29 Amazing K9 Facts

1 - The tallest dogs are Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds.

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 -  Dogs have a wonderful sense of smell. A Fox Terrier has 147 million ‘smelling cells’ and a German Shepherd has 220 million compared to our 5 million.

5 - The oldest reliable recorded age for a dog is 29 years and 5 months-an Australian Cattle Dog called Bluey.

6 - All dogs, regardless of breed are direct descendants of wolves. Technically they are 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 pups are pure white when they are born and develop their spots as they grow older.

9 - The poodle’s “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 puppy’s mouth will get 28 baby teeth.  At 4-7 months the baby teeth will fall out and be replaced with 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 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 third 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.

20 - The Basenji from the Congo is a breed that does not bark, instead it makes a yodel type sound.

21 - 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 see.  It is much like our vision at twilight.

24 - Dogs have fewer taste buds than humans. We have approximately 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 do not 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 others.  This behaviour is the equivalent of a human hiding their face with their hands.  

29 - The Doberman was created in the 1860’s by Louis Dobermann, a German tax collector who created the dog to protect him while he worked.