
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This little omnivore burst onto the scene more than 30 million years ago in North America, and eventually gave rise to every canine alive today.
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Now we're going to pivot to those canines that are still alive.
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We'll start with the ones that are least closely related to domestic dogs, and get closer and closer to the housemates we know and love as we go.
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This means the first modern group of canines we'll be touring is the foxes.
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As scientists have learned more about how canines are related, they've realized that a lot of animals that we call foxes aren't actually that closely related to one another.
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For example, there are two foxes that are relatively separate from all the other pups in the canine family.
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The ancestors of gray foxes split off from the rest of ancient canines before any other species did.
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gray foxes have long claws specially adapted for climbing trees, allowing them to escape from the coyotes and wolves that live nearby.
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The island fox is very closely related to the gray fox.
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A few thousand years ago, a few gray foxes somehow got to the Channel Islands off of the coast of California.
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Over the ensuing millennia, their descendants shrank about 25% due to the limited food on the islands and became a new species,
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the island fox, a prime example of the phenomenon of island dwarfism.
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Okay, let's get into the rest of the fox group.
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The red fox is perhaps the most widely distributed canine in the world.
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It scampers around a huge range that includes North America, Europe, Asia, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.
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In some parts of their range, their coats appear black or silver.
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Beginning in 1952, a Soviet scientist started selectively breeding some of those silver red foxes to see
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if he could eventually produce tame animals.
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In doing so, he hoped to prove how humans had first domesticated wolves.
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It took a while, but more than 40 generations later, his team has created a small population of tame silver foxes with floppy ears
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and curly tails who love to snuggle with humans.
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As winter fades in the far north, the Arctic Fox sheds the fluffy white coat it uses to camouflage itself in the snow
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and grows in a thinner coat packed with more melanin, which it then uses to blend in with the summer landscape.
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The Fennec Fox is a desert dweller, and pretty much every part of its tiny body is optimized for life there.
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Of course, it's got those giant bat-like ears, which dissipate heat and help it listen for prey hiding under the North African sand.
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It's also got shovel-shaped front feet to help it dig quickly to get into its burrow.
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And the raccoon dog, even though it looks like a Pokemonified version of, well, a raccoon, is probably pretty closely related to those foxes.
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It's also the only canine that hibernates during the winter.
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Okay, that's that group.
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Now let's head over to another branch of the canine family tree to meet a group of pups
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that you might be a little less familiar with.
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Let's start with the crab-eating fox, which, again, is not really in the fox group.
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Crab-eating foxes stalk mudflats, waiting for the snack they're named after to wander out into the open.
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Next let's meet the bush dog a squat little doggo with webbed feet that lives in the marshes of the Amazon rainforest.
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Bushdogs can actually take down big prey like capybaras by hunting in packs
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and nipping their quarry's heels until they finally knock them over.
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Then there's the maned wolf, which looks like a red fox with cartoonishly long legs.
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Its height gives it a better view of what's going on in the South American grasslands.
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Finally, there's the short-eared dog.
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These elusive South American natives are one of the few canines that can spray stinky smells from their anal glands.
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They often live in the abandoned burrows of giant armadillos.
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Okay, let's turn to the group of canines that are more closely related to modern dogs.
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The black-backed jackal is famous for its broad diet.
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It will eat pretty much everything, from grasshoppers to seals to impalas to the hard melons of the Nara tree.
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The African wild dog, I mean the painted dog,
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has recently gotten a rebrand as conservation groups attempt to prevent its impending extinction by making it sound, well, less wild.
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The endangered doles of southern Asia might be the most famous example of a phenomenon called reticulate evolution.
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That is, they might be the product of a long ago hybridization between wolves and painted dogs.
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And here's the infamous coyote.
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While the growth in human settlements across North America has been bad for most species, it's been a boon for coyotes, whose flexible diet, willingness to live near humans,
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and ability to increase litter sizes when stressed have allowed them to tremendously expand their range and numbers.
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And of course, there's the gray wolf.
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Gray wolves are the ultimate pack hunters.
