Facts about Dog

The most famous adage, ‘Dog is a man’s best friend’ has been proven true time and again for the past 15,000 years. Dogs are amongst the most popular and most adorable pets in the world. These cute animals have a far more interesting history than most of us would like to think. They are believed to have descended from a small, weasel-like mammal called Miacis, which lived in the world about 40 million years ago. In the more recent world, dogs are said to be a domesticated subspecies of the wolf. Found throughout the world, they have been domesticated by man since the Paleolithic age and continue to be a favored pet. There’s so much more to learn about these furry friends than just playing-dead, fetching or knowing how to train them. From Irish Setters to Jack Russell Terriers and Pit bulls, to help you know more about your pet poodle, we have provided some interesting facts and amazing information on dogs in the following lines.

Fast Facts

Trinomial Name: Canis lupus familiaris

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Canidae

Genus: Canis

Species: C. lupus

Subspecies: C. l. familiaris

Breeds: Over 800

Fastest Dog: Greyhound (45 mph)

Largest Dog: Irish Wolfhounds

Tallest Dog: Great Dane

Smallest Dog: Chihuahua

Heaviest Dog: St. Bernard

Oldest Dog: Bluey (Australian Cattle-dog that lived for 29 years and 5 months)

Age: 8-15 years

Natural Habitat: Throughout the world

Diet: Omnivorous

Age of Maturity: 8 months to 1 year

Gestation Period: Around 9 weeks

Number of Offspring: 4 to 5

Status: Not endangered/ Abundant

Interesting And Amazing Information On Dogs

Believe it or not, it is said that two dogs survived the sinking of Titanic—a Pomeranian and a Pekingese.
Dogs take between 10 and 30 breaths in a minute, while their heart beats 70-120 times in the same duration.
Dogs sweat through the pads of their feet.
The Chow Chow species of dog has a black tongue.
Dogs can see much better than human beings in dark. Even otherwise, the visual range of a dog (250 degrees) is better than that of humans (180 degrees).
A dog can hear sounds even from a distance of 250 yards.
A puppy is born blind, deaf and toothless. It begins to see only after 2 to 3 weeks.
During the first week after their birth, puppies spend 90% of their time in sleeping and the rest 10% in eating.
The fastest dogs in the world are greyhounds and can reach a top speed of 72 km/h while running.
Most dogs are intensely territorial, which is why most of these dogs are fit to be trained as guard dogs.
A puppy is only able to crawl during its first week.
Dogs were domesticated for the first time by cavemen in the Paleolithic age. With time, they developed into the breeds known today.
A one year old dog is physically as mature as a 15 year old human.
Dogs exist in a wide range of sizes, colors and temperaments.
The internal clocks of a dog are excellent. He will always know when is the time for meal, for going out, of your coming home, and so on.
Did you know? Dogs are the most diverse looking mammals around.
The nose of a dog helps him keep cool. Infact, the longer the nose of a dog, the better will be his cooling system.
Dogs do have a 6th sense. They can pick up tremors even before it has occurred, impending diseases and can even spot spirits.
The Basenji dog is the only dog that cannot bark.
If you are down with a disease like cancer, epilepsy or diabetes, your dog will be the first to know. In a popular research, it was established that dogs pick up on a disease’s symptoms through the scent of hormones and even alerted their owners about it from subtle to erratic behavioral changes.
Contrary to popular belief, dogs understand the tone of your voice and your body language rather than the language itself. Hence, if you speak to your dog in a different language but in the same tone, he/she is bound to understand what you are saying.
The mouth of an average dog can exert 150-180 pounds of pressure per square inch and in case of some dogs; it can go up to 450 pounds.
The behavioral traits of mixed-breed dogs will be similar to the breed they resemble the most.
An average human has over 5 million smelling receptors, whereas a dog has anything from 150-220 million receptors.
Dogs are born as pack animals and tend to have a hierarchy system, with an ‘alpha’ or a ‘top dog’. Even with pets, unless you train your dogs to listen to you, they might take control of the situation and exercise authority over you.

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