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Sunday, November 22, 2009

102 Weird Facts You Never Knew About Dogs

It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.

Dogs DO have better low-light vision than humans because of a special light-reflecting layer behind their retinas

A German Shepherd guide dog led her blind companion the entire 2100 mile Applachian Trail

If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!

Dogs' only sweat glands are between their paw pads

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

Teddy Roosevelt's dog, Pete, ripped a French ambassador's pants off at the White House

President Lyndon Johnson had two beagles named Him and Her

Franklin Roosevelt spent $15,000 for a destroyer to pick up his Scottie in the Aleutian Islands

In Roman times, mastiffs donned light armor and were sent after mounted knights

The Russians trained dogs during WWII to run suicide missions with mines strapped to their backs

A dog's mouth exerts 150-200 pounds of pressure per square inch

... with some dogs exerting up to 450 pounds per squre inch.

A one year old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15 year old human

The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world

France has the 2nd highest

The average city dog lives 3 years longer than a country dog

87% of dog owners say their dog curls up beside them or at their feet while they watch T.V.

Dogs can be trained to detect epileptic seizures

15 people die in the U.S. every year from dog bites

In 2002 alone, more people in the U.S. were killed by dogs than by sharks in the past 100 years

Gidget is the name of the Taco Bell dog

Newfoundlands are great swimmers because of their webbed feet

Basset Hounds cannot swim

Greyhounds are the fastest dogs on earth, with speeds of up to 45 miles per hour

Bingo is the name of the dog on the side of the Cracker Jack box

The bible mentions dogs 14 times

Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic - a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese

The Labrador Retriever is the #1 favorite breed in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Obesity is the #1 health problem among dogs

An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner's will

An American Animal Hospital Assoc. poll found that 33% of dog owners admit to talking to their dogs on the phone and leaving answering machine messages for them while away

Dog's nose prints are as unique as a human's finger prints and can be used to accurately identify them

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

70% of people sign their pet's name on greeting and holiday cards

58% put pets in family and holiday portraits

There are only 350 Cisky Terriers in the world - perhaps the rarest breed

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.

Dogs have no sense of "time"

Humans have kept dogs as pets for over 12,000 years

The largest breed of dog is the Irish Wolfhound

The world's smallest dog breed is the Chihuahua

The St. Bernard is the heaviest

Only dogs and humans have prostates

But dogs do not have an appendix

Every dog on earth likely descended from a species knows as the Tomarctus - a creature that roamed the earth over 15 million years ago

The oldest known breed is likely the Saluki - originally trained by Egyptians to help them track game.

In 1957, Laika became the first living being in space via an earth satellite

... while JFK's terrir, Charlie, father 4 puppies with Laika's daughter

An African wolf dog known as the basenji is the only dog in the world that cannot bark

There are 703 breeds of purebred dogs

Dachshunds were originally bred for fighting badgers

The world's smartest dogs are thought to be (1) the border collie, (2) the poodle, and (3) the golden retriever

... while the dumbest dog is believed to be the Afghan hound

A dog's smell is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of a human's

... which they need because their eyesight is not as keen as a human's.

Dogs judge objects first by their movement, then by their brightness, and lastly by their shape

Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (similar to caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill

George Washington had thirty six dogs - all foxhounds - with one named Sweetlips

All dogs are identical in anatomy - 321 bones and 42 permanent teeth

Smaller breeds mature faster than larger breeds

Female dogs are only ready to mate - "in heat" - twice a year for a total of roughly 20 days

Puppies sleep ninety percent of the day for their first few weeks

Rin Tin Tin was the first Hollywood dog star

... and he really signed his movie contracts - all 22 of them - with a pawprint

The Wizard of Oz's Toto was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry

Up until the late 1800's, Collies were known as Scottish Sheepdogs

Dogs have two times as many muscles to move their ears as people

The longer a dog's nose, the more effective it's internal cooling system

An elderly woman was saved by her 12 pound Yorkshire Terrier who fought off an 80 pound
Akita and survived with only 9 stitches

U.S. Customs dogs "Rocky" and "Barco" were so good at patrolling the border that
Mexican drug lords put a $300,000 bounty on their heads

Dogs are all direct descendants of wolves

Wolves and dogs can mate to produce fertal offspring

Female wolves have been known to travel great distances to regurgitate full meals for their hungry pups

Cerberus was the tri-headed dog that guarded the underworld in Greek mythology

Female dogs bear their young for 60 days before they're born

Dogs' sense of hearing is more than ten times more acute than a human's

Humans can detect sounds at 20,000 times per second, while dogs can sense frequencies of 30,000 times per second.

The earliest dog fossil dates back to nearly 10,000 B.C.

Bloodhounds are prized their ability to single out and identify a number of scents simultaneously

Dalmatian puppies are born completely white.

The Ancient Chinese carried Pekingese puppies in the sleeves of their robes

Boxers are so named because of their manner of playing with their front paws

All breeds of dog have been found to attack livestock - from 3 month old puppies, all the way up to thirteen year old poodles

A dog's heart beats up to 120 times per minute, or 50% faster than the average human heartbeat of 80 times per minute

The oldest dog on record - a Queensland "Heeler" named Bluey - was 29 years, 5 months old

Davy Crockett had a dog named Sport

Dogs were first domesticated by cavemen

Dogs live 15 years on average

Many foot disorders inn dogs are simply an issue of long toenails

More than 5,000,000 puppies are born in the U.S. every year

More than 1 in 3 American families own a dog

Average body temperature for a dog is 101.2 degrees

The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts both offer merit badges in dog care

Dogs are natural pack animals

They are naturally submissive to any creature with higher pack status - human or canine

Dogs instinctively require the pack leader's approval

Dogs with little human contact in the first three months typically don't make good pets

The Chihuahua was named after the state in Mexico where they were discovered

After birth, puppies' eyes do not fully open until they're about 12 days old

Their vision is not fully developed until after the 1st month

* source : http://www.thefoundbin.com/lost-and-...new-about-dogs

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