The Compelling Canine: Fun Dog Facts
You may think that you know (wo)man’s best friend, but even as veterinary professionals, the team at Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital manages to learn new things about our canine companions from time to time.
Want to know more? Here are a few of our favorite fun dog facts!
Historical Hounds
Dogs have been part of people’s lives for a very long time; in fact the first domesticated wolves are believed to have been people’s partners around 15,000 years ago. There is evidence, though, that dogs and people may go back even further after the finding of a 35,000 year old Siberian wolf bone that shares some DNA with modern dogs.
It is believed that domesticated dogs as we know them originated from places like China, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. These original wolves likely began scavenging from the nomadic tribes of people before becoming domesticated over time.
Over the years these early domesticated dogs have evolved into over 360 breeds of dog, ranging from the Chihuahua to the Irish Wolfhound.
How Dogs See the World
Dogs are different than people and rely on different methods to navigate our world. Some of of the best fun dog facts involve their basic senses.
- Dogs are believed to see the world much like a person with red-green colorblindness
- Dogs have a greater field of peripheral vision than us due to their wide set eyes
- Dogs don’t see as well as we do at longer distances with vision closer to 20/75 than 20/20
- A dog’s sense of smell is 40 times greater than ours
- Dogs hear high pitched sounds much better than us (helpful for hunting small squeaky things)
- In the dark dogs see up to five times better than we do
Favorite Fun Dog Facts
That’s not where it stops, though! There are so many fun dog facts to discuss. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Owning a dog can decrease your risk of heart disease.
- If you play the Beatles song “A Day in the Life”, you may notice an odd reaction from your pup as it contains a frequency only a dog can hear (Paul added it just for his Sheepdog, Martha).
- Dogs have 42 teeth as adults and shed baby teeth just like people.
- A dog’s nose print is just as unique as your fingerprints.
- In 1957 Laika the dog became the first living thing to go into space.
- Having a dog can increase overall quality of life.
- There were three canine survivors of the Titanic sinking.
- Dogs only have sweat glands between their paw pads.
- We have the highest dog population in the world in the United States.
And the Beat Goes On…
Dogs are fascinating creatures, and we know that our clients share our intense love for them. If you have questions about your pet, be it fun facts or health concerns, please call us. We are always happy to talk about one of our favorite species.