1. Dogs are descended from Wolves

A Chihuahua might not look very scary, but all dogs are part of the same family as wolves. Over thousands of years, humans have bred dogs to suit different need – as pets, hunters or sheepdogs, and that’s why they look so different from wolves today!

2. Dogs have amazing smell

Dogs can smell much better than humans – 10 thousand times better in fact! Dogs are used by the police to help solve crimes as they can be trained to detect different smells!

3. Dogs can smell when people are sick!

Some dogs can actually detect illnesses in humans including malaria, Parkinsons and diabetes! Other dogs seem to know when their owners are feeling sad or sick. It’s a bit like a doggy sixth sense!

4. The oldest recorded dog was 29 years old.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Bluey was an Australian cattle dog who died in 1939 – that’s 151 dog years! Woah!

5. Dog’s noses are unique

Each nose has a unique print, a bit like a finger print! So if you find a nose-print on the biscuit jar, you’ll know exactly who the culprit is!

6. A dog has been nominated for an Oscar

Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepard who was a film star and, according to legend nominated for an Oscar in 1929! Sadly, he didn’t win, but hopefully he still got to go to the ceremony in a fancy suit!

7. Dogs aren’t colorblind

Dogs don’t actually just see black and white – they also see blue and yellow. This is because of a part of the eye called ‘cones’; dogs are missing the cones that help them see pink, purple and orange.

8. Dogs have way less tastebuds than us

Although their hearing is much better than ours, they can actually taste less. While humans have about 9,000 taste buds, dogs only have 1700. Dogs don’t get to enjoy food as much as us, but still more than cats, who only have about 470 taste buds!

9. Dogs don’t hate cats

Lots of cartoons and tv shows make it seem like dogs and cats hate each other, but it’s not actually true! A dog might chase a smaller animal because of its hunting instinct, but they don’t hate cats anymore than any other animal! In fact, sometimes they can be best friends!

10. Dogs have three eyelids!

As well as a top and a bottom eyelid, dogs also have a third eyelid in the corner of their eye – it’s made of a transparent membrane, and it helps keep their eyes clean!