Having a dog can be wonderful, but there’s a lot that goes into getting one, and some things you might not know. Dogs interact with the world around them differently from us, so it’s important to know a few things about their behavior. As silly as it sounds, dogs have “breeds” just like us! There are dozens of dog breeds, each with its own characteristic traits. Some are small and cute, like Chihuahuas; others are large and strong, like boxers. There are also sight hounds, herding dogs, working dogs, and breeds.
Facts about Dogs You Might Not Know
Dogs are smarter than you think.
According to a recent study, your dog is as intelligent as a two-year-old toddler. Researchers tested dogs’ intelligence by having them perform a series of tasks involving memory, decision-making, coordination, problem-solving skills, and self-control. Although dogs didn’t perform as well as two-year-old testers, they still scored higher than other domesticated animals, such as cats and pigs.
Dogs and cats both drink by lapping.
Did you know that dogs and cats both slurp water the same way? Dogs aren’t the only animals who do this. Cats and dogs live up to their name, being members of a taxonomic family of carnivorans, mammals, and mustelids. These animals have sharp teeth, claws, and a sense of smell, making them adept hunters. Like all carnivorans, dogs have carnivorous diets consisting of meat, fish, eggs, and insects. Some cats eat meat, although their favorite foods are fish, birds, mice, and insects.
Your Canine love to spend lots of time with you.
Most people believe that dogs cannot understand time the way we do, which may be true to a certain extent. However, some experts believe that dogs do have a sense of time and even a sense of what they missed out on. Dogs, like humans, experience missing things, such as food and perhaps their owners. Some dogs have even gone so far as to miss their owners so much that they intentionally leave them, trying desperately to get back to them.
Your Dog’s has an excellent sense of vision.
The whiskers on dogs’ faces are pretty amazing. They help them see in the dark and use them to smell, too. Some breeds’ whiskers grow in a curly pattern, while others grow straight. Dogs have about a dozen whiskers on their face, each about a quarter inch long. Whiskers are like eyebrows for a dog: they’re used to communicate, check out their surroundings, and protect their face.
Sweat glands in canine’s paw
Your dog relies on its paws to get you, and potentially other pets, from place to place. You might not know it, but dogs actually have sweat glands in the pads of their paws. The pads, however, are not used to keep your dog cool; instead, they help keep your dog’s paws dry and clean. Unfortunately, dogs can experience problems with pads, too. These problems include fungal nails, where fungus grows on your dog’s nails.
Canine has a strong mouth force.
- The average dog’s mouth exerts 320 pounds of pressure per square inch.
- A dog’s mouth, tongue, and teeth can bite through things like a tennis ball, wooden crate, and a roll of paper towels.
- Dogs have 30 teeth and can chew an estimated 2,000 pounds of food in their lifetime.
Dogs have weird teeth that they use to tear through bone, eat tough meats, and crack open nuts. The teeth never stop growing, and a dog’s teeth grow at a rate of 1.5mm per year. In total, an adult dog will have between 42 and 48 teeth.
Dogs reach physical maturity at about six months.
Many people consider their pets to be their “children,” With this mindset, it can be difficult to accept the physical maturity of a 15-year-old human. The truth is that dog’s age similarly to humans, and their physical maturity follows the same timeline. While your pup may seem full of puppy energy and exuberance, he can grow old, just like the rest of us, and just like humans, dog’s age at different rates.
Canine has a strong smell sense than humans.
Your dog’s sense of smell is 1,000 to 10 million times better than yours, and dogs can smell fear more than we can. Some experts believe that dogs have an olfactory organ that is 10 times more sensitive than ours. The sense of smell and smell memory is so much stronger in dogs that smells can linger after they walk away. If the dog encounters an odor that makes him think of that person, it will drive him crazy, sending him into a frenzy. In addition, dogs can smell fear more than we can; when a dog smells fear, he often reacts by barking or trying to attack the fearful person.
Dogs have a strong hearing sense than humans.
Dogs can hear sounds within 50–70 kHz, while humans hear in the range of 2–20 kHz. Dogs can hear better than humans when it comes to higher frequencies. This allows them to hear sounds between 4kHz and 20kHz (4kHz is 4,000 Hertz and 20kHz is 20,000 Hertz). Dogs have such a high ability to hear these high frequencies because their ears are asymmetrically located on the sides of their head instead of on top.
Dogs can also sense your emotions.
Dogs are masters at being able to read our emotions. They know when we are happy, sad, angry, and even afraid. But this skill that dogs have could be the key to why your dogs is dreaming or seizure. Dogs are amazing creatures, not the least because they also happen to be highly sensitive to our emotions. Just like us, dogs can feel happy, sad, and angry. They can sense the way you act, and if they’re worried, they can sense your stress, too.