Fun facts, tidbits, and trivia about dogs

Your dog is more unique than you might think. There are quite a few interesting tidbits you may not yet know about your four-legged best friend, and these are just a start.

• Dogs do not sweat like people do. They release heat through sweat glands called merocrine glands in the pads on their paws, and they pant. There are no sweat glands on their tongues. A second type of sweat glands, called apocrine glands, are associated with their hair and are not used for thermoregulation (regulating heat). Research suggests apocrine glands are used to release pheromones to communicate with other dogs.
• Unlike your two functioning eyelids, your dog has three. The third eyelid, called the nictitating membrane, or “haw,” is used to moisturize and protect their eyes.
• Your dog’s hearing is far more sensitive and acute than yours. A human’s hearing spans between 64 hertz (Hz) and 23,000Hz, while a dog’s hearing reaches between 63Hz and 60,000Hz. Dogs are also able to hear noises that are up to four times farther away than we can. Dogs with upright ears have better hearing than dogs with dropped, or hanging, ears. Another contributing factor is movement: the human year is controlled by six muscles while a dog’s ear is controlled by eighteen. Your dog's ability to lift and rotate their ears independently of each other gives them an even greater auditory edge.
• A dog’s nose print is very unique and can be used to identify him much like a human fingerprint indentifies us.
• Dogs are not colorblind. Although there is some debate over the range and clarity of colors they are able to see, studies have proven dogs do, indeed,see color.
• Your dog might enjoy their stinky canned dog food so much because they only have 1,700 taste buds. Humans have 9,000. Cats come in last with only 473.
• “Beware the Dog” is a time-honored phrase. It has been found written into mosaics on the doorsteps of homes in ancient Roman cities.
• A dog’s average temperature is 101.5° fahrenheit compared to a human’s 98.6°.
• The Bible makes references to dogs fourteen times.
• Your dog can exert up to two hundred pounds of pressure per square inch with its mouth. Certain breeds, however, can actually exert up to four hundred and fifty pounds per square inch.
• Among their myriad skills as therapy dogs, dogs can also be trained to detect epileptic seizures as much as forty-five minutes in advance. Theories include a dog’s attention to detail, meaning perhaps dogs notice tiny changes in our movement and behavior leading up to a seizure, and (or) dogs notice a change in our smell when we’re about to seize.
• Rumor has it the phrase “raining cats and dogs” began in 17th century England, when heavy rains swept pets down the streets.
• No matter what the breed, all dogs have 321 bones and 42 adult teeth.
• The leading cause of foot problems in dogs is actually overgrown toenails. Learn to cut your dog’s nails!
• Dog’s shoulder blades are not attached to their skeletons. This allows greater flexibility for running.
• “Dog days of summer” began with the ancient Greeks. During the hottest days of summer in Greece, the “Dog Star,” Sirius, would rise.
• The government spends upwards of $10,000 training one search and rescue (SAR) dog. However, most SAR dogs are owned and trained by private citizens, volunteers who train their highly talented dogs themselves without costing the government a penny.
• Dogs see far better at night than we do. Why? Their larger pupil lets in more light, the center of their retina has more rods (light-sensitive cells), and the lens of their eye is located closer to their retina, which means images reflected onto their retina are brighter. However, the main reason dogs can see more clearly in the dark is the tapetum, a structure which acts as a mirror behind their eyes, allowing the retina not one but two chances to register light. The tapetum is also the reason your dog’s eyes glow in the dark.
• A one-year-old dog has the physical maturity approximately equivalent to that of a sixteen-year-old human.
• Dogs and humans are the only species with prostates. However, dogs don’t have an appendix.
• Studies have shown dogs are able to detect a multitude of illnesses in people including cancer, kidney failure, and diabetes. In fact, dogs frequently know someone is sick before tests pick up on the disease.
• Some studies even claim dogs are able to tell when a child has autism. Service dogs for children with autism, especially aspergers, have been proven to reduce or entirely stop outbursts and help the children socialize since they act as a sort of buffer.
• Your dog can tell when there is a change in barometric pressure and static electricity in the air, which is how dogs are able to respond early to changes in the weather. Dogs can also sense earthquakes well in advance.
• Rumor has it the phrase “three dog night” began in Alaska with the Eskimos. Supposedly it refers to a night so incredibly cold you need three dogs in bed with you to stay warm.
• Dogs are actually right pawed or left pawed, just like people are (only with hands, of course).
• Although humans have a seemingly impressive 5 million scent-detecting cells, dogs actually have over 220 million. And even though a dog’s brain is smaller than a human brain, the area in the brain that processes scent is four times larger in a dog’s brain.