8 Interesting Dog Facts

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Petting dogs can lower your blood pressure

High blood pressure? Pet your dog. University of Missouri-Columbia scientists found that human blood pressure dropped by about 10 percent after petting a dog for 15 to 30 minutes.

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A Record-Setting Retriever 

Finley, a Golden Retriever from Canandaigua, NY, can carry an incredible six tennis balls in his mouth at one time. The impressive feat earned Finley the Guinness World Record for “most tennis balls held in the mouth by a dog,” according to the organization.

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Dogs Dream Like People

Does your dog twitch in her sleep? She’s probably dreaming. Researchers found that dogs have similar sleep patterns and brain activity as humans, and that small breeds tend to dream more than large ones. Scientists think our dogs are likely dreaming of familiar activities like playing fetch or chasing squirrels.

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Interesting Anatomy

Have you ever caught a glimpse of pale pink in your dog’s eye as they awake? You’re seeing the “nictitating membrane” or third eyelid. It appears behind each of the two regular eyelids and sweeps up from the inside corner of each eye, serving primarily to remove dust and mucus from the cornea.

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Dogs Have Evolved to Give “The Look”

Turns out dogs have evolved to produce those heart-melting—and very effective—looks. Dogs’ eyebrows have actually evolved to be more expressive. Several studies say that over years of domestication dogs developed facial muscles that allow their eyebrows to move inward and upward so they can better communicate with humans.

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Dogs for Improved Health

A study published in the journal BMC Public Health found that dog owners on average walked 22 minutes more per day compared to people who didn’t own a dog. Better yet, the exercise was at a moderate pace. Other studies have found moderate-intensity walking is just as effective as running in lowering the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and more.

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Kids and Dogs: a Perfect Pairing

A study looking at dog ownership and preschoolers found that young children from dog-owning families had fewer peer problems and conduct problems, and higher prosocial behaviours than children from non-dog-owning families. Kids who walked or played with their dog more often performed even better.

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Dogs: Don’t Yuck My Yum

Here’s why most dogs are gourmands, not gourmets. A dog’s sense of taste is much less developed than ours. Dogs have approximately one-fifth of the taste buds humans have (1,700 to humans’ approximately 9,000). Their less discriminating sense of taste is a carry-over from when they would scavenge in the wild.

This article originally appeared in the award-winning Modern Dog magazine. Subscribe today!