Your dog has always been your best friend, your loyal companion, and your family, but do you think you know everything about him? That may be hard to answer because there are many exciting and unusual things most people don’t know about their four-legged friends. Also, there are lots of myths about pets that we are about to debunk.
To ensure your dog is happy and healthy, you should know as much as possible about him. Here are some unusual facts about your dog:
Dogs Can Eat Celery
Many people may wonder, “Humans can eat celery. Can dogs eat celery too?”
Well, the answer is yes! Dogs can eat celery. Celery is a low-calorie food rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, and it can help improve digestive problems.
Although there could be some dangers associated with celery. Puppies are different, and food that nourishes one may cause a problem in the other. Run some tests before you start including celery in your dog’s diet. Give your pup a little piece of it and see the reaction. If your furry friend doesn’t like the taste, don’t force him to eat it.
Dogs Do Have a Sense of Time
Have you ever wondered how your dog always gets to know when it’s time for dinner? Well, this is one of the strange and exciting phenomena of dogs. The veterinarian Andrea Tu, DVM, Medical Director of Behavior Vets of New York, claims we don’t know for sure what dogs’ perception of time is since we can’t ask them. However, we know that dogs can gauge time. For example, they know the difference between an hour and five hours.
This is to say that dogs can gauge time, although they can not perceive it the same way humans do, and they don’t understand humans’ concept of a ticking clock.
Dogs Dream Like Human
If you’ve noticed your dog twitching while sleeping, he is probably dreaming. Studies have shown that dogs have similar sleeping patterns and brain activity. According to Dr. Stanley Coren, a dog’s brain wave patterns during sleep are the same as humans, which makes them dream just like humans do. He also said that dogs dream about their usual activities.
Dogs Can See Various Colours
Can dogs see colors? They can! Most people have long believed that dogs are color blind and that they can only see in black-and-white or gray shades. This is a myth. Dogs can see colors, but not as vivid as humans can. They can see colors the way we do at dusk.
According to Psychology Today, dogs see the world in a spectrum of colors, mostly yellows, blues, and grays. That’s why your pup might lose track of their red ball in your garden.
Your Dog is as Smart as a 2-Year-Old Kid
You might have been wondering why kids around this age seem to have a special bond with your dog. This is because your 2-year-old kid and dogs have the same mental abilities, said Stanley Coren. They speak the same language and probably understand the same gestures and the same number of words (approximately 250).
Dog’s Sense of Smell is 10,000 to 100,000 Times Stronger Than Yours
Dogs have the ability to smell thousands of times better than humans. Depending on the breed of the dog, their noses consist of 125 million to 300 million scent receptors as compared to only 5 million for humans.
In addition to this, their brain, which is responsible for analyzing smells, is 40 times greater than humans’. That is why they can sniff out and detect explosives, illegal drugs, bed bugs, dead bodies, etc.
Dogs Can Detect Cancers or Other Diseases
Another interesting fact about dogs is that they can help people suffering from one health challenge or the other. It has been discovered that dogs can be trained to detect cancer or other diseases in humans.
Cancerous cells in people with cancer can release different metabolic waste products in the human body system. Dogs can sniff out these cancerous cells smelling the person’s breath.
Dogs can be trained to assist autistic people in their daily lives; remind their owners to take their medication; help physically challenged, visually, or hearing impaired people; detect specific health problems such as diabetes, and provide support for people with mental problems.
Dogs Sweat Only Through Their Paws
Most of the dogs’ sweat glands are located in their paws, specifically in between their paw pads, which is why dogs rely on panting as a way of cooling down. Panting is the principle dogs mainly use to cool down. In the process of panting, moisture is evaporated from their tongues and the surface of their lungs.
Different Tail Wags Indicate Different Things
Have you been wondering why your dog wags his tail? One of the ways dogs communicate is through their tail. Also, different tail wags have different meanings. Tails of dogs can be likened to a turn-indicator lever in your car. It has three positions with a unique purpose: a natural, a side-to-side, and an up-and-down position.
Hence a wagging tail does not only indicate that your dog is happy. Your dog might try to say a lot of things when wagging his tail; pay attention to him and try to read the signs.
Petting a Dog Can Lower Your Blood Pressure
Lowering blood pressure is another unusual fact about dogs. Researchers have revealed that petting a dog for about 15 minutes can lower blood pressure by 10%. It has also been found that petting dogs can help reduce depression, prevent loneliness, and lower stress feelings.
Conclusion
Having a dog can make you more social and less stressed. Moreover, just staring into your dog’s eyes can increase oxytocin levels and boost your mood naturally. If you really want to get to know your four-legged friend, pay more attention to him and learn the coolest characteristics about dogs.