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Dogs are fascinating, loving, loyal, mysterious, and bona fide heart stealers. Millions of dog moms and dads agree (87 million in the U.S., the last time we checked). From their incredible sense of smell to what makes their tails wag, fun facts about dogs remind us how truly special our canine family members are.
Even the savviest dog moms and dads may be surprised by some lesser-known but fascinating and downright quirky facts about canines. What follows is a collection of Petful’s favorite family-friendly facts about Fido. The next time you’re at the dog park, visiting a fellow dog lover’s home, or to impress your family and friends, share one or more of these fun facts about dogs.
Fun Facts About Dogs
Dogs are descendants of wolves, right? Well, sort of. Dogs are domesticated wolves, meaning a combination of humans and selective breeding transformed wolves into modern dogs. It’s really fascinating, as domestication helped shape dogs over thousands of years.
From a scientific point of view, dogs and wolves genetically split between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. That dog who shares your bed, couch, and life is an ancestor to an ancient population of now-extinct wolves. Amazing, isn’t it?
See how many of these fun facts about dogs are new to you. We hope this collection of weird, quirky, and less-common dog tidbits gives you reason to pause and share an extra treat or tummy rub with your BFF.
Each Dog’s Nose Print Is As Unique as a Human Fingerprint
Just as humans have unique fingerprints, as no two are alike, a dog’s nose print is unique to that particular pooch. A dog’s nose does much more than look adorable on your dog’s face.
Humans have five million scent receptors, whereas dogs have at least 300 million! In her book, Being a Dog: Following a Dog Into a World of Smell, one of my favorite authors, Professor Alexandra Horowitz, discussed the power of a dog’s nose.
“An animal’s light footsteps along a path on a cold day would leave a trail of smell visible to the dog’s nose—still there, to the dog,” Horowitze notes. “To the human eye, the footsteps may be all but invisible, and the animal itself long gone.”
Fun Fact: Some kennels and shelters keep records of dogs’ noseprints so they can be easily identified.
Dogs Can Tell Time In a Special Way
When it comes to interesting dog trivia, impress your friends with this nugget of canine information. Dogs use their sense of smell as a timer or hourglass of sorts. Your dog can tell how long you’ve been gone by how much of your scent remains. This helps them anticipate your return.
Has your dog ever given “the stare” or started to get antsy around mealtime? That’s because a dog’s body follows a cycle that includes hormonal shifts, hunger levels, and routine cues (walk time, play time, etc.) to help them anticipate food time. Dogs cannot tell time as we do, but they can smell the passing of time and sense changes in light, body cues, and routine.
Fun Fact: Dogs have such incredible noses that some can detect cancer, seizures, low blood sugar, and even COVID-19. There are cases of dogs without training saving their pet parents’ lives because they sniffed out something life-threatening on their body.
Some Dogs Can Learn Over 1,000 Words
In preparing for this article, I tested my dog, Sir Alvin, and realized that he knows over 100 words at this point in his young life. He probably knows more than I can recall because he’s always one step ahead of me.
Perhaps your dog is like Chaser, a Border Collie with his own book, who knew well over 1,000 words. From 2004 to 2019, Chaser worked with a well-known cognition psychologist. Not only could Chaser recall over 1,000 words, but she could also associate new words after a single introduction and understand simple sentences.
All dogs have training potential, as long as sessions are filled with patience, ease, and plenty of rewards. Never expect your dog to be a canine Einstein, but work with your pooch and their own level of cognition. Learning new words, whether your dog is hearing impaired or not, keeps dogs mentally stimulated.
Dogs Were Aboard the Ill-Fated Titanic
Jack and Rose are fictitious characters from the Titanic movie, but real dogs were aboard the Titanic’s first and only maiden voyage. At least 12 dogs boarded the ship, but only three survived. All three were smaller breeds that remained in the cabins with their owners.
Two Pomeranians and a Pekingese were the three surviving dogs on the Titanic. Sadly, the other nine dogs were much larger, kept in kennels, and did not survive. Some accounts report that the kennelled dogs were released as the Titanic tilted.
A Barkless Dog Exists
An article about cool dog facts has to include the Basenji, otherwise known as a barkless dog. Due to the shape of its voicebox, the breed doesn’t bark but emits a yodel or “baroo” sound. First bred in central Africa, the Basenji’s lack of a bark was ideal for hunters sneaking up on their prey.
As part of the American Kennel Club’s Hound group, the Basenji is smart and poised but very independent. They tend to groom themselves like a cat, which adds to their appeal and uniqueness.
Dogs Have Sweat Glands in Unique Places
Unlike humans, dogs do not have sweat glands in their underarm pits. Instead, a dog’s sweat glands are on their paw pads and as part of their apocrine glands. Dogs cool themselves down by panting so that moisture evaporates from their mouth and respiratory passages.
However, the only place dogs sweat to cool and release small amounts of heat is in their merocrine glands, located in their paw pads.
A dog’s apocrine glands are located throughout the body and related to their hair follicles. They act to release pheromones for communication and scent.
Dogs Can “Catch” Yawns From Humans
If you’ve ever yawned and your dog followed in kind, you have a strong connection to each other. The human-animal bond is as close as a yawn away. Called contagious yawning, the act is deeply rooted in the evolution of canines.
A study at the University of Tokyo proved that over half of the dogs monitored yawned after watching their owners yawn. This further showcases the emotional bond shared between dog and human.
Some Dogs Have Webbed Paws
If you ever want fun facts about dogs for kids, this is one of my favorites. Having webbed paws helps certain breeds with traction, swimming, and better digging. This helps if the dog was bred to hunt, swim, rescue in the water, or support itself on muddy terrain.
Some breeds with webbed feet include the following:
- Labrador Retriever
- Newfoundland (“Newfie”)
- Irish Water Spaniel
- Portuguese Water Dog
- Poodle (standard variety)
- German Wirehaired Pointer
Dogs Dream Just Like People
If you ever see your dog twitching, yelping, or moving their legs while sleeping, they are likely in REM sleep mode, which means dreaming! Depending on who you ask, what dogs dream about is up for debate. Since dogs can’t tell us what they dream about (yet), they are believed to dream of their owners, daily experiences, and life experiences in general.
“(Dogs) probably dream about their owners and interacting with other dogs and with people that they enjoy,” according to José Arce, a veterinarian and the former president of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Puppies Are Born Deaf, Blind, and Toothless
Surprising dog facts alert: Puppies are born deaf and blind. Most puppies open their eyes and begin to hear between 2 and 3 weeks of age. Their tightly sealed eyelids protect their developing eyes from bright light and outside damage. A puppy’s ear canals are also closed at birth, so they are at the mercy of their human caregivers and mama dog.
Inside their tiny mouths, there are no teeth at birth. They rely on their mother’s milk while nursing. Between 2 and 4 weeks, their baby teeth begin to erupt. When they reach 6 to 8 weeks, puppies have 28 sharp, tiny baby teeth.
Just For Fun Facts About Dogs
Here are 10 more random facts about our canines to impress your friends and family and build up your trivia knowledge:
- Dalmatians are born white, and their spots come out later.
- The Beatles’ song, “A Day in the Life,” contains a frequency that only dogs can hear.
- Dogs don’t see the full spectrum of colors we do; instead, they see in mostly blues and yellows.
- A dog’s night vision is better than that of people thanks to a reflective layer in their eyes called the tapetum lucidum.
- A wagging tail isn’t always a sign of joy. Sometimes dogs wag with fear or stress.
- The Norwegian Lundehund breed has six toes on each paw.
- Laika, a mixed breed, was the first dog sent to space from Moscow in 1957.
- The Greyhound is the fastest dog breed, with speeds up to 45 miles per hour.
- The Poodle did not originate in France, as their roots are German.
- Dogs communicate with people with at least 20 canine facial expressions.
Dog Facts for Dog Lovers
Our dogs keep us company and light up our lives. Since they can’t tell us what’s on their mind, we love sharing facts to help pet parents better understand these fascinating pets.
Explore more dog fun, facts, products, and safety tips on Petful.com. In the meantime, tell your dogs we said hello, and be the best pet parent you can be. Your dog will thank you for it!
Feature photo by Simona Kidrič/Pexels
Beagle photo by Timo Piredda/Pexels
Basenji photo by TomasHa/Pexels Yawning dog Photo by Ivan Babydov/Pexels
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