Dogs are natural pack animals, and are naturally submissive to any creature with higher pack status, human or canine.

Dogs instinctively require the pack leader's approval.

Dogs with little human contact in the first three months typically don't make good pets.

Dogs can actually see in color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.

Puppies sleep ninety percent of the day for their first few weeks.

Dalmatian puppies are born completely white.

More than 5,000,000 puppies are born in the U.S. every year.

Dogs have better low-light vision than humans because of a special light-reflecting layer behind their retinas.

Dog's nose prints are as unique as a human's finger prints and can be used to accurately identify them.

Dogs are all direct descendants of wolves.

Dogs were first domesticated by cavemen.

Dogs live 15 years on average.

Dogs can be trained to detect epileptic seizures.

Dogs have no sense of time.

Dogs judge objects first by their movement, then by their brightness, and then by their shape.

A German Shepherd guide dog led her blind companion the entire 2100 mile Applachian Trail.

President Lyndon Johnson had two beagles named Him and Her.

Greyhounds are the fastest dogs on earth, with speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.

Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic... a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese.

The Labrador Retriever is the number one favorite breed in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Dachshunds were originally bred for fighting badgers.
George Washington had thirty six dogs; all foxhounds with one named Sweetlips.

The Wizard of Oz's Toto was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry.

An elderly woman was saved by her 12 pound Yorkshire Terrier who fought off an 80 pound Akita and survived with only 9 stitches.

70% of people sign their pet's name on greeting and holiday cards.

58% put pets in family and holiday portraits.

There are only 350 Cisky Terriers in the world, perhaps the rarest breed.

Humans have kept dogs as pets for over 12,000 years.

People have been keeping dogs as pets for the past 12,000 years.

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

If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!

In 1957, Laika the dog became the first living being in space via an earth satellite, while JFK's terrier, Charlie, fathered 4 puppies with Laika's daughter.

The Ancient Chinese carried Pekingese puppies in the sleeves of their robes.

All breeds of dog have been found to attack livestock - from 3 month old puppies, all the way up to thirteen year old poodles.

After birth, puppies' eyes do not fully open until they're about 12 days old, and their vision is not fully developed until after the 1st month.

Dogs' only sweat glands are between their paw pads.

Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their skull which closes with age.

Teddy Roosevelt's dog, Pete, ripped a French ambassador's pants off at the White House.

Franklin Roosevelt spent $15,000 for a destroyer to pick up his Scottie in the Aleutian Islands.

The Russians trained dogs during WWII to run suicide missions with mines strapped to their backs.

A one year old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15 year old human.

The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world; France has the 2nd highest.

The average city dog lives 3 years longer than a country dog.

87% of dog owners say their dog curls up beside them or at their feet while they watch T.V.

15 people die in the U.S. every year from dog bites.

In 2002 alone, more people in the U.S. were killed by dogs than by sharks in the past 100 years.

Gidget is the name of the Taco Bell dog.

Bingo is the name of the dog on the side of the Cracker Jack box.

The bible mentions dogs 14 times.

Obesity is the number one health problem among dogs.

An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner's will.

The phrase "raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th century England when it is believed that many cats and dogs drowned during heavy periods of rain.

The largest breed of dog is the Irish Wolfhound, while the Chihuahua is the smallest. The heaviest breed of dog is the St. Bernard.

Only dogs and humans have prostates.

Every dog on earth likely descended from a species knows as the Tomarctus, a creature that roamed the earth over 15 million years ago.

The oldest known breed of dog is likely the Saluki; originally trained by Egyptians to help them track game.

An African wolf dog known as the basenji is the only dog in the world that cannot bark.

There are 703 breeds of purebred dogs.

The world's smartest dogs are thought to be the border collie, the poodle, and the golden retriever, while the dumbest dog is believed to be the Afghan hound.

A dog's smell is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of a human's, which they need because their eyesight is not as keen as a human's.

Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine, that is similar to caffeine, which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill.

All dogs are identical in anatomy; 321 bones and 42 permanent teeth.

Smaller dog breeds mature faster than larger breeds.

Female dogs are only ready to mate (in heat" twice a year for a total of roughly 20 days.

Rin Tin Tin was the first Hollywood dog star, and he really signed his movie contracts, all 22 of them, with a pawprint.

U.S. Customs dogs "Rocky" and "Barco" were so good at patrolling the border that Mexican drug lords put a $300,000 bounty on their heads.

Wolves and dogs can mate to produce fertal offspring.

Female wolves have been known to travel great distances to regurgitate full meals for their hungry pups.

Female dogs bear their young for 60 days before they're born.

The earliest dog fossil dates back to nearly 10,000 B.C.

Bloodhounds are prized their ability to single out and identify a number of scents simultaneously.

Boxers are so named because of their manner of playing with their front paws.

The oldest dog on record, a Queensland "Heeler" named Bluey, was 29 years, 5 months old.

Davy Crockett had a dog named Sport.

More than 1 in 3 American families own a family dog.

The Chihuahua was named after the state in Mexico where they were discovered.

Brush your dog 3 times a week in the spring, and you'll have a summer free from shedding.

A dog can suffer from a poor self-image, just like humans. Bolster self-esteem with praise, affection and rewards.

Some authorities estimate that some dogs sense of smelling is as high as 1 million times greater than ours.

Dogs are our links to paradise.
They don't know evil or jealousy
or discountent. To sit with a dog
on a hillside on a glorious afternoon
is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing
was not boring... it was peace.
- Milan Kundera