- A puppy will reach half it’s adult weight in just 4-5 months
- When they are first born puppies, have heat sensors in their noses so they can still locate their mum even though their eyes and ears are closed
- During the phase of rapid growth, a puppy requires between 18 to 20 hours of sleep or rest each day
- Depending on the breed it takes another 7 – 19 months to reach its adult size
- The fastest of all the dog breeds is the grey hound which has been clocked at speeds over 72 km/per hour
- Dogs with raised ears have a better sense of hearing then those with floppy ears
- The life span of dogs is between 10 and 14 years but luckily for owners this is continuing to increase with each decade
- As a general rule, smaller breeds such as Jack Russell’s live longer than larger breeds like Great Danes
- Patting your dog releases the hormone oxytocin (it’s a feel good hormone) in both people and dogs.
- Although all dogs are omnivores (that means they can eat meat, grain and vegetables), the bulk of their diet should be meat or meat meal based
- The nose print on dogs is unique to each dog just like our finger prints are unique
- The first animal in space, traveling around earth was a Russian Dog called Laika
- Many people believe that dogs are colour blind. They actually only lack red receptors in their eyes so they see a world in black, white and shades or blue and yellow
- The only place that a dog can sweat is through it’s paws
- Dogs have a total of three eyelids. One of these is solely to keep their eyes moist and protected
- The Basenji is the only breed of dog that doesn’t bark
- All dogs share 99.4% DNA with wolves
- Dogs like to curl up when they sleep to not only stay warm but to instinctively protect their vital organs
- Dogs have 6 million smell receptors in their nose
- Dogs will appear to sneeze but often just cleaning their nose for the next set of smells
- A good working dog is equivalent to approximately 2 humans
- Dogs have been used in wars to carry supplies, notes and first aid including the Airedale Terrier. Some even had gas masks made for them
- The bite pressure of the average dog is 22kg per square cm
- A dog has twice the number of muscles in their ear compared to humans. This allows for accurate and minute control
- The female dog (known as the bitch) carries puppies for an average of nine weeks prior to their birth
- If your dog buries a bone, it is usually an indicator of it being well fed
