1. Dogs do have a sense of time, but it’s quite different to ours. It’s not organized into days or weeks, but instead arranged by smell.
2. Dogs really are smart. They can understand approximately 250 words and count up to 5.
3. Dogs are now capable of watching TV because of the invention of HDTV with higher frame rates. Before that, TV just looked like a strobe light to them.
4. A group of pugs is called a grumble.
5. There are over 75 million pet dogs in the U.S. — more than in any other country.
6. All puppies are born deaf.
7. Yawning is contagious — even for dogs. Research shows that the sound of a human yawn can trigger one from your dog.
8. Pit Bulls are excellent escape artists.
9. Dogs are the most popular pet on the planet!
10. The average dog has an intelligence level equivalent to a 2-year-old human.
11. Pit Bull is not a breed but a generic term describing dogs who have similar characteristics and traits.
12. Chihuahuas are the tiniest dog breed on Earth.
13. Smelling each other’s bums is the doggy equivalent of a handshake.
14. Dogs can hear about four times the distance of a human.
15. Dogs are not color-blind. They can see blue and yellow.
16. How much does a dog sleep in its lifetime? Dogs sleep between 12 and 14 hours a day.
17. The ancient Greeks made their dogs wear spiked collars to protect the dogs’ throats from wolf attacks.
18. Dogs can help their owners live longer.
19. The best age to bring a puppy home is 6 to 12-to-14 weeks.
20. Human blood pressure goes down when petting a dog. And so does the dog’s.
21. Greyhounds can beat cheetahs in a race.
22. Dogs are more aggressive when being walked by a man.
23. Male dogs lift their legs when they pee as a sign of dominance.
24. A dog once walked 2,800 miles through plains, desert, mountains, and rivers during the coldest part of winter to get back to his family.
25. Dogs are omnivores — they eat meat, grains and vegetables.
26. Dogs can see best at dawn and dusk.
27. Despite those puppy eyes, dogs feel no remorse.
28. The symptoms of cancer in dogs include difficulty urinating, stiffness, lethargy, pale gums, and a distended belly.
29. Dogs like rolling around in smelly things because, to them, that stuff smells ~divine~.
30. A dog’s normal body temperature is between 101 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
31. Small dogs can hear sounds in higher ranges than big dogs.
32. Smaller dogs live longer.
33. Most French bulldogs’ hips are too slim to deliver puppies, so their litters are almost always delivered via C-section.
34. The average dog lives 10 to 14 years.
35. Greyhounds are the world’s fastest dog breeds, with the ability to reach speeds of 45 miles per hour.
36. It’s commonly believed that dogs have a “sixth sense”. For example, they are incredibly good at predicting earthquakes and cancer in humans.
37. If you leave phone messages for your dog on your answering machine, you are not alone. About one-third of dog owners do the same thing.
38. Dog noses are at least 40x more sensitive than ours!
39. These clever canines have an incredible sense of smell – allowing them to follow scent trails days after they were left. Amazingly, bloodhounds‘ sense of smell is so spot on that it can be used as evidence in court!
40. Dogs have evolved to understand human laughter.
41. Prairie dogs are not related to dogs at all. They belong to the squirrel family. The pioneers named them after dogs because they made sounds similar to a dog’s bark.
42. Also, dogs can see in the dark far better than humans.
43. Service dogs are recognized in the U.S. as “necessary medical equipment.”
44. The most common types of cancer in dogs are melanoma, lymphoma, osteosarcoma, mast cell tumors, and hemangiosarcoma.
45. A common myth is that dogs have clean mouths, although this really isn’t the case as a canine’s mouth is full of bacteria.
46. Dachshunds were originally bred to fight badgers.
47. Dalmatians are born completely white. They develop their spots as they get older.
48. Your dog can smell your feelings. In fact, your dog’s sense of smell is approximately 100,000 times better than yours.
49. Dogs have about 1,700 taste buds. We humans have between 2,000 and 10,000.
50. Dogs have wet noses because it helps to absorb scent chemicals.
51. A study shows that dogs are among a small group of animals who show voluntary unselfish kindness towards others without any reward.
52. You can lower your blood pressure just by petting your dog. The act of petting a beloved pet has such a calming effect on humans that it has been known to lower blood pressure.
53. Dogs are the most popular pet on the planet!
54. Dogs communicate through their tail, as a loose wag means they’re relaxed, a straight tail is a sign of aggression, curled down tails means they’re scared, and a wagging tail indicates happiness.
55. A third of ALL households around the world have a dog. These playful, friendly, loyal animals make great companions, but they can also be fierce and tough protector.
56. If you want your dog to live, make sure it doesn’t eat apple seeds or pear seeds. These seeds contain arsenic and could kill your dog.