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Their sociability is also almost certainly what led them to the huts of ancient humans, which eventually led to their domestication as the canines we love today, modern dogs.
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One of the first dogs we know was the Bonn Oberkastle dog from about 14,000 years ago.
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She survived a terrible disease as a puppy and likely wasn't any use as a hunting dog, meaning that her owners probably just kept her as a pet for snuggles.
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Dingoes likely originate from some of those earliest domesticated dogs.
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It seems as though a group of them traveled by boat from Asia to Australia several thousand years ago.
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Once they got down under though, they went wild, literally, and have since become the apex predator of the outback.
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Since those early days of domestication, humans have been selectively breeding dogs for all sorts of traits, resulting in hundreds of different breeds.
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We can't cover them all here, but let's talk about some that really stand out.
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Basenjis are short-haired African hunting dogs that are famous for the fact that they don't bark.
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Instead, their vocalizations sometimes sound like yodels.
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Zolos are sometimes called Mexican hairless dogs, thanks to their origin and appearance.
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There's evidence that the Mayans buried these dogs with their owners, since they were thought to be reliable guides to the underworld.
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Mastiffs often weigh more than 100 kilograms and have been used as guard dogs, hunting dogs, and even military dogs.
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Nowadays, they're more known for their drool than their ferociousness.
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Huskies and Malamutes are often used as sled dogs because, thanks to a quirk and how they are able to use their energy reserves, they can run ultra-marathons for days at a time,
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making them the best endurance athletes on the planet.
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Poodles, known for their brains and distinctive curly coats, were often used as performers in old-timey circuses.
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Labrador Retrievers, usually yellow, black, or chocolate-colored, were originally bred in Canada to be game retrievers for hunters.
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But thanks to their friendly temperament and smarts, Labs are now super popular pets.
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And though golden retrievers look a lot like Labs and were bred to do many of the same jobs, they first came from Scotland.
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Perhaps the most famous golden retriever is Buddy, the star of the Air Bud cinematic universe.
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The German Shepherd is super popular and learns commands quickly.
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They're known for their work as police dogs and search and rescue dogs.
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Belgian Shepherds, especially the short-haired breed known as the Malinois, are extremely athletic and trainable.
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Whippets were the favorite dog of Louis XV.
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They're known for their speed and nervous energy.
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Occasionally, a genetic mutation that only occurs in this breed creates super muscular dogs known as bully whippets.
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Dachshunds, also known as wiener dogs, were bred to be able to fit into burrows and flush out badgers.
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In fact, the German word for badger is docks.
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Nowadays though, dachshunds are mostly just cute, long pets.
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A greyhound can hit speeds of more than 75 kilometers per hour.
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They have the highest percentage of fast-switch muscles of any breed.
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The smallest of all dog breeds, chihuahuas get their name from a Mexican state where they originated.
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The smallest chihuahua ever, Pearl, is only 5 inches long and weighs just over a pound.
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To me, French bulldogs look kind of like gremlins, but I guess that look is in.
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They are now the most popular dog breed in America, having knocked labs out of the top spot in 2022.
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Akitas are known for their loyalty.
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Even after his owner died, Hachiko the Akita waited at the train station every day for nine years for him to return home from work.
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In the process, he became a national hero as the ultimate symbol of faithfulness.
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Great Danes are the tallest dogs in the world.
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Standing on his hind legs, the Great Dane Zeus was taller than Shaq.
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He could drink directly from the kitchen sink.
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St. Bernard's are famous mountain rescue dogs.
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Barry the St. Bernard is credited with saving more than 40 people in his work for a Swiss monastery.
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He'd sniff out people trapped in avalanches, dig them out, and then lick them and lie on them to warm them up.
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Of course, there are also lots of types of dogs that aren't considered purebred at all.
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Some are like Labradoodles, hybrid lab poodle mixes that were originally bred as pets for folks with allergies to pet dander, but now are just the cute, non-shedding pet of choice for all sorts of folks.
