15 amazing dog facts

Do you think you know everything about our four-legged companions? Then put your knowledge to the test. These 15 amazing dog facts may surprise you.

Did you know….?

1. A dog’s sense of smell is more than 1 million times stronger than that of a person (a dog has more than 220 million olfactory receptors in its nose, while humans have only 5 million)
2. Spaying or neutering your dog can help prevent certain types of cancer.
3. The reason dogs curl up is because of an age-old instinct to keep themselves warm and to protect vital organs while they sleep.
4. A dog’s nose print is one of a kind, very similar to a person’s fingerprint.
5. 10 million pets are missing annually worldwide. Only less than 20% of dogs are reunited with their owners. With Tractive GPS dog owners always know where their beloved friend is and it therefore gives them a feeling of safety 🙂
6. Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their skull which closes with age.
7. Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (a natural substance arising from the cocoa bean – similar to caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill.
8. After birth, puppies’ eyes do not fully open until they’re about 12 days old.
9. Dogs have twice as many ear muscles as people and their sense of hearing is more than 10 times more accurate than that of a person.
10. 58% put pets in family and holiday portraits.
11. The world’s smartest dogs are thought to be (1) the border collie, (2) the poodle, and (3) the golden retriever.
12. The world’s smallest dog breed is the Chihuahua and the St. Bernard is the heaviest.
13. Obesity is the #1 health problem among dogs (Tractive MOTION can help pet owners prevent overweight and obesity by monitoring the health and activity of their four-legged friends)
14. The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world. France has the 2nd highest.
15. Seventy percent of people sign their pets name on greeting/holiday cards. (Why not? Our pets are family)