Dog Facts - 25 Facts That You Probably Didn't Know.

1. Nearly 1/3 of dogs in animal shelters are purebred dogs.

2. Dogs have only about 1,700 tastebuds, while people have about 9,000

3. Dogs have over 200 million receptors in their nose, while people only have 5 million. Canines can smell 1,000 times better then people.

4. An adult dog has 42 teeth.

5. If a dog isn’t spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in 6 years.

6. The Chow Chow and the Shar-pei are the only two breeds that have black tongues.  All other breeds have pink tongues.

7. There is only one barkless dog breed?    The Basenji a hunting breed is the only barkless dog in the world.  It only makes a funny sound like a human laugh or a yodel.

8. Dogs are capable of locating the source of a sound in 6/100ths of a second by using their swiveling ears like radar dishes.

9. About 30 percent of Dalmatians around the world are deaf in at least one ear. The hearing condition is a result of a genetic predisposition found in their breed.

10. On average, the intelligence of a dog is like that of a two-year-old.

11. The eyes of canines have a unique membrane referred to as the tapetum lucidum. This is what enables dogs to see in the dark.

12. While humans have fingerprints to identify us, dogs have nose prints which are unique for each dog.

13. Canine’s sweat glands are located between the paws. When they sweat, their feet will smell like corn chips, which is completely normal.

14. A dog’s skeleton has 319 bones compared to a human’s 206 bones.

15. A dog’s temperature is around 101 and 102.6 degrees, while humans are around 98 degrees.

16. Human eyes have 3 types of cone cells with about six million cone cells with each cone.  Dogs only have two types of cone cells and around 1.2 million.  So dogs can see in color but will have difficulty between different shades of colors.  

Red is a popular color choice for dog toys.  However, if you select a yellow or blue dog toy, your dog will find it easier to see outside against the green grass.

17. When a dog smells another dog’s feces, he is actually sniffing the anal glands' secretion, a drop or two of liquid that dogs emit after they poop.

18. Dog facts upon birth.  Dogs are born with their ear canals closed and are deaf until around 3 weeks old.  Their ear canals then open up.

19. Humans hear from low frequency 64 to high frequency around 23,000 HZ. Dogs hearing range is around 67 hz low range to 45,000 hz high range.

20. Most dog owners know that chocolates, raisins, grapes, and macadamia nuts are dangerous for dogs to eat.  Did you know that any food that contains the artificial sweetener xylitol can be fatal to a dog's health? 

21. One of the main reasons dogs gulp down their food is that they can’t move their jaws sideways, only up and down.  So they don’t chew their food for long periods like humans.

More Dog Facts

22. A dog’s field of vision is 270 degrees, while a human is 180 – 190 degrees.  This means a dog has a wider panoramic view and can look at something off to the side with their eyes without having to swivel their head.

23.  Interesting dog fact is that Toto in The Wizard of Oz was actually a female dog named Terry.

24.  A recent survey shows that 45% of dog owners say that they let their dogs sleep with them in their bed.

25. A Dogs whiskers are known as vibrissae They are touch-sensitive hairs that actually sense minute changes in airflow.

These 25 dog facts are fascinating characteristics that most people are not aware of. 

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