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100 Weird Facts You Never Knew About Dogs
1. It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in
color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at
dusk.
2. Dogs DO have better low-light vision than humans because of a
special light-reflecting layer behind their retinas
3. A German Shepherd guide dog led her blind companion the entire
2100 mile Appalachian Trail
4. If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their
puppies could produce over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!
5. Dogs' only sweat glands are between their paw pads
6. Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their
skull which closes with age
7. The breed Lundehune has 6 toes and can close its ears
8. Teddy Roosevelt's dog, Pete, ripped a French ambassador's pants
off at the White House
9. President Lyndon Johnson had two beagles named Him and Her
10. Franklin Roosevelt spent $15,000 for a destroyer to pick up his
Scottie in the Aleutian Islands
11. In Roman times, mastiffs donned light armor and were sent after
mounted knights
12. The Russians trained dogs during WWII to run suicide missions
with mines strapped to their backs
13. A dog's mouth exerts 150-200 pounds of pressure per square inch
14. ... with some dogs exerting up to 450 pounds per square inch.
15. A one year old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15 year old
human
16. The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world
17. France has the 2nd highest
18. The average city dog lives 3 years longer than a country dog
19. 87% of dog owners say their dog curls up beside them or at their
feet while they watch T.V.
20. Dogs can be trained to detect epileptic seizures
21. 15 people die in the U.S. every year from dog bites
22. In 2002 alone, more people in the U.S. were killed by dogs than
by sharks in the past 100 years
23. Gidget is the name of the Taco Bell dog
24. Newfoundlands are great swimmers because of their webbed feet
25. Basset Hounds cannot swim
26. Greyhounds are the fastest dogs on earth, with speeds of up to
45 miles per hour
27. Bingo is the name of the dog on the side of the Cracker Jack box
28. The bible mentions dogs 14 times
29. Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic - a Newfoundland,
a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese
30. The Labrador Retriever is the #1 favorite breed in the U.S.,
Canada, and the U.K.
31. Obesity is the #1 health problem among dogs
32. An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the
primary beneficiaries in their owner's will
33. An American Animal Hospital Assoc. poll found that 33% of dog
owners admit to talking to their dogs on the phone and leaving
answering machine messages for them while away
34. Dog's nose prints are as unique as a human's finger prints and
can be used to accurately identify them
35. At the end of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", a
high-pitched dog whistle was recorded by Paul McCartney for his
sheepdog
36. 70% of people sign their pet's name on greeting and holiday
cards
37. 58% put pets in family and holiday portraits
38. There are only 350 Cisky Terriers in the world - perhaps the
rarest breed
39. The phrase "raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th century
England when it is believed that many cats and dogs drowned during
heavy periods of rain.
40. Dogs have no sense of "time"
41. Humans have kept dogs as pets for over 12,000 years
42. The largest breed of dog is the Irish Wolfhound
43. The world's smallest dog breed is the Chihuahua
44. The St. Bernard is the heaviest
45. Only dogs and humans have prostates
46. But dogs do not have an appendix
47. Every dog on earth likely descended from a species knows as the
Tomarctus - a creature that roamed the earth over 15 million years
ago
48. The oldest known breed is likely the Saluki - originally trained
by Egyptians to help them track game.
49. In 1957, Laika became the first living being in space via an
earth satellite
50. ... while JFK's terrier, Charlie, father 4 puppies with Laika's
daughter
51. An African wolf dog known as the basenji is the only dog in the
world that cannot bark
52. There are 703 breeds of purebred dogs
53. Dachshunds were originally bred for fighting badgers
54. The world's smartest dogs are thought to be (1) the border
collie, (2) the poodle, and (3) the golden retriever
55. ... while the dumbest dog is believed to be the Afghan hound
56. A dog's smell is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of a
human's
57. ... which they need because their eyesight is not as keen as a
human's.
58. Dogs judge objects first by their movement, then by their
brightness, and lastly by their shape
59. Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (similar to
caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them
violently ill
60. George Washington had thirty six dogs - all foxhounds - with one
named Sweetlips
61. All dogs are identical in anatomy - 321 bones and 42 permanent
teeth
62. Smaller breeds mature faster than larger breeds
63. Female dogs are only ready to mate - "in heat" - twice a year
for a total of roughly 20 days
64. Puppies sleep ninety percent of the day for their first few
weeks
65. Rin Tin Tin was the first Hollywood dog star
66. ... and he really signed his movie contracts - all 22 of them -
with a pawprint
67. The Wizard of Oz's Toto was played by a female Cairn Terrier
named Terry
68. Their vision is not fully developed until after the 1st month
69. Dogs have two times as many muscles to move their ears as people
70. The longer a dog's nose, the more effective it's internal
cooling system
71. An elderly woman was saved by her 12 pound Yorkshire Terrier who
fought off an 80 pound Akita and survived with only 9 stitches
72. U.S. Customs dogs "Rocky" and "Barco" were so good at patrolling
the border that Mexican drug lords put a $300,000 bounty on their
heads
73. Dogs are all direct descendants of wolves
74. Wolves and dogs can mate to produce fertile offspring
75. Female wolves have been known to travel great distances to
regurgitate full meals for their hungry pups
76. Cerberus was the tri-headed dog that guarded the underworld in
Greek mythology
77. Female dogs bear their young for 60 days before they're born
78. Dogs' sense of hearing is more than ten times more acute than a
human's
79. Humans can detect sounds at 20,000 times per second, while dogs
can sense frequencies of 30,000 times per second.
80. The earliest dog fossil dates back to nearly 10,000 B.C.
81. Bloodhounds are prized their ability to single out and identify
a number of scents simultaneously
82. Dalmatian puppies are born completely white.
83. The Ancient Chinese carried Pekingese puppies in the sleeves of
their robes
84. Boxers are so named because of their manner of playing with
their front paws
85. All breeds of dog have been found to attack livestock - from 3
month old puppies, all the way up to thirteen year old poodles
86. A dog's heart beats up to 120 times per minute, or 50% faster
than the average human heartbeat of 80 times per minute
87. The oldest dog on record - a Queensland "Heeler" named Bluey -
was 29 years, 5 months old
88. Davy Crockett had a dog named Sport
89. Dogs were first domesticated by cavemen
90. Dogs live 15 years on average
91. Many foot disorders inn dogs are simply an issue of long
toenails
92. More than 5,000,000 puppies are born in the U.S. every year
93. More than 1 in 3 American families own a dog
94. Average body temperature for a dog is 101.2 degrees
95. The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts both offer merit badges in dog
care
96. Dogs are natural pack animals
97. They are naturally submissive to any creature with higher pack
status - human or canine
98. After birth, puppies' eyes do not fully open until they're about
12 days old
99. Dogs with little human contact in the first three months
typically don't make good pets
100. The Chihuahua was named after the state in Mexico where they
were discovered
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