- All dogs are probably descended from an animal called Tomarctus. This animal lived approximately 15 million years ago.
- Stone-aged people tamed dogs to help them track game. About eight thousand years ago, ancient Egyptians raised Saluki hunting dogs. Saluki is an arabic word meaning noble one. These dogs are probably the oldest known breed.
- Argos or Argus, Ulysses’ hunting dog, was the only creature to recognize the Greek hero when he returned home disguised as a beggar after 20 years of adventure.
- Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Greek mythology, guarded the gates to the underworld.
- The basenji, an African wolf dog, is the only dog that cannot bark.
- Irish Wolfhounds rank as the largest dog, and Chihuahuas as the smallest dog. The St. Bernard is the heaviest dog and other breeds range in size between these extremes.
- A dog can hear sounds 250 yards away that most people cannot hear beyond 25 yards. The human ear can detect sound waves vibrating at frequencies up to 20,000 times a second. But dogs can hear sound waves that vibrate at frequencies of more than 30,000 times a second.
- Dogs cannot see as well as humans and are considered color blind. A dog sees objects first by their movement, second by their brightness, and third by their shape.
- A dog’s heart beats between 70 and 120 times a minute, compared with a human heart which beats 70 to 80 times a minute.
- A female carries her young about 60 days before the puppies are born.
- Many foot disorders in dogs are related to long toenails. Check your dog’s nails once a month and trim when necessary, avoiding the vein.
- Though neutering has no effect on the overall personality, male dogs tend to display less aggression, and territorial behavior when they are neutered. They are also less likely to contract urogenital diseases.
- If your dog has bad breath, he may need his teeth cleaned.
- The Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, and the 4-H Club all offer merit badges in dog care.
- NEVER punish a puppy for chewing – just be sure to provide the appropriate objects. Puppies need to chew to stimulate the loss of their baby teeth and to help place their permanent teeth.
- Dogs are pack animals by nature. They need closeness, touching, and petting to be content and happy.
- Dogs are able to see much better in dim light than humans are. This is due to the tapetum lucidum, a light-reflecting layer behind the retina. Because it functions like a mirror, it also accounts for the strange shine or glow in a dog’s eyes at night.
- Dogs are not born knowing the words Sit, Down, Stand and if you shout the command louder and louder sixteen times …… the dog will still not know what it means.
- Dogs have 40 permanent teeth. (We have received conflicting information on this fact – the number of teeth has also been reported at 42)
- The original “Lassie” was a male.
- The seeing-eye dog, or any dog trained to guide the blind, cannot tell a red light from a green one. When he leads his master across the street, the dog watches the traffic flow to tell when it is safe to cross.
- 33% of U.S. dog owners admit that they talk to their dogs on the phone or leave messages on an answering machine while away.
- Fluid from a gland inside a dog’s nose keeps the tip of his nose moist. This moisture helps a dog detect odors.
- Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic. Two lapdogs, a Pomeranian and a Pekinese, boarded early lifeboats in the arms of their owners. A third dog, the first officer’s large Newfoundland, swam between another lifeboat and the rescue ship. The sound of his bark guided the survivors to safety.
- The expression “three dog night,” which is attributed to the Australian Aborginal tribe, came about because on especially cold nights nomadic people needed three dogs (wild Dingoes) to keep from freezing.
- At the end of the Beatles’ song “A Day in the Life,” an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, was recorded by Paul McCartney for his Shetland sheepdog.
- The first living creature to orbit the earth was a dog. Named Laika (“Barker” in Russian), she blasted off aboard the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957. With no way to bring her back to earth, she became the first creature to give her life for the exploration of space.
- Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not sweat by salivating. They sweat through the pads of their feet.
- The fastest dog, the Greyhound, can reach speeds of up to 41.7 miles per hour. The breed was known to exist in ancient Egypt as many as 6,000 years ago.