The Other Friends 1: 10 fun facts about dogs

10 fun facts about dogs

1. A dog’s heart beats between 70 and 120 times a minute, compared with a human heart which beats 70 to 80 times a minute.

2. 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.

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

4. The ten most popular dogs (AKC, 2007) are in order:

Labrador Retriever, Yorkshire Terrier, German Shepherd,
Golden Retriever, Beagle, Boxer, Dachshund, Poodle,
Shih Tzu, and Bulldog.

5. A greyhound can run as fast as 45 miles an hour.

6. It has been established that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks.

7. All dogs can be traced back 40 million years ago to a weasel-like animal called the Miacis which dwelled in trees and dens. The Miacis later evolved into the Tomarctus,a direct forbearer of the genus Canis, which includes the wolf and jackal as well as the dog.

8. Seventy percent of people sign their pet’s name on greeting cards and 58 percent include their pets infamily and holiday portraits, according to a survey done by the American Animal Hospital Association.

9. A dog’s whiskers are touch-sensitive hairs called vibrissae. They are found on the muzzle, above the eyes and below the jaws, and can actually sense tiny changes in airflow.

10. Dogs can smell about 1,000 times better than humans. While humans have 5 million smell-detecting cells, dogs have more than 220 million. The part of the brain that interprets smell is also four times larger in dogs than in humans.