Did you know that over 48 million households in the U.S. own dogs?
While we love our furry friends, it’s shocking how little we actually know about them! So, here are 31 doggone facts for the 31 days of Dogust. Enjoy!
1. A dog’s nose print is unique, just like a fingerprint!
2. Seventy percent of people sign their dog’s name on holiday cards.
3. Dog eyes have a part called the tapetum lucidum, allowing night vision.
4. Human blood pressure decreases when petting a dog.
5. Ninety-eight percent of pet owners consider their pets to be a part of the family.
6. Seventy four percent of pet owners report mental health improvement from pet ownership.
7. When dogs kick backward after they go to the bathroom, it’s not to cover it up, but to mark their territory, using the scent glands in their feet.
8. All puppies are born deaf and don’t develop their hearing until they are about 3 weeks old.
9. Forty-five percent of U.S. dogs sleep in their owner’s bed.
10. Dogs are not colorblind. They see blue and yellow.
11. Obesity is the number one health problem among dogs.
12. There are over 75 million pet dogs in the U.S.—more than in any other country.
13. Dog noses are wet to help absorb scent chemicals.
14. Newfoundlands have water-resistant coats and webbed feet.
15. Three dogs survived the Titanic sinking.
16. The tallest dog in the world is 44 inches tall.
17. Nearly a third of Dalmatians are deaf in one ear.
18. A dog’s hearing is four times more acute than a human’s.
19. The world’s oldest dog lived to be 29 years and 282 days old.
20. Dogs have 18 muscles controlling their ears.
21. A blind woman hiked the entire Appalachian trail with the help of her guide dog.
22. If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could produce over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!
23. Dogs only have sweat glands between their paw pads.
24. A 1-year-old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15-year-old human.
25. Dogs can be trained to detect epileptic seizures.
26. Greyhounds are the fastest dogs on earth, with speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
27. Humans have kept dogs as pets for over 12,000 years.
28. Dogs do not have an appendix.
29. A dog’s smell is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of a human’s.
30. Rin Tin Tin was the first Hollywood dog star, and he signed his contracts with a pawprint.
31. The earliest dog fossil dates back to nearly 10,000 B.C.
