15 surprising things you didn’t know about dogs

Dogs are extraordinary animals. The bond that is established between a dog and its family is difficult to surpass with any other animal species. Perhaps that is why in Spain there are more than 9 million dogs that form part of a family.

But there are many things about dogs that you probably don’t know. They are curious, surprising, funny or unbelievable facts that show us how valuable and unique these animals are.

1. Dogs are the animal species with the most breeds. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale has counted as many as 343 breeds of dogs, although there may be more.
2. The African wild dogs, decide democratically when to go hunting. They vote by means of a kind of sneeze, exhaling air through their snouts.
3. Like humans, dogs also have baby teeth. They are born without teeth, but after a few weeks their first milk teeth come in. From the age of 3 months they begin to change them for permanent teeth, while humans do so from the age of 5 years.
4. Dogs have some senses that are much more developed than humans. Their sense of smell is 15 times more sensitive than ours and their hearing is 4 times more acute. In fact, studies confirm that dogs can detect diseases (such as cancer, diabetes and even Covid) by smell.
5. On the other hand, they are able to recognise far fewer colours than humans. It is not true that they see only in black and white. The colours they distinguish most easily are yellow and blue.
6. Puppies are born blind and deaf.
7. Their body temperature is higher than that of humans, at around 38 or 39°C.
8. Dogs can understand up to 250 different words and gestures.
9. Dog muzzles, like human fingerprints, are unique. No two muzzles in the world are alike.
10. There is a unique breed of dog in the world: it doesn’t bark! It is the Basenji, a hunting dog of African origin.
11. Dogs sweat through their paw pads. Panting helps them to regulate their body temperature.
12. Dogs also “speak” with their faces. They can have up to 100 different facial expressions, most of them with the movement of their ears.
13. As with humans, dogs can also catch it from a yawn.
14. They relieve themselves in alignment with the Earth’s magnetic field (that’s why they can walk around a few times before defecating).
15. Your dog’s favourite smell… is yours!