How high is your canine intelligence quotient? You probably already know that dogs are loyal, protective, and pretty darn smart. But some of these little known tidbits may just blow your animal-loving mind.

Contrary to popular belief (because of their use of panting to disseminate body heat) dogs do indeed have sweat glands.  But they’re not in their armpits – they’re between their paw pads!

Remember the Michael Vicks dog fighting scandal? One of those rescued dogs, Leo (who sadly passed away in 2011 due to his seizure disorder) lived a full, happy life of servitude as a therapy dog who gave comfort to terminally ill kids.

Basic Dog Facts

(….how many of them do you already know?)

  • Dogs can actually count to five and are capable of simple math equations. Their intelligence is approximately equivalent to that of a two-year-old human.
  • The moisture on a dog’s nose actually has a purpose. It lets them identify the direction from which a smell is coming.
  • Dogs are so trainable they can even be taught to predict epileptic seizures.
  • Think you love your dog a little too much? Consider this – about one million American dog owners have named their precious pups as the beneficiaries of their wills.
  • With that devotion to our dogs comes true inclusion as a family member – 70% of pet owners sign their animal’s name to greeting cards.
  • Dogs have been man’s best friend – i.e. kept as pets – for at least 12,000 years.
  • Dogs’ olfactory abilities are 100,000 times that of humans’.
  • Dogs do not possess an appendix.
  • George Washington was a bigtime dog lover – he had 30 foxhounds, including one called Sweetlips.
  • Dogs not only have more teeth than humans, at 42 (humans have 32), but bones as well, at an impressive 321 (compared to humans at 206).
  • If you’ve ever wondered whether dogs and wolves can actually mate and produce puppies together – the answer is yes, they can.
  • Dog fossils have been discovered as far back as the year 10,000 B.C.
  • Boxers get their name from the way they move their front paws when they play. Now, that’s cute!

Other Stuff

If you thought that the spiked dog collars seen everywhere in stores were designed for the purpose of making your pooch look like a bad-a$$, you’re sort of correct. The collars originated in ancient Greece and were intended to ward off wolf attacks.

I’m sure you’ve heard an owner telling their seeing eye dog to “Get busy!” it’s because these amazing service dogs know how to do their potty business on command so that their owner is aware of it and can clean it up. Pretty dang savvy!

Does your pooch ever goes nuts at the end of the Beatles tune “A Day in the Life”? If so, it’s due to the fact that Paul McCartney added a high-pitched whistle specifically for his Shetland sheepdog’s pleasure.

Even though we want them to, dogs don’t really like hugs. To them, someone putting a “paw” over them means that animal is asserting dominance.

While humans can be positively identified by their fingerprints, a dog’s nose print is also completely unique and can be used as a way to identify them.

“Raining cats and dogs” is a phrase that comes from 17th century England. It was thought that many animals drowned in heavy rainstorms, hence the idiom.

You may not know everything about your prized pup but now you know there’s a whole lot more to him than you ever thought possible!