57. Feeding grapes and raisins to a dog even in small amounts can be hazardous to its kidney health.
58. Don’t show your teeth to a dog when you smile. They see this as a sign of aggression.
59. They only sweat from their paws, and have to cool down by panting.
60. The sweat is much oilier than humans’, and it contains lots of chemicals that only other dogs can detect. Weirdly, it also makes many dog paws smell of cheesy crisps!
61. Puppies are truly helpless. They are born blind, deaf, and toothless.
Dogs are not colorblind. They can actually see colors just not as vivid as humans.
62. Dogs evolved from a now-extinct species of wolf.
63. Dogs were the first animal domesticated (tamed) by humans, over 20,000 years ago! As they evolved from wolves, their skulls, teeth and paws shrank, and they became more docile and obedient
64. Dogs are able to swivel their ears. This ability enables them to locate the source of a sound in less than a second.
65. Dogs can read and respond tremendously well to human emotions, even reading facial emotions in photographs.
66. Watch what you say around a dog. Its sense of hearing is so keen it can hear sounds four times further than a humans’ ability to hear.
67. Dogs that eat grass, scoot on their bottoms, or vomit frequently may have internal parasites such as hookworms, tapeworms, or roundworms.
68. The Chow-Chow and the Shar-Pei have black tongues. It’s nothing to worry about. They are the only two dog breeds with this trait. All other breeds have pink tongues.
69. The town of Idyllwild, California elected their first mayor in 2012, Mayor Max. But Max isn’t just any regular mayor, he’s a Golden Retriever! Although Mayor Max passed away in 2013, the town elected Mayor Max II into office and he’s been governing Idyllwild ever since.
70. After urinating or defecating, dogs kick up to mark their territory using scent glands in their feet.
71. Chocolate can be very deadly to dogs due to containing the ingredient, theobromine. Dogs cannot metabolize theobromine and ingesting chocolate could cause a severely toxic buildup in their system which could become fatal.
72. Just like a fingerprint, each dog’s nose has a unique pattern of creases and ridges, and no two snoots are the same. In fact, some kennel clubs use nose prints as a form of identification!
73. One human year doesn’t actually equal seven dog years.
74. Olympic gold-medal winner Usain Bolt has been known to run as fast as 28 miles per hour. That’s fast! But not as fast as a Greyhound which can reach a top speed of up to 45 miles per hour.
75. The large tooth in the middle of a dog’s upper jaw is the carnassial tooth, which helps the animal crush and shear food.
76. Dogs have been neutered or spayed live longer than dogs who are not.
77. Dogs have 100–300 million scent receptors, compared to a human’s 5–6 million.
78. Want to impress your friends? Use the word vibrissae when referring to your dog’s whiskers. It’s the scientific name for whiskers on dogs and cats.
79. It’s true: Dogs do dream! It’s hard for us to say what they dream of, but some scientists believe they have the ability to revisit the activities of their day.
80. Your dog can smell your feelings. In fact, your dog’s sense of smell is approximately 100,000 times better than yours. So it shouldn’t be shocking that they can, in fact, smell things such as fear. When a human is fearful, they perspire, and a dog is easily able to pick up on this change.
81. The Norwegian Lundehund is the only dog that has six toes on each foot!
82. Toto from The Wizard of Oz was played by Terry, a female Cairn Terrier.
83. Dogs can understand more than 150 words, meaning they’re roughly as intelligent as a two-year-old child.
84. Pembroke Welsh corgis are revered for their enchanted nature and are known in Welsh folklore as companions and steeds to fairies.
85. Dogs also have 18 muscles in their ears (humans only have six). This means they can move them in many directions and hear different sounds with each ear.
86. Three dogs survived the historical sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Two Pomeranian’s and 1 Pekingese – all from First Class cabins.
87. Whiskers are touch-sensitive hairs found on a dog’s muzzle, above the eyes and just under the jaws. These whiskers are so sensitive they can detect the slightest change in airflow.
88. Have you ever wondered why your dog curls up in a ball when they sleep? It’s actually an age-old instinct to keep themselves warm and to protect vital organs while they sleep.
89. Labradors have been the most popular breed in the United States for the last 26 years.
90. Research has found that border collies are the most intelligent dog breed.
91. A dog’s keen sense of smell is due to the more than 200 million scent receptors located in their noses.
92. Seeing eye dogs are trained to do their “business” on command. This way their owner can clean it up a bit easier. Some of the popular commands are “get busy” and “go time.”
93. Female dogs often have a better sense of smell than their male counterparts.
94. Dogs sweat through their paw pads, and not by salivating.
95. Dogs have 18 muscles to move their ears.
96. Dogs are direct descendants of wolves.
97. Dogs do have a sense of time, and they miss their owners when they leave.
98. A dog’s whiskers help them detect subtle changes in the air and keep them more alert to an approaching threat in the dark.
99. Dog are pack animals – they don’t enjoy being alone.
100. Dogs can pick up on whether their owner is fearful or stressed by smelling their perspiration.
Pingback: Dog Ramp - A Dog's Best Life