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Little known and interesting dog facts!

Updated on June 17, 2014

All kinds of info you may not have known about dogs!

There's a lot to us dogs! No really, we're a pretty interesting species!

Mum and I were surfing around the Internet the other day and found out some facts about dogs that we didn't know!

Some we did, but some we didn't.

So we put together this lens of little known and interesting facts about dogs that we found from various sources.

We hope you enjoy it! And remember, this stuff is difficult to verify, it's just for fun!

Photo courtesy of Tim Simpson, thanks Tim!

Facts about dogs that you may not have known!

  • A dog, named Laika, was the first in space in 1957.
  • The oldest breed of dog is the Saluki.
  • The world's smallest dog is the Chihuahua, which means "tiny dog in the sky."
  • Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible, but domestic cats are not mentioned at all.
  • The coyote is a member of the dog family and its scientific name, "canis latrans" means barking dog.
  • There are 701 types of pure breed dogs. (Although this is a disputable by many.)
  • Dogs and cats, like humans, are either right or left handed.
  • Nose prints are used to identify dogs, just like humans use fingerprints.
  • Bingo is the name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box.
  • Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Humans have kept dogs as pets for over 12,000 years
  • Supposedly the smartest dogs are the border collie, poodle and golden retriever. While the dumbest dog is the afghan.
  • Ventura County, California- Cats or dogs can't have "do it" without a permit
  • Dogs' only sweat glands are between their paw pads.

Some dog facts you may not know!

More fun facts!

  • Dogs can't see colors. They're color blind. (Although some say that they can differentiate many colors).
  • The Basenji is the only dog that cannot bark.
  • A dog's pregnancy is 60 Days.
  • Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with the ears.
  • The Dalmatian is the only dog that gets gout.
  • Dogs and humans are the only animals with prostates.
  • A dog's smell is estimated at 1 million times better than humans.
  • Dogs are responsible for most drug busts.
  • A dog's heartbeat is 70-120 times per minute.
  • The normal body temperature for a dog is 101.2 degrees F.
  • About one family in three owns a dog.
  • The average dog has 42 permanent teeth.
  • A 50,000 year old cave painting in Europe seems to show a dog-like animal hunting with men.
  • The first dog show in the US was in Detroit, Michigan in 1857.
  • The World's first dog show took place in Great Britain in 1859.
  • Twenty five percent of dogs that enter local shelters are purebred.
  • The average number of litters a fertile dog produces is one a year; the average number of puppies in litters is between four and six.
  • About 75 million dogs are owned in the United States.
  • The average cost of basic food, supplies, and medical care and training for a dog in the US is $775 annually (2007 figures).
  • Approximately five to seven million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year and approximately three to four million are euthanized due to a lack of space or resources to adequately care for them (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats).
  • If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!

Facts about other animals!

More odd, interesting and little known facts about dogs!

  • Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their skull which closes with age.
  • The breed Lundehune has 6 toes and can close its ears.
  • 87% of dog owners say their dog curls up beside them or at their feet while they watch T.V.
  • The average city dog lives 3 years longer than a country dog.
  • Gidget is the name of the Taco Bell dog.
  • An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner's will.
  • Greyhounds are the fastest dogs on earth, with speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
  • Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic - a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese.
  • Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their skull which closes with age.
  • Barbara Bush's book about her English Springer Spaniel, Millie's book, was on the bestseller list for 29 weeks. Millie was the most popular "First Dog" in history.
  • Before the enactment of the 1978 law that made it mandatory for dog owners in New York City to clean up after their pets, approximately 40 million pounds of dog excrement were deposited on the streets every year.
  • Inbreeding causes 3 out of every 10 Dalmatian dogs to suffer from hearing disability.
  • It has been established that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks.
  • Marie Antoinette's dog was a spaniel named Thisbe.
  • Pekingese dogs were sacred to the emperors of China for more than 2,000 years. They are one of the oldest breeds of dogs in the world.
  • Scientists have discovered that dogs can smell the presence of autism in children.

Cool stuff for cool dogs!

JohannTheDog.com - where you can shop for cool stuff for cool dogs.

JohannTheDog.com has put together, in one place, all the cool stuff you need for your dog.

Find dog beds, all natural foods and treats, collars, leashes, charms, training and agility gear, vitamins and supplements, books, clothing, toys, crates, dog seat belts, t-shirts and other cool stuff for two and four-leggers!

And the best part is they donate 10% of their profits to dog shelters and rescues!

More facts!

  • Seizure Alert dogs can alert their owners up to an hour before the onset of an epileptic seizure.
  • Seventy percent of people sign their pet's name on greeting cards and 58 percent include their pets in family and holiday portraits, according to a survey done by the American Animal Hospital Association.
  • The calories burned daily by the sled dogs running in Alaska's annual Iditarod race average 10,000.
  • The Canary Islands were not named for a bird called a canary. They were named after a breed of large dogs. The Latin name was Canariae insulae - "Island of Dogs."
  • The expression "three dog night" originated with the Eskimos and means a very cold night - so cold that you have to bed down with three dogs to keep warm.
  • The first dog to star in an American movie was Jean the Vitagraph Dog, a Border Collie mix, who made his first film in 1910.
  • The first seeing-eye dog was presented to a blind person on April 25, 1938.
  • The last member of the famous Bonaparte family, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, died in 1945, of injuries sustained from tripping over his dog's leash.
  • The theobromine in chocolate that stimulates the cardiac and nervous systems is too much for dogs, especially smaller pups. A chocolate bar is poisonous to dogs and can even be lethal.
  • Using their swiveling ears like radar dishes, experiments have shown that dogs can locate the source of a sound in 6/100ths of a second.
  • The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.
  • The longer a dog's nose, the more effective it's internal cooling system.
  • Obesity is the #1 health problem among dogs.

Is your dog right or left handed?

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