Dog Facts 3

•  – There are more than 150 dog breeds, divided into 8 classes: sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting, herding, and miscellaneous.
• – According to a recent survey, the most popular name for a dog is Max. Other popular names include Molly, Sam, Zach, and Maggie.
• – Dogs can vary in size from a 36 inch (150+ lb.) Great Dane to a 2 lb. Chihuahua.
• – Puppies and kittens can be adopted as early as 8 weeks of age.  Until then, they should stay with their moms and littermates.
• – About 1/3 of the dogs that are surrendered to animal shelters are purebred dogs.
• – Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not sweat by salivating. They sweat through the pads of their feet.
• – Dogs may not have as many taste buds as we do (they have about 1,700 on their tongues, while we humans have about 9,000), but that doesn’t mean they’re not discriminating eaters. They have over 200 million scent receptors in their noses (we have only 5 million) so it’s important that their food smells good and tastes good.
• – The term “dog days” has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July 3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures.
• – Did you know they were female?  Toto’s role in The Wizard of Oz was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry, and the Taco Bell dog is actually a female Chihuahua named Gidget.