5 Fun Facts about Dogs

We all love our canine companions. Here are 5 fun facts you may not have known about these members of your family:

1. Sleeping – Dogs curl up in a ball when sleeping to protect their organs — a hold over from their days in the wild, when  they were vulnerable to predator attacks
2. Smells – Dogs can smell about 1,000-10,000 times better than humans. While humans have 5 million smell detecting cells, dogs have more than 220 million. As an added bonus, dogs have a wet nose to collect more of the tiny droplets of smelling chemicals in the air.
3. Human Communication – On average, dogs are about as smart as a two or three year old child. This means they can understand up to around 150-200 words, including signals and hand movements with the same meaning as words.
4. Eyelids – Dogs have a third eyelid that serves as a protective lid, called a “haw”. The responsibility of this extra eyelid is to keep moisture in its eyes.
5. Territory – Contrary to common belief, when dogs kick backward after they go to the bathroom it’s not to cover it up, but to mark their territory, using the scent glands in their feet. Dogs are territorial by nature and often use this method to communicate “this is MY spot”.

If you have any fun facts about dogs, please share in the comments, we would love to hear them.

written by Madeline Smith