Did you know … dogs have been wearing collars ever since Egyptian times, Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born and develop their spots as they grow older, and the poodles ‘haircut’was originally to improve its swimming ability as a retriever. Find out more amazing canine facts here…

  1. The tallest dogs are the Great Dane and Irish Wolfhound
  2. The smallest dogs are the Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Poodle
  3. A dog’s hearing is very acute. They can register sounds of 35,000 vibrations a second (compared to our 20,000)
  4. Dog’s have a wonderful sense of smell. A Fox Terrier has 147 million ‘smelling cells’ and a German Shepherd has 220 million compared to a humans 5 million
  5. The oldest reliable age recorded for a dog is 29 years and 5 months – an Australian Cattle Dog called Bluey.
  6. All dogs, regardless of breed, are direct descendents of wolves. Technically they are all the same species, which means they can breed together and produce fertile offspring
  7. 2 dogs survived the sinking of the titanic – a Pekinese and a Pomeranian
  8. Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born and develop their spots as they grow older
  9. The poodles ‘haircut’ was originally to improve its swimming ability as a retriever.
  10. Dogs take between 10-30 breaths a minute
  11. Dogs have twice as many muscles for moving their ears as humans do
  12. Dogs have a visual range of 250 degrees compared to the human range of 180 degrees
  13. The word puppy derives from the French word poupee which means doll
  14. Puppies are born blind, deaf and toothless
  15. A puppy begins to see when it is between 2-3 weeks old. At 3 weeks it will develop a sense of smell
  16. At 4-8 weeks of age a puppies mouth will get 28 baby teeth. At 4-7 months of age the baby teeth will fall out and be replaced will 42 permanent teeth
  17. The phrase raining cats and dogs originated in 17th century England when many cats and dogs drowned during heavy downpours of rain and when rivers burst their banks. Their bodies would be seen floating in the rain torrents that raced through the streets giving the appearance that it had ‘rained cats and dogs’.
  18. Dogs have 3 eyelids – an upper and lower eyelid and a 3rd one hidden between them. It helps protect their eyes from dirt and dust
  19. The Greyhound is the fastest dog and can run at 45mph for short periods of time
  20. The Basenji dog from the Congo is a breed that does not bark, instead makes a yodel type sound
  21. Dogs have been wearing collars ever since Egyptian times
  22. The most intelligent dog breeds are said to be the Border Collie, Poodle and Golden Retriever
  23. Dogs can see in colour but not as vivid a colour scheme as we use. It is much like our vision at twilight
  24. Dogs have fewer taste buds than humans. We have approx 9,000 whereas dogs have 1,700
  25. Contrary to popular belief the Canary Islands were not named after the Canary bird but rather after the large dogs that lived on the island
  26. Dogs turn in circles before lying down out of instinct. In the wild, this action would turn long grass into a bed
  27. Dogs don’t have an appendix
  28. When your dog is frightened it puts its tail between its legs. Doing so covers the scent glands in the anal area, which carry the personal scent of the dog and identify it to other dogs. This behaviour is the equivalent of a human hiding their face with their hands
  29. The Doberman breed was created in the 1860’s by Louis Dobermann, a German tax collector who created the dog to protect him while he worked+

Read “20 Amazing feline facts”

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