Interesting Dog Facts for the Year 2018

dog facts, year of the dog, 2018, fun facts

Since the year 2017 is coming to an end and year 2018 is almost here with us, what best way to celebrate the new year which is a Year of the Dog with some dog facts. Some of you may already know some of these facts but some may not. Either way, take this opportunity to review or learn new facts that you might have known about dogs.

Not All Dogs Are the Same

Pet owners who own a dog will think that their dog is definitely the cutest or the smartest and even the sweetest pet they can have. Different kinds of dog breeds means different sizes and fluffiness and even personalities. With all their differences, one thing they share in common is their good sense of smell.

Their Sense of Smell

dog facts, year of the dog, 2018, fun facts dog facts, year of the dog, 2018, fun facts dog facts, year of the dog, 2018, fun facts

The most important sense of a dog is their sense of smell. Their sense of smell is more advanced that what a human have. The dogs have around 125 million to around 300 million olfactory receptors which depends on the dog’s breed while humans have only around 5 to 6 million olfactory receptors.

Among all the dog’s breed, the bloodhound has the greatest number of olfactory receptors though another dog of a different breed may have a far better sense of smell than a typical greyhound. It just depends on how the dog’s body developed.

The dog’s sense of smell is so amazing in a way that they can recognize each person through their natural smell. What’s even more amazing is that dogs that have been trained to sniff for humans in case of emergencies can smell the humans buried under the avalanches and disaster zones. We also know that most dogs are trained to sniff out drugs and even explosives.

While some dogs are trained for detecting drugs for the police and explosives in the battlefield, some dogs are specially trained to detect medical problems of humans. The dogs will not directly sniff out the human but they will sniff out the person’s urine or stool or even their breath. They will smell a certain chemical present at those areas in order to detect and alert the medical personnel if the person has some sort of medical issue. Once the dog has alerted them, the researchers will identify what chemical is present and may find a chance for a cure to the person’s illness.

Seeing in the Dark

Enough talking about the dog’s sense of smell, and now let’s talk about their sense of sight. While us humans will find it difficult to see in the dark, dogs can see better in the dark.

People also think that dogs can only see gray, in fact they can see some other colors aside from gray. But even though they can see some other colors, the range of colors they can see is very limited. It is because their retinas have only two types of cones, while humans have three types. The range of colors that the dogs can’t distinguish is from the red to green spectrum of colors. When they see it, it will look like a shade of yellow or grey.

Heart Beat Rate

Let’s talk about other things aside from the dog’s senses. Let’s talk about the dog’s heart beat. A dog’s heart rate is faster than a human. A dog at rest will have 70 tp 160 beats per minute. Though their heart rate will depend on the dog’s size and their fitness. A human while at rest will have a heart rate of around 60 to 100 beats per minute.

Genetic Disorders

Heterochromia is a genetic disorder in which one eye color is different from the other eye. A siberian husky is prone to heterochromia. Even though most siberian huskies have heterochromia, it will not affect their vision.

Body Temperature

Did you know that the body temperature of a normal and perfectly healthy dog is at 38 degrees Celsius, which is slightly higher that a human which is at 37 degrees Celsius.

Three Eyelids

Did you also know that the dogs have three eyelids? We humans have an upper and lower eyelid, while the dog has a third eyelid which is called the nictitating membrane. This nictitating membrane moves in a horizontal direction over their eyes and not vertical direction like the upper and lower eyelid. You can find the nictitating membrane near the tear ducts just around the corner of their eye when they are at rest and not blinking. And when the dog blinks, this membrane will transport or apply lubricating tears on the dog’s eyes.

Being at Comfortable

If you find your dog spinning around before it goes to snuggle or before eating, it is a sign that your dog is making himself feel at home. It is one of the dog’s nesting traits and is also a good sign that you have a very happy dog at home.

Nose Prints

dog facts, year of the dog, 2018, fun facts dog facts, year of the dog, 2018, fun facts dog facts, year of the dog, 2018, fun facts

While humans have fingerprints to identify themselves, a dog has some kind identification too. Aside from their looks, their some sort of fingerprint is their nose print which is unique from each dog.

Dog Dreams

If humans can dream while they sleep, dogs dream too. Most dog owners might have seen their dog twitching or howling while they sleep which is actually fun to look at, but they are just enjoying their dream.

Dog Pee

Be careful on where your dogs pee because their pee contains a strong acid that will corrode metal. Watch out for dog cages, metal lamp posts, or fences with metals in it for it will corrode fast without a good anti corrosion coating.

Aren’t these dog facts interesting? Let’s celebrate the year of the dog with a smile!

Photo Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.