Fun Facts About Dogs and Cats Fun Dog Facts
1. More than 53 million dogs now live in the United States - about 1/3 of all U.S. households have one or more dogs. 2. A female carries her young about 60 days before the puppies are born. 3. Puppies do not wag their tails until about 30 days after birth. 4. The earliest recorded tail wag was observed in a 17-day-old puppy. 5. Dogs cool themselves by panting. They only have sweat glands in the pads of their feet. 6. Dogs are able to hear sounds that we cannot. 7. The shape of a dog’s ears helps with hearing 8. A dog can hear sounds 250 yards away that most people cannot hear beyond 25 yards. 9. Their ears are more mobile than ours are, and a dog can adjust them to maximize reception. Eighteen or more muscles tilt, raise and rotate a dog’s ears for the best possible sound reception. 10. A dog can hear sounds 250 yards away that most people cannot hear beyond 25 yards. 11. A dog can recognize moving objects nearly half a mile away. However, if those objects remain, the dog may not notice them. This is very helpful in hunting fast moving prey. 12. Dogs don’t see color very well. The ability to see color depends on the number and type of color-sensitive cells—called cones—in the eye. 13. The Basenji, an African wolf dog, is the only dog that cannot bark. 14. Irish Wolfhounds rank as the largest dog and Chihuahuas as the smallest dog. 15. Dogs and most other carnivores have a pair of blade-like teeth called the carnassials (car NAS ee uhls) in their upper and lower jaws. These teeth work like scissors to slice through food. 16. Fossil and genetic evidence confirms that all dogs are the descendants of wolves; the DNA of the wolf and the dog are almost identical. 17. Nearly all but two breeds of dogs have pink tongues. The two exceptions? The Chow Chow and the Shar-pei, both with black tongues. 18. Dalmatian puppies are born pure white, with their spots developing as the mature. 19. Most dog guardians say their pet causes them smile more than once a day.
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Fun Facts About Dogs and Cats
20. It is a myth that dogs see a black and white world. Dogs see in color, but not the same way that we do. They can see bluish and greenish shades but not reddish ones.
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Fun Facts About Dogs and Cats Fun Cat Facts
1. The modern domestic cat is a descendant of African and European wildcats. 2. The cat’s sense of smell is 30 times better than that of a human 3. North American colonists brought cats from Europe to protect their granaries. When settlers moved West, cats went along in covered wagons. 4. A cat’s ability to retain information is superior to that of other domestic animals. 5. The intelligence of a cat is equal to that of a two or three year old child.; some people consider cats to be the most intelligent of all domestic animals. 6. The cat’s sense of smell is 30 times better than ours is. 7. Cats have scent glands on their face, feet, around their eyes, below their ears and on their chin 8. Rubbing cheeks against surfaces is a cat’s way of picking up or leaving scent markers. 9. Cats use urine and scent from their glands to leave smell markers all around their territory and they refresh these “signatures” every day or two. Other cats can “read” these markets to find out who has been visiting. 10. Cats can rotate their ears 180 degrees to scan sounds in the environment 11. Cat’s have 473 taste buds compared to a humans 9,000 12. As many as 60 different types of cat vocalizations have been identified 13. Kittens purr to tell mom that everything was okay when they nurse. Cats may also purr when they are sick or upset to calm down. 14. Cats are typically right or left pawed 15. Whiskers are extensions of the skin and can help detect temperature, wind, and pressure 16. The eyes of a cat will indicate how relaxed a cat is feeling: half open eyes indicate a very relaxed cat, however, if combined with lowered head and flattened body may indicate that the cat feels threatened 17. An erect, full length tail is a greeting 18. The “sand paper like”-spiked tongue is a cat’s primary grooming tool. The moistening saliva and rough tongue work together to scrub and align the hairs of its coat. A cat can reach almost every part of its body with the exception of the head and face. To clean those areas a cat will lick their paws and then rub them over the face and head.
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Fun Facts About Dogs and Cats
19. Cats have 32 muscles in each ear. 20. Cats walk on their toes.
Fun Facts About Dogs and Cats • www.arf.net
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