Top 10 Dog Facts
Dogs are our world here at leading dog sitting service Barking Mad. We are constantly intrigued by the data and trivia surrounding our beloved pets and can’t wait to share the fascinating information with you. As time goes on, we are discovering more and more about man’s best friend. Here are our favourite top ten dog facts:
– Dogs have 42 teeth in adulthood
– There are more than 200 breeds of dog
– Unlike humans who are mainly right handed, dogs are split evenly between being right and left pawed
– Dogs don’t like rain because the amplified sound hurts their sensitive ears
– Dogs can learn around 250 words on average – which makes them as smart as a two year old toddler
– The average lifespan for a purebred dog is 11.9 years with crossbreeds averaging 13.1 years
– Dogs have an incredibly powerful sense of smell
– Dogs only have sweat glands in their paws
– Dogs have about one-sixth of the taste buds that humans possess
– Dogs are good for your health
1. 42 pearly whites
Vets4Pets, the UK’s largest veterinary group, advises: “Dogs have 42 permanent teeth, 20 on the top and 22 on the bottom. These adult teeth replace the baby teeth by about 6-8 months old.”
2. Which dog breed is your favourite?
From tiny Chihuahuas to gigantic Great Danes, we love them all – how about you? As of 2018, The Kennel Club recognised 221 dog breeds, with the latest being a Black and Tan Coonhound.
3. Right or left paw forward?
Unlike humans who are mainly right handed, research from the University of Manchester concluded that dogs don’t have this preference. The research concludes: “Paw preferences in domestic dogs were studied using three different behavioural tests, recording frequency, duration and latency of paw use. No overall population tendency to right- or left-paw preference was seen on any of the tests, nor could a sub-population of handed dogs be detected.”
4. Dogs hate rain more than us
If you have ever wondered why your dog hates rain but loves to go swimming or splash in puddles, it could all be down to the sound rain makes! Dogs can hear about four times as far away as humans and have very sensitive ears.
5. Dogs really do understand
In 2016 research from the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary confirmed that dogs really can understand human speech. The ‘Neural Mechanisms for Lexical Processing in Dogs study was the first to investigate how dogs follow speech and found that our canine best friends did not just pick up on tone of voice. The study showed that dogs were capable of learning the meaning of up to 1000 words, with their brains working in a similar way to humans. At Barking Mad, we have been hugely impressed with the intelligence of holidaying pooches and astounded by the diversity of words which they respond to.
6. Average lifespan
According to research from the RSPCA the average purebred dog lives to 11.9 years, with crossbreeds averaging 13.1 years. As dog lovers, we understand that however long your dog lives, it’s never long enough. That’s why in 2017 we founded the UK’s first Dog Remembrance Month to provide a platform for people who have suffered the pain of dog bereavement.
7. Astounding sense of smell
Dogs have such a powerful sense of smell that they can even be trained to detect the odour of human disease! Life-changing charity Medical Detection Dogs trains ‘Bio-Detection Dogs’ to find the odour of diseases such as cancer in samples such as urine, breath and swabs.
8. Sweaty paws!
Unlike humans, dogs only have sweat glands in their paws. Their main method of cooling down their bodies is by panting. Panting is an extremely effective process of heat loss where breathing becomes rapid and short, the mouth opens and blood supply is increased to the tongue.
9. Tasting treats
Although dogs have very powerful hearing and sense of smell, they only have around 1,700 taste buds compared to a human’s 9000, meaning that they are not particularly sensitive to different tastes. This may explain their habit of eating some not so delightful things!
10. Dogs are good for you
At Barking Mad, we see the benefits of spending time with friendly dogs on a daily basis. You can read more about our dog sitting host families here, who care for holidaying dogs in their own homes. They receive all the positive effects of dog ownership without the full time emotional and financial responsibility. The NHS discusses how owning a dog may make older people fitter , with various pieces of research suggesting that just stroking a pet can lower blood pressure and therefore reduce the likelihood of heart problems or strokes. Our hosts tell us that caring for a dog encourages them to get out and walk more, which can only be a good thing!
