[Wasagdu] 40 facts about dogs

[Becky Frankeberger]

     Dogs have been man's best friends for hundreds of years. They are
amazing creatures, about whom we constantly learn something new every day.
Here are 40 curious facts about your four-legged friends which you might not
have known.  


2 of 41 © Tamara Leifer/AP Photo.  
The relationship between humans and dogs as their pets dates back to 12,000
to 18,000 years.

3 of 41 © Kimimasa/REUTERS.   
Everything is not black or white for the dogs. Dogs have two cones in their
eyes, which enables them to see colours on the scale of blue and yellow. 


4 of 41 © Richard Austin/Rex Features.  
If not spayed or neutered, a dog, her mate and their offsprings could
produce as many as 66,000 dogs within a span of six years.

 

5 of 41 © Vadim Ghirda, File/AP Photo.   
Dogs can understand up to 250 words and gestures!


6 of 41 © Jim Mone/AP Photo. 
An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the USA have been mentioned in the primary
wills of their owners.


7 of 41 © ASSOCIATED PRESS.  
The Beatles' song, A Day in the Life, has an extra-high pitch whistle in the
end. The whistle was especially incorporated for Paul McCartney’s Shetland
sheepdog.

8 of 41 © Ocean/Corbis.  
Border collie
Border Collies, the workaholics of the dog world, are considered to be the
most intelligent breed. 


9 of 41 © Darren Staples/REUTERS.  
Afghan Hounds, on the contrary, are popularly considered to be the dumbest
dogs.

10 of 41 © Keystone, Olivier Maire/AP Photo. 
The famous Saint Bernard breed gets its name from the Great St Bernard
Hospice, located in the Swiss Alps. The sanatorium used these gentle giants
of dogs to rescue victims from the snowy Alps.

 

11 of 41 © Damien Dovarganes/AP Photo.  
A dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than that of
humans.


12 of 41 © Edward Kitch/AP Photo.  
Rin Tin Tin was the first Hollywood movie dog star. 
(Pictured) Rin Tin Tin having a sumptuous meal in his hotel room at
Sheraton-Blackstone, Chicago, USA, on June 8, 1956.


13 of 41 © Nati Harnik/AP Photo.   
The Basenji is the only dog in the world who doesn’t bark.


14 of 41 © Guinness World Records 2013 Book, Kevin Scott Ramos, HO/AP Photo.

At 44 inches, Zeus, a Great Dane from Michigan, USA, was named the tallest
dog in the world by the Guinness World Records in 2012 and 2013. He died
from age-related causes in September 2014. 


15 of 41 © Center for American Archaeology, Del Baston/AP Photo. 
This photo, provided by the Center for American Archaeology on November 12,
2013, shows canine bones buried at the Koster site in Greene County,
Illinois, USA. The fossil specimen is dated to 8,500 years ago. A
large-scale DNA study suggests dogs evolved from wolves in Europe some
19,000 to 32,000 years ago.


16 of 41 © Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show/AP Photo.   
Cesky Terriers are the rarest breed of dog, with merely 350 of them alive.


17 of 41 © Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo.  
Dogs can recognise the smell of a range of organic compounds, which enables
them to diagnose signs of cancer, diabetes and epileptic seizures in human
beings.  


18 of 41 © Bloomberg News/Charles Pertwee.   
A spate of incidents involving collapse of lamp posts in Croatia in 2003
were blamed on dogs as dog urine has corroding effects.


19 of 41 © Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.   
Greyhounds can attain speeds of over 70 kmph.


20 of 41 © Jean-Louis Aubert/PhotoAlto/Corbis.   
A dog can locate the source of a sound in 6/100th of a second by using its
ears like a radar.


21 of 41 © Hulton Archive/Getty Images.   
Small Pekingese dogs were used as Chinese emperors' last line of defence.
The dogs were hidden in the emperors' sleeves.


22 of 41 © Hulton Archive/Getty Images.   
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt spent a staggering US $15,000 to send a
destroyer to the Aleutian Islands to pick up his Scottie.


23 of 41 © Tollkühn/ullstein bild via Getty Images.   
In Russia, some dogs are known to use the subway to travel to more populated
areas in search of food.


24 of 41 © Ocean/Corbis.   
A 2009 study by New York professor Alexandra Horowitz found that the 'guilty
dog look' owners know so well is usually triggered by the dog being scolded
by its owner - and is not related to whether the dog has actually misbehaved
or not.  


25 of 41 © Asa Lindholm/Naturbild/Corbi.  
Currently, there are 339 recognised dog breeds, according to the World
Canine Organisation.


26 of 41 © Eduardo Munoz/REUTERS.   
Measuring a mere four inches (10 cm) in height, Boo Boo, a Chihuahua, was
declared the world’s smallest dog by the Guinness World Records in 2010.


27 of 41 © Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.   
Owing to a special membrane, called the tapetum lucidum, dogs are able to
see in the dark.


28 of 41 © Scott Heavey/Getty Images.   
Chihuahuas derive their name from the state in Mexico where they were
discovered.


29 of 41 © Edgard Garrido/REUTERS.   
The Holy Bible mentions dogs 14 times. 


30 of 41 © Matt Cardy/Getty Images.   
Dogs curl up while sleeping to protect their vital organs and abdomen from
predators.


31 of 41 © John Moore/Getty Images.   
A bounty of US $300,000 was put on the head of US Customs' dogs, Rocky and
Barco, by the drug cartel, because of the canine duo's efficiency in
patrolling the Mexican border. 


32 of 41 © ITAR-TASS/REX.   
Laika became the first dog to be sent into space via a Soviet satellite in
1957.


33 of 41 © Stasha Becker/Rex Features.   
"Max" is the most popular dog name worldwide.


34 of 41 © Rex Features.   
An estimated 62 percent of US homes have dogs—that’s close to 72.9 million
homes!


35 of 41 © VALENTIN FLAURAUD/Newscom/Reuters.   
If you ever spot your dog twitching or moving his paws while sleeping, you
can safely consider that he is dreaming.


36 of 41 © Harry Page/Rex Features.   
Dogs are capable of sensing changes in weather. So, if your dog is acting
weird, blame it on an upcoming storm or spell of rain.


37 of 41 © Laszlo Balogh/REUTERS.   
There are an estimated 525 million dogs on this planet. 


38 of 41 © Kelly Miller/Kennel Club/REX.   
Dogs have therapeutic capabilities and have been used for therapy since the
1700's. 


39 of 41 © Aki Yamaguchi/REX.   
Most dog species have as many as 18 muscles to move, tilt and rotate their
ears. 


40 of 41 © Carl Court/Getty Images.   
Getting hugged is NOT one of the favourite activities of dogs as they
consider the gesture of putting a limb over them as a sign of dominance.


41 of 41 © Joe Pepler/REX.   
Dogs' nose prints are as unique as a human’s fingerprints and can be used to
accurately identify them.

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