Interesting Facts About Dogs
May 23, 2016
Want to know some interesting and unusual facts about dogs? We’ve dug up the most intriguing and interesting dog facts of them all!
Dog Fact 1: Words
Did you know that your canine companion has been proven to understand 165 spoken words? New studies conclude that it could be more than 250 words when combined with dog training. A famous Border Collie, called Rico, was studied back in 2004 and knew the names of 200 different objects. Incredible!
Dog Fact 2: Scent
Dogs have an amazing sense of smell. They can be taught to sniff out all sorts of things like drugs, fruit and even diseases! Recent research from Germany found that dogs are able to smell when the human body isn’t working correctly.
Dog Fact 3: Time
Dogs can tell time. …well kind of. Being creatures of habit, they are aware of routines and when certain times mean certain events, like walks, play or food. A study has also shown dogs act differently when their owners have been gone for various lengths of time.
Dog Fact 4: Feelings
Dogs can suffer from the green-eyed monster: jealousy. Research revealed that when owners ignore their prized pooches, and gave affection to another dog, their dog’s behaviour changed radically. Those calm and happy dogs were shown to become snarling, snappy, unhappy hounds when their owners poured affection onto another dog!
Dog Fact 5: Shoulder Blades
Did you know that your dog’s shoulder blades aren’t actually attached to the rest of the skeleton? This is to help with movement and is the reason dogs are such amazing runners.
Dog Fact 6: Sweat
Unlike humans, dogs have very limited sweat glands. This is why overheating is such a risk. Dogs actually sweat through their paws or more specifically in-between their paws. This is why dogs pant in order to cool down.
Dog Fact 7: Colour
Dogs can actually see in colour. It is a common and world-wide myth that they can only see in black and white. The only difference between the colour range in a human and in a dog is the cones in the eye. A dog has two cones; which detect colours, while a human has three. Which means that dogs see colour on the blue and yellow scale, but not on the red and green.
Dog fact 8: Eyes
Dogs actually have three eyelids. The third eyelid (also known as the nictitating membrane or haw) is located in the inner corner of the eye and helps with lubrication.
Dog Fact 9: History
The love of dogs is evident throughout history, with Ancient Egyptians showing clear mourning rituals when loosing a dog. It is also said that Alexander The Great named the city, Peritas, after his beloved dog companion.
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A BIT ABOUT THE BLOGGER:
Nadia Crighton is a well-known and accomplished Australian Journalist and pet magazine Editor. As a busy mum of four humans, two dogs, 50 sheep, three cats, three axolotl’s, a handful of chickens (and not to mention the goat named Billy), she simply adores pets of all shapes and sizes. These are her personal thoughts and advice from many years of pet-ownership.
