- Small quantities of grapes and raisins can cause renal failure in dogs. Chocolate, macadamia nuts, cooked onions, or anything with caffeine can also be harmful.
- Apple and pear seeds contain arsenic, which may be deadly to dogs.
- Dogs have sweat glands in between their paws.
- Dogs have three eyelids. The third lid, called a nictitating membrane or “haw,” keeps the eye lubricated and protected.
- A dog’s shoulder blades are unattached to the rest of the skeleton to allow greater flexibility for running.
- Puppies are sometimes rejected by their mother if they are born by caesarean and cleaned up before being given back to her.
- The shape of a dog’s face suggests how long it will live. Dogs with sharp, pointed faces that look more like wolves typically live longer. Dogs with very flat faces, such as bulldogs, often have shorter lives.
- During the Middle Ages, mixed breeds of peasants’ dogs were required to wear blocks around their necks to keep them from breeding with noble hunting dogs. Purebred dogs were very expensive and hunting became the province of the rich.
- The American Kennel Club, the most influential dog club in the United States, was founded in 1884.
- French poodles did not originate in France but in Germany (“poodle” comes from the German pudel or pudelhund, meaning “splashing dog”). Some scholars speculate the poodle’s puffs of hair evolved when hunters shaved the poodle for more efficient swimming, while leaving the pom-poms around the major joints.
- Dachshunds were bred to fight badgers in their dens to keep them warm.
- Dalmatians are completely white at birth.
- A puppy is born blind, deaf, and toothless.
- The Basenji is the world’s only barkless dog.
- A dog most likely interprets a smiling person as baring their teeth, which is an act of aggression.
- Within hours of the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, specially trained dogs were on the scene, including German Shepherds, Labs, and even a few little Dachshunds.
- It costs approximately $10,000 to train a federally certified search and rescue dog.
- The smallest dog on record was a matchbox-size Yorkshire Terrier. It was 2.5″ tall at the shoulder, 3.5″ from nose tip to tail, and weighed only 4 ounces.
- Touch is the first sense the dog develops. The entire body, including the paws, is covered with touch-sensitive nerve endings.
- Eighteen muscles or more can move a dog’s ear.