26 Awesome Facts About Dogs
Just how strong is a dog’s sense of smell? And what country has the most dogs? Find out the answers with these fun facts about our furry friends.
Dogs are amazing. And all of us at the Good Dog Hotel and Spa in Indianapolis love getting to know our furry friends, whether they’re in for a grooming appointment, visiting our doggie daycare, or spending the night in Good Dog Hotel.
But there’s always something new to learn, which is why we love sharing information about dogs. For instance, do you know how strong a dog’s sense of smell is? Or do you know the name of the dog on the Cracker Jacks boxes? Here are some of our favorite fun facts about dogs – we hope you enjoy them.
- An adult dog has 42 teeth. Puppies have 28.
- A typical dog is as smart as a 2-year-old toddler.
- A one-year-old puppy is as physically mature as a 15-year-old human.
- Dogs can see really well in the dark, thanks to a special eye membrane called Tapetum lucidum.
- Dogs and cats both slurp water the same way.
- Heterochromia iridisis a rare (and often strikingly gorgeous) condition in which animals, including humans, have two different colored eyes. It’s particularly noticeable in dogs and cats.
- A dog’s shoulder blades are unattached to the rest of the skeleton to allow greater flexibility for running.
- According to the World Canine Organization, there are 339 dog breeds in the world.
- The smallest dog breed in the world is Chihuahua, and the largest dog breed in the world is Wolfhound.
- A dog named Laika became the first living being to visit space in 1957.
- Dogs have an estimated 1,700 taste buds (humans average about 10,000).
- Although puppies are born deaf, when they mature, dogs can hear 4 times as far as humans.
- Whiskers help dogs “see” in the dark.
- The Poodle haircut was originally meant to improve the dog’s swimming abilities as a retriever, with the pom-poms left in place to warm their joints.
- It’s a myth that dogs are colorblind. They see color, just not as well as humans.
- Dogs only have sweat glands in their paws.
- A human has about 5 million scent glands, but dogs have 125 to 300 million (depending on the breed). Which means their sense of smell can be 1,000 to 10,000,000 times better than humans.
- America has the largest dog population in the world.
- Greyhounds are the fastest dog. They can reach speeds of nearly 45 miles per hour.
- The name of the dog on the Cracker Jacks box is Bingo. The Taco Bell Chihuahua is a rescued dog named Gidget.
- On average, a dog’s mouth exerts 320 pounds of pressure.
- Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic (a Pekingese and two Pomeranians).
- Scouting offers two merit badges for dog lovers: Pets and Dog Care.
- Dogs have three eyelids. The third lid, called a nictitating membrane or “haw,” keeps the eye lubricated and protected.
- Humans have kept dogs as pets for more than 12,000 years.
- The most dogs ever owned by one person were 5,000 Mastiffs, owned by Kublai Khan.