Short answers, pulled from the story.
Scientists selected stray female dogs because they could endure long periods of inactivity better than house pets. The spacesuit included a special device designed to work only with females to collect urine and feces during flight.
Laika flew to space on Sputnik 2 on the 3rd of November 1957 to become the first Earth-born creature to orbit the planet. She died between five and seven hours into the flight from stress and overheating.
Belka and Strelka spent one day in space aboard Korabl-Sputnik 2 on the 19th of August 1960. They safely returned to Earth after their orbital journey and became the first higher living organisms to survive orbit in outer space.
Bars and Lisichka died after their rocket exploded twenty-eight point five seconds into launch on the 28th of July 1960. Bars was also known as Chayka during his training period.
Veterok and Ugolyok launched on the 22nd of February 1966 aboard Cosmos 110 and spent twenty-one days in orbit before landing on the 16th of March. This spaceflight set a record-breaking duration that remained unsurpassed by humans until Soyuz 11 in June 1971.