Strange AnimalsPets · Dogs · 30 articlesNose first.
100,000×better sense of smell than yoursNose first.
Ears up.
Behaviour, training, health and the super-senses of the world's most popular pet, from puppy to senior.
Dog senses vs yours
Grey represents you. Amber represents your dog.
Why do dogs…
Nine everyday habits, explained.
HEARING…tilt their heads?To pinpoint sounds, and when they hear words they know. →BONDING…lick people?Bonding and greeting, plus our salty skin. →WOLF INSTINCT…howl?Long-distance talk inherited from wolves. →NORMAL HABIT…eat grass?79% do it regularly; it's rarely a sign of illness. →PLAY…chase their tails?Usually play; sometimes itch, boredom or compulsion. →WOLF INSTINCT…bury bones?A food-caching instinct from wild ancestors. →WOOFCOMMUNICATION…bark so much?Alarm, boredom, attention or excitement; the fix depends on the cause. →♥EMPATHY…