Top 10 Dynamic Dog Facts

Woof Wednesday

You might know everything there is to know about your breed of dog -- or simply just about your pooch in general -- but we have the top 10 fun facts for all dog kind!

#10 Toilet Break?

Ever wonder why a little puppy always has accidents during the night, and why, though you try so hard, you can never fix it? Well, that’s because all puppies are unable to control or "hold it in" overnight until they’re about four months old. Which, you have to admit, takes a lot less time than toilet training a human baby!

#9 Time Keepers

Dogs have a fantastic internal clock. They know when it’s time for walks, play, dinner, bed, and always, always, when you come home from work -- especially if you keep to a regular schedule. In fact, you might want to just start setting your watch to the dog.

#8 Catdog?

It might sound really strange, but some dogs actually lick their paws and then clean their heads, just like cats. If they start meowing, though, it might be time to start worrying…or double-check to make sure you don’t actually own a cat.

#7 Can’t Change Spots?

We all know leopards can’t change their spots, but did you know all Dalmatian puppies are born pure white? It’s true. Don’t they even mention it on Disney’s 101 Dalmatians…

#6 Fetch

Fetch might seem to be, in our minds at least, a dog’s naturally favorite game. After all, it’s what they always talk about in books and movies and TV. But it’s not. A dog’s very favorite game, one you’ll never have to teach him is "keep away." Keep away is where you try and take a toy from the dog. It’s fun. Fetch, however, is a game that needs to be taught.

#5 Colorblind

Dogs aren’t completely colorblind! They can see in color, just not as well as we do. There is much debate as to which colors they can detect, but many experts believe dogs have fewer retinal cones cell -- because of this, they are red-green colorblind (or dichromatic). What does this mean for you? Not much. You may want to purchase more blue and yellow toys, though. It might make your dog happier.

#4 Smelly Fido

Yes. All dogs smell. We don’t mean they’re stinky (though if yours is, we’d suggest it’s high time for a bath!), but they can smell, extremely well. A dog’s sense of smell, in fact, is more than 100,000 times stronger than yours. So don’t fool yourself, he knows where you hid the bone.

#3 Go, Dog, Go

The Greyhound is officially the world’s fastest dog. They can run at over 40 miles per hour. We’d be lucky if to get to three miles per hour. But even if you were faster than the average human, we still wouldn’t recommend challenging the next Greyhound you see to a race.

#2 Presidential Pups

George Washington was a dog lover. But it seems he was very partial to a certain breed of dog: the Foxhound. So partial he had 36 of them! That’s a lot of doggy bags to carry on the daily walks.

#1 Ancestors

Ever wonder where dogs really came from? Wonder no more. Dogs are descended from wolves. Archaeological evidence suggests dogs might have diverged from the wolf family between 15,000 to 40,000 years ago, inheriting their complex social hierarchy and behaviors. Some dogs like the Alaskan Malamute and German Shepherd have even retained their wolf-like appearance.

And there you go, 10 fun facts about dogs.

Image: Dora Zett / Shutterstock