Here's a great collection of facts that I thought I would pass on...hope you find it interesting! –Kim

Interesting Dog Facts - Part 2

World's largest dog..... The worlds heaviest as well as longest dog ever recorded was an Old English Mastiff named Zorba. In 1989, Zorba weighed 343 lbs and was 8 feet 3 inches long from nose to tail! The Irish Wolfhound ranks as the largest dog, and the Chihuahua as the smallest dog. The St. Bernard is normally the heaviest dog and other breeds range in size between these extremes.

World's tallest dog..... The tallest dog on record was named Shamgret Danzas. He was 42 inches tall (at the shoulder!) and weighed 238 lbs. Normally, the tallest dogs are the Great Dane and the Irish Wolfhound. The largest Great Dane stood at 103cm and an Irish Wolfhound 100cm.

World's smallest dog..... The smallest dog in history was a tiny Yorkie from Blackburn, England. At two years of age and fully grown this little dude was an incredible 2.5 inches tall by 3.75 inches long! He weighed only 4 ounces! HE was approximately the size of a matchbox.

World's oldest dog..... The oldest reliable age recorded for a dog is 29 years, 5 months for an Australian cattle-dog (Queensland 'heeler') named Bluey in Victoria, Australia. The average dog lives 8 to 15 years of age.

World's Best Drug Sniffing Dogs..... A US Customs Labrador named "Snag" has made 118 drug seizures worth a canine record $810 million. The greatest number of drug seizures by dogs is 969 in 1988. IN ONE YEAR! The team of "Rocky" and "Barco" patrolled the Texas and Mexico border, alias "Cocaine Alley." They were so good that Mexican drug lords put a price of $30,000 dollars on their heads.

All dogs, from the German Shepherd to the tiny Poodle, are thought to be direct descendants of wolves. They can all breed together and produce fertile offspring. Technically they are of the same species.

The basenji, an African wolf dog, is the only dog that cannot bark.

Dogs can very easily regurgitate. In fact, after eating, wolves can travel significant distances back to their dens and regurgitate the food at will to feed their pups!

Dogs cannot normally see as well as humans and are considered somewhat color blind. Dogs can see color, but it is not as vivid a color scheme as we see. It is much like our vision at twilight. A dog sees objects first by their movement, second by their brightness and third by their shape.

Dogs are able to see much better in dim light than humans can. This is due to the tapetum lucidum, a light-reflecting layer behind the retina. Because it functions like a mirror, it also accounts for the strange shine or glow in a dog's eyes at night.

Dogs naturally have a wonderful sense of smell. Some authorities estimate that some dogs sense of olfaction (smelling) is as high as 1 million times greater than ours. They have many more sensory 'smelling' cells than a man's 5,000,000. A Dachshund has 125,000,000, a Fox Terrier 147,000,000 and an Alsatian (often used as a 'sniffer' dog) has 220,000,000. Truffle hounds can find the fungus delicacy even when it's a foot underground.

A dog can hear sounds 250 yards away that most people cannot hear beyond 25 yards. The human ear can detect sound waves vibrating at frequencies up to 20,000 times a second. But dogs can hear sound waves that vibrate at frequencies of more than 30,000 times a second.

Laika became the world's first space traveler. Russian scientists sent the small animal aloft in an artificial earth satellite in 1957.

A dog's heart beats between 70 and 120 times a minute, compared with a human heart that beats 70 to 80 times a minute.

A female carries her young about 60 days before the puppies are born.

Dogs have been used as guards, hunters, drought animals, eyes for the blind, drug and explosive detectors, rodent controllers, and even weapons! In Roman times and the Middle Ages, mastiffs wearing light armor, carrying spikes and pots of flaming sulfur and resin ran into battle against mounted knights. In World War II, the Russians trained dogs to run suicide missions between the tracks of German tanks with mines strapped on their backs.

The dingo is not native to Australia, but was introduced thousands of years ago by the first immigrants.

More than five million puppies are born every year in the United States.

Sadly, statistics indicate that eight million pets (all kinds) lose their lives in animal shelters each year due to overpopulation.

In America, about one family in three owns a dog.

The normal body temperature for a dog is 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

Though neutering has no effect on the overall personality, male dogs tend to display less aggression, and territorial behavior when they are neutered. They are also less likely to contract urogenital diseases.

Many foot disorders in dogs are related to long toenails. Check your dog's nails once a month and trim when necessary, avoiding the vein.

If your dog has bad breath, he may need his teeth cleaned.

Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Greek mythology, guarded the gates to the underworld.

Canis Major or The Great Dog: The Great Dog follows his master, Orion, as he makes his annual journey through the sky. Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, is located on the shoulder of Canis Major. It is the brightest in the heavens, and its name means sparkling and scorching, as it is nearest to the sun during the height of summer.

The hot, summer days – Dog Days – which Sirius was thought to cause, run from July 3 to August 11th. The three stars of Orion's Belt point at the Dog Star, Sirius, in Canus ajor at Orion's heels. It is best seen in the northern hemisphere during winter, between December and March. – First published in the May/June 1994 issue of ZuZu

Argos or Argus, Ulysses' hunting dog, was the only creature to recognize the Greek hero when he returned home disguised as a beggar after 20 years of adventure.

The Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts and the 4-H Club all offer merit badges in dog care.

NEVER punish a puppy for chewing.... Just be sure to provide the appropriate objects. Puppies need to chew to stimulate the loss of their baby teeth and to help place their permanent teeth.

Dogs are pack animals by nature. They need closeness, touching, and petting to be content and happy.

A dog is a true friend, and one you can be certain will never talk about you, no matter what you do.

Never assume that a barking dog won't bite, unless you're absolutely certain the dog believes it too.

A dog who destroys your home when you're away is frustrated. His frustration has been displaced onto household objects.

Put your kitchen garbage can in a cupboard. It's the only way to be certain your dog will stay out of it.

To keep your dog off the couch, nail empty tuna cans to a board and put it there before leaving. Your dog will find it uncomfortable, and it's easy to store under the couch.

Source: http://www.dogquotes.com/dogfacts.htm
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