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And then there's the Pit Bull, which is the generic label given to a bunch of different short-haired, muscly dog breeds with square heads.
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Because of their history of being used in dog fights, and often unfair reputation as being aggressive, pit bulls are often intentionally mislabeled as other breeds in animal shelters in order to make them more adoptable.
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And finally, there are mutts, which are basically combos of all sorts of breeds, like Kate's dog Watson.
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Perhaps the most famous mutt is Laika, who started life as a stray Soviet street dog before being selected by scientists to be part of the Sputnik program.
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She was the first animal to orbit the earth, though she died before she could get back home.
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That's a lot of dogs.
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Thanks for joining us on this tour of the incredible diversity of the canine family.
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If you liked it, you'll probably be psyched to learn that you can get this awesome poster from our DFTBA shop.
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We've been wanting to make this for so long, and we did so much work to make it both beautiful and educational.
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It'll look great on your living room and in your classroom.
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Just go to dftba.com slash minute earth to get one today.
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And if enough of you like this, we may even make a cat one in the near future.
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Oh yeah, if you like this kind of video, let me point you over to our friend Dom's channel, Domain of Science, where he makes this kind of stuff all the time.
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Thanks again for your support.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “ALL THE DOGS, EXPLAINED”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: dog, canine, foxes, fox, breed. This video has 131 sentences and 2141 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:01. The speaker talks fast, about 214 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| canine adjective | /ˈkeɪˌnaɪn/ | Of, or pertaining to, a dog or dogs. |
| breed verb | /ˈbɹiːd/ | To give birth to; to be the native place of. |
| burrow noun | /ˈbʌɹoʊ/ | A tunnel or hole, or a system of tunnels, often as dug by a small creature for use as a home. |
| coyote noun | /kəˈjoʊ.ti/ | Canis latrans, a species of canine native to North America. |
| retriever noun | /ɹiˈtɹivəɹ/ | One who retrieves something. |
| dire adjective | /ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/ | Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous. |
| ancestor noun | /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/ | One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a forefather; a forebear. |
| badger noun | /ˈbæd͡ʒɚ/ | Any member of species of the genera Meles, Arctonyx, Mellivora or Taxidea, of mammals. |
| dachshund noun | /ˈdɑksˌhʊnt/ | A certain breed of dog having short legs and a long trunk, including standard-sized, miniature (smooth-haired, long-haired, and short-haired) varieties. |
| domesticate verb | /dəˈmɛ.stɪ.keɪt/ | To make domestic. |
| domestication noun | The act of domesticating, or accustoming to home; the action of taming wild animals or breeding plants. | |
| raccoon noun | /ɹæˈkun/ | An omnivorous, nocturnal mammal native to the Americas, of the genus Procyon, typically with a mixture of gray, brown, and black fur, a mask-like marking… |
| selectively adverb | In a selective manner, only affecting or applying to some selected cases. | |
| whippet noun | A dog of a certain breed, similar to a small greyhound, originating in Britain and bred for racing. | |
| tame verb | /teɪm/ | To make or become tame; to domesticate (an animal). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get back verb | Return to where one came from. | |
| get down verb | /ɡɛt ˈdaʊn/ | To bring or come down; to descend; to cause to bring or come down. |
| stand out verb | To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.). | |
| take down verb | To remove something from a wall or similar vertical surface to which it is fixed. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | have been excavated · are related · is optimized |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have reaped · have been excavated · have learned |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Bull, which is · mutts, which are |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, we'll, aren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: athlete /ˈæθ.liːt/, athletic /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: avalanche /ˈævəlɑːnʃ/, camouflage /ˈkæ.məˌflɑːʒ/, mutation /mjuˈteɪʃən/, extinction /ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/, flush /ˈflʌʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: domesticate /dəˈmɛ.stɪ.keɪt/, phenomenon /fəˈnɒm.ɪ.nən/, armadillo /ɑɹməˈdɪloʊ/, capybara /ˌkæpiˈbɛɹə/, kinematic /kɪn.əˈmæt.ɪk/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like canine, breed, burrow.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.