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People often think they know everything about their canine companions. Beyond the fact that children, who became "allies of man" some 4,000 years ago, still possess a large number of behaviors unknown to their owners. There are some peculiarities that have become certainties, similar to their olfactory capacity, but can we recognize if they see in color or know if there is unconditional maternal love in a domestic dog?
1. Your nostril: an arsenal of detectors
A dog's nostril is an impressive detector, and there's no doubt about that. According to some scientific accounts, it has around 300 million olfactory receptors, not like humans who have a simpler 6 million. But that's not all; these four-legged companions sniff 5-10 times per second, while their owners do it at best once every second and a half. Therefore, in their nose, there's a veritable arsenal of olfactory identification.
2- The dog's nostril: its best quality doctor?
Their abundance of olfactory receptors and their ability to smell position canines as powerful detectors, even of diseases. Before the pandemic, their capacity to detect a large number of organic compounds, along with those produced by humans when they are ill, had already been demonstrated. This is why, for example, they will also be trained to detect melanoma or COVID-19, as proven during the pandemic.
3- Dogs are the best at knowing their owners.
The connection between a dog and its owner is palpable; there's no doubt about that. But this bond goes a step further: they can decipher the emotions of their human companions through the expressions on their faces. Even so, they must be aware that their two-legged friend has managed to learn and remember between 200 and 500 words.
Love between four puppies exists.
People often assume that all of a dog's emotions are summed up by its tail: if it wags, it's huffing, or if it hides, it's scared, for example. However, dogs can fall in love, and this has been demonstrated through scientific experiments that have detected the release of oxytocin, also known as the love hormone. It's worth clarifying that this happens both when they see their owners and with different dogs.
5- Canine Melancholy
It's common to talk about depression in people, even though they aren't the best people who can suffer from it. Dogs can also suffer from depression, and in many cases, their owners may also be to blame. The first piece of news is that this feeling can also be avoided in two fundamental steps: pay attention to your canine companion and take him for walks consistently.
6- The nostril as a fingerprint
Fingerprints have a centuries-old history. In 1850, Sir William J. Herschel, a British army officer in India, was the first to use fingerprints to sign contracts; this is when the term dactyloscopy (from the Greek daktylos: fingers and skopein: examination) emerged. After some back and forth between two scientists, Henry Faulds and Francis Galton, the first time this formulation was used as a distinct form of identification was when Juan Vucetich, in 1891, produced the first fingerprints in the kingdom. Beyond this human history, the "fingerprints" of a canine are its nose, because it is a particular and unique characteristic of each dog.
7- the area through the canine eyes
In order to provide accurate facts, it is first essential to debunk the myths. The claim that canines don't see in black and white is a lie. According to research by scientist Marcello Siniscalchi, canines see in shadows, unlike children who suffer from color blindness and confuse red and green. As they defined it, this condition is due to the proven fact that canines hunted at dawn and dusk, so they didn't need imaginative and prescient colors.
8- Just touch it and your nostril
Unlike many species, puppies are born without hearing, sight, or teeth. They can easily understand their environment, which initially focuses on their mother, through touch and smell.
9- Despite having many puppies, the love of canine mothers is not guaranteed.
After a gestation period of forty-five to fifty-five days, a female dog living in domestic settings can give birth to up to fifteen puppies at a time. Despite this, and despite her excellent reproductive capacity, the birth of these puppies does not guarantee acceptance by their mother, especially if the delivery was performed via cesarean section. Therefore, the suggestion to specialists is not to wash them excessively.
10- Interesting Numbers
Like a numerical video game, canines have some incredible features in their bodies. For example, they have 42 teeth and 18 muscles in their ears (which now allow them not to miss a single sound).
11- Canines don't just "sweat" through their tongues.
In contrast to humans, canines have two mechanisms for eliminating heat. The main one is concentrated in the tongue, which, although it doesn't sweat, serves to lower body temperature. As defined by Jack Boulant, a thermal physiologist at Ohio State University, when canines stick out their tongues and pant with shallow, rapid breathing, the moisture on their tongues evaporates and body heat decreases. The second mechanism is observed in their paws, as genuine canine sweat is found on the pads of their paws.
12- Dogs fight in the rain
Although it may be because of the water or getting wet, canines feel uncomfortable in the rain because of their hearing. This is because the sound acts as an amplifier for other noises, which makes it very traumatic for them.
13 – The dog may suffer from a sexually transmitted disease.
Like devils and Tasmanian devils, to give a few examples, canines can suffer from a sexually transmitted disease. In this case, it is a melanoma that spreads through mating, which can deform their genitals.
14 – Free shoulder blades
Unlike other species, the shoulder blades of canines are not attached to their skeleton; instead, the humerus fits directly into the shoulder. Thanks to this feature, dogs are not only more flexible after running, but they can also run faster.
