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Dog-Blog
(Some facts and lists about "Mans Best
Friend")
Dogs
- From Wolves to "Best of Breed"
It is thought that Dogs were first domesticated
from wolves at least 15,000 to 17,000 years
ago, but there is fossil and DNA evidence that
they may have existed as early as 150,000 years
ago. Today the most popular theory is that dogs
are directly descended from Canis Lupus - the
Grey Wolf and that dogs are more closely related
to the Grey Wolf than Biologists had previously
suspected.
Around 17000 BC men had started living in groups
within camps and these camps began to attract
the attention of wolves, finding the bones and
scraps an easier food source than hunting. Humans
quickly began to recognise the advantage of
having these "camp followers" around,
wolves with their keen sense of smell and hearing
could warn of impending danger from the wild
animals and even other hostile humans.
Gradually over the centuries men and dogs have
developed a unique interspecies relationship
resulting in the range of identifiable breeds
(200+) sizes, shapes and colours we recognise
today.
Although dogs were first bred for their usefulness
to man (hunting, guarding, herding etc.) in
recent centuries they have become more popular
as “companions”.
It is fascinating that all the dogs we see today,
in all the different sizes and shapes, have
a common heritage and that many of the facts,
relating to dogs, we have listed below will
apply to your pet dog.
Some
interesting facts about dogs
- Dogs
were the first animals domesticated by humans.
- Chihuahuas
are, in general, the smallest dogs
- The
smallest recorded dog is a Yorkshire Terrier;
it was 2.5 inches at the shoulder and weighed
4 ounces.
- Irish
Wolfhounds are the largest dogs.
- Great
Danes are the tallest.
- St.
Bernards are the heaviest
- Greyhounds
are the fastest dogs achieving speeds of up
to 45 mph for short periods of time.
- The
most intelligent dogs are reportedly the Border
Collie and the Poodle.
- The
least intelligent dogs are the Afghan Hound
and the Basenji.
- Dogs,
on average, live to around 15 years of age.
- The
oldest reliable age recorded for a dog is
29 years, 5 months
- It
is estimated that a dog's power of smell is
1000 times better than humans.
- A
dog’s nose has about 14 times more scent
cells than a human’s.
- A
dogs hearing is about ten times better than
a humans, typically hearing
sounds 250 yards away.
- Most
dogs have about 10 vocal sounds.
- Dogs
do not sweat through their tongues but through
sweat glands between the pads of their feet.
- A
dog's body temperature is between 100.2 -
102.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dogs
can donate blood to other dogs
- All
dogs have a pink tongue except the chow, chow's
tongues are black.
- Dogs
have three eyelids. An upper and lower eyelid
and a third inside these two. It helps protect
the eye from dirt and dust
- The
basenji, an African dog, is the only dog that
cannot bark.
- The
New Guinea Singing Dog not only sings but
it can also climb trees
- Dogs,
like humans, can be either right or left handed
(pawed)
- Dogs
are omnivorous (eat both meat and vegetable
foods)
- Some
dogs
can alert their owners of an epileptic seizure
up to an hour before it occurs.
- Newly
born puppies are deaf, blind, have no teeth
and almost no sense of smell. Keeping near
their mother and siblings for warmth.
- Generally
a puppy is only able to crawl during its first
week
- A
pup will begin to see when it is between 2
to 3 weeks old
- A
puppy will develop its sense of smell at about
3 weeks.
-
3 to 7 weeks after birth a puppy developes
its first teeth.
- Quite
often a puppy will sleep for 14 hours every
day.
- Dogs
will be mature by six months old and smaller
breeds usually mature before the larger breeds.
A
final fact------Studies show that people
with pets live longer, have less stress, and fewer
health problems. (Source: American Pet Product
Manufacturers Association)
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