Dog Trivia: 41 Dog Facts for National Trivia Day

Happy National Trivia Day! We’re celebrating this little-known and underappreciated holiday with some great dog trivia. Here are our favorite dog facts:

1. 2017 was the Chinese Year of the Dog.
2. Some dogs can learn more than 1,000 words.
3. Like human infants, puppies enjoy high and seek.
4. An upright and still tail indicates that a dog is focused and excited.
5. While still growing, puppies generally sleep 18-20 hours per day.
6. Puppies reach 50 percent of their eventual body weight in their first 4-5 months of life.
7. Greyhounds can run up to 44 miles per hour.
8. The first dog superstar was Rin Tin Tin.
9. Some dogs can be taught to count and solve simple math problems.
10. The Chihuahua is named after a region in Mexico.
11. Dogs have twice as many muscles in their ears as humans.
12. Dogs with erect ears hear better than dogs with droopy ears.
13. Smaller dog breeds mature faster than large dog breeds.
14. Smaller dog breeds also tend to live longer than large dog breeds.
15. The Bible mentions dogs more than 35 times.
16. Chihuahua puppies are born with a soft spot on their skull just like baby humans.
17. The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts offer badges in dog care.
18. Dogs stop growing between 12 and 24 months of age.
19. Dogs use their whiskers as sensing devices.
20. Dogs can learn to detect cancer and changes in blood sugar in humans.
21. Service dogs can help treat humans with PTSD, autism, blindness, mobility impairment, epilepsy and diabetes.
22. Puppies are born blind, deaf and toothless.
23. Basenjis don’t bark.
24. A dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 times stronger than that of a human.
25. Petting a dog can lower your blood pressure and heart rate.
26. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the dog with the longest ears ever was a bloodhound named Tigger. His ears were more than 13 inches long.
27. Dalmatian puppies are not born with spots. Their spots appear as they age.
28. The Newfoundland has webbed feet.
29. Average dog litters have 4-6 dogs.
30. When overheated and panting, a dog’s sense of smell is reduced by as much as 40 percent.
31. Newborn puppies have heat sensors in their noses so they can find their mothers while their eyes and ears are closed.
32. Dogs aren’t completely colorblind. They can see shades of black, white, blue and yellow.
33. Dogs see best right before the sun rises and sets.
34. The best age to bring a puppy home is 8-12 weeks.
35. A Russian dog named Laika was the first animal in space and traveled around the Earth in 1957.
36. Similar to human fingerprints, no two dogs have the same nose print.
37. Mastiffs can grow to be over 200 lbs.
38. Dogs are omnivores.
39. Stray dogs in Moscow learned to ride the subway for food.
40. Obesity is the most common health problem in dogs.
41. Paul McCartney recorded a high-pitched whistle at the end of the Beatles song “A Day in the Life” for his dog.

Stay tuned for more great animal trivia. Check our Resource Center for cat trivia.