Dogs

Dogs belong to the species Canis lupus familiaris, making them part of the same family (Canidae) as wolves, foxes, and jackals!

A group of dogs is called a pack, just like their wild wolf cousins!

Dogs can be found living with humans on every continent except Antarctica!

A dog’s nose print is unique, just like a human’s fingerprint, and can be used to identify them!

Dogs have about 1,700 taste buds, while humans have around 9,000!

A dog’s sense of smell is up to 100,000 times stronger than a human’s, letting them detect just one drop of liquid in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

The average adult dog has 42 teeth, which is 10 more teeth than adult humans have!

The tallest dog ever recorded was a Great Dane named Zeus, who measured 44 inches (112 centimeters) tall from paw to shoulder!

The smallest dog breed is the Chihuahua, which can weigh as little as 2 pounds (0.9 kg)!

Dogs have three eyelids, including a special third eyelid called the nictitating membrane that helps keep their eyes moist and protected!

A dog’s whiskers help them navigate in the dark by detecting changes in air currents!

Dogs can hear sounds at frequencies up to 65,000 Hz, while humans can only hear up to 20,000 Hz!

The average body temperature of a healthy dog is between 101-102.5°F (38.3-39.2°C), which is warmer than humans!

Dogs have sweat glands only in their paw pads and cool down mainly by panting!

Dogs can understand over 150 words and can count up to five!

When dogs wag their tail to the right, it usually means they’re happy, but when they wag to the left, it often signals anxiety or uncertainty!

Dogs dream just like humans do, and puppies and senior dogs tend to dream more frequently than adult dogs!

Dogs can learn to understand sign language and help deaf people navigate their daily lives!

Dogs can smell human emotions through changes in our body chemistry!

A dog’s yawn is often “contagious” among other dogs and even humans because it’s a form of empathy!

Dogs can gauge the passage of time through their sense of smell, as scents become fainter throughout the day!

Dogs make eye contact with humans they trust, but avoid it with dogs they don’t know as it can be seen as a challenge!

Dogs can recognize human faces on photographs and even on smartphone screens!

Dogs have the intelligence level similar to a 2-year-old human child and can learn over 165 words and signals!

Dogs have lived alongside humans for at least 15,000 years, making them one of our oldest animal companions!

The first dogs were domesticated from wolves somewhere in Eurasia between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago!

There are over 300 recognized dog breeds in the world today!

Dogs can survive in almost any climate where humans live, from the Arctic to the desert!

Working dogs like huskies can run for hours and cover up to 100 miles (161 kilometers) in a single day!

A dog’s paw pads contain a special type of fat tissue that prevents them from freezing in cold weather!

Dogs in the wild often sleep in dens, which inspired the modern dog crate that many pets feel safe in!

Dogs mark their territory with urine because each dog’s scent is as unique as a human fingerprint!

Some dogs can smell diseases in humans, including certain types of cancer!

Dogs can be trained to detect earthquakes seconds before humans feel them!

Puppies are born blind and deaf, and don’t open their eyes until they’re about two weeks old!

A newborn puppy spends 90% of its time sleeping!

Most puppies get their first teeth at around 2-3 weeks of age!

Dogs reach adolescence at about 6-8 months old!

Small dog breeds typically live longer than large breeds, with some small dogs living up to 20 years!

One year in a dog’s life isn’t exactly seven human years — dogs age faster when they’re young and slower when they’re older!

A mother dog starts producing milk about two days before giving birth!

Puppies develop their sense of smell first, even before they can see or hear!

Female dogs typically carry their puppies for about 63 days before giving birth!

Puppies learn important social skills from their littermates between 3 and 12 weeks of age!

Adult dogs have 42 teeth specially designed for eating both meat and plants!

A medium-sized dog needs to drink about one ounce of water per pound of body weight each day to stay healthy!

Dogs can’t digest chocolate because they lack an enzyme that humans have, which makes chocolate toxic for them!

A puppy needs to eat about twice as much food as an adult dog because they’re growing so quickly!

Dogs don’t need to chew their food as thoroughly as humans because their digestive acids are about three times stronger than ours!

An adult dog’s stomach can hold up to 2.5 to 3 quarts (2.4-2.8 liters) of food at once!