So you think you know everything that that is to know about man’s best friend? There are many things that are common knowledge about dogs such how they like to chase cats and love peanut butter. However, here are a few things that you may not know about our four legged furry friends.
1. Dogs are really smart
The average dog has the intelligence of a human child that is two years old. Most dogs can remember up to 250 words, commands, or gestures. Most dogs can count to five and do simple mathematical calculations. Have you ever noticed that dogs can things such as opening doors in the home and finding food? They also tend to mimic certain behaviors, just like your two year old little brother or sister.
2. Dogs don’t like hugs
While a nice warm hug is something that most of us love, dogs don’t like it as much as we think they do. Dogs interpret putting limb over another animal as a sign of dominance.
3. Service dogs know their job
Service dogs are trained to know when they are working and when they are not. If you have ever seen a service dog, you will notice that they are very quiet and docile. That is how they are trained to behave when they are wearing their work vests or harnesses. Once the work gear comes off, they jump around and are energetic like any other dog you know.
4. Seeing Eye dogs know special commands
Dogs that work as seeing eye dogs to the blind are trained to urinate and defecate on command. This makes it easy for their handlers to clean up after them even though they are blind. The male dog is also trained to pee like a girl dog, without raising his leg.
5. Dogs as Defense
Have you ever heard the phrase, what are you hiding up your sleeve? That phrase comes from ancient China. If an emperor was attacked, his last resort was a Pekingese dog that he kept hidden up the sleeve of his robes.
6. Spikes for Spike
Many people put spiked collars on their dogs to make them look tough and cool. However, these collars were invented by the ancient Greek people that wanted to protect their dogs from having their throats bitten by wolves.
7. Stinky Paws
Dogs get their own form of body odor which is commonly referred to as Frito Feet. Because the dog’s feet are always on the ground, they pick up bacteria and microorganisms. That bacteria added to the sweat from the dog’s feet releases a smell that many people have described as smelling like popcorn, nuts, or Frito corn chips.
8. Classy dogs don’t lap
The next time you have the urge to lap up the milk from your cereal like a dog, make sure you do it right. They don’t actually drink by collecting water on the front of the tongue. They bend the tips of their tongues to form a “cup” at the back of the tongue.
9. The dog with no bark
The Basenji is a hunting dog that came from central Africa. It has a larynx that is shaped differently than other dogs, therefore it cannot bark. The noise that this dog makes is almost like a yodel.
10. They’re more than just cute
You may think that it is so cute that your dog curls up into a ball when they go to sleep. They do this my instinct. They curl up to stay warm and they are also protecting their bellies from predators.
Now that you know more about your dog, let’s see if you can teach your dog some new tricks!
Leave a Reply