1. The Beatles song A Day in the Life has an extra high-pitched whistle, audible only to dogs. It was recorded by Paul McCartney for the enjoyment of his Shetland sheepdog.
2. Eighty percent of pet parents buy their dog a present for holidays and birthdays. Most of that percentage sign letters and cards from themselves and their pets and also include them in the family portrait!!!
3. The wetness of a dog’s nose is essential for determining what direction a smell is coming from. Their nose secrete a thin layer of mucous that helps them absorb the scent.
4. The Newfoundland breed has a water resistant coat and webbed feet. This dog was bred to help with hauling nets for fishermen and to rescue them from drowning.
5. Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic… two Pomeranians and one Pekingese.
6. Puppies have 28 teeth and adult dogs normally have 42.
7. Dogs have about 1,700 taste buds, humans have approximately 9,000 and cats have around 470.
8. Dogs chase their tail for a variety of reasons: curiosity, release of pent up energy, anxiety, predatory instinct, or they have fleas. If your dog excessively chases his tail talk with your vet.
9. Hyenas actually are not dogs, but are more closely related to cats. http://hyaenidae.org/ancient-hyaenas.html
10. Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born. They develop their spots weeks later, as they grow.
11. The Chow Chow breed is well known for their distinctive blue-black tongues. They are born with pink tongues that turn dark at 8-10 weeks of age.
12. A dog drinks water by forming the back of their tongue into a cup.
13. Dogs and humans have the same type of slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement. Like humans, it is during this REM stage that dogs can dream. The twitching and paw movements that occur during their sleep are signs that your pet is dreaming.
14. Dogs have three eyelids, an upper lid, lower lid and the third is a membrane found under the outer eye lids. It closes across the eye to help keep the eye moist and protected.
15. Dogs can see movement and light much better than people. Their eyes contain a special cell, which is good for collecting dim light. A reflective layer then magnifies the light allowing them to see in the dark.
16. A dog’s whiskers are touch sensitive hairs called vibrissae. They are found on the muzzle, above the eyes and below the jaw. They can detect the tiniest change in air flow.
17. The only sweat glands a dog has are between the paw pads.
18. In addition to sweating through their paw pads, dogs pant to cool off. A panting dog can easily take 300 or more breaths.
19. A large dog’s resting heart beats between 60 and 100 times per minute. a small dog’s heart beats between 100 – 140 per minute. A resting human heart beats 60-100 times per minute.
20. Small dogs live the longest. Toy breeds live up to 16 years or more. Some breeds, such as Tibetan terrier live as long as 20 years. A larger dog’s life span averages 7-12 years. Recent veterinary medicine has extended this estimate by about three years.
21. If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could produce over 66.000 dogs in 6 years.
22. The dog name Fido is Latin and means fidelity.
23. It is believed that dogs see everything primarily in a hue of blue, greenish-yellow, yellow, and various shades of gray.
24. There are more than a dozen separate muscles that control a dog’s ear movements.
25. Some dogs run and move around faster than others. I am thinking of the whippet or greyhound, that can run as fast as 45 miles per hour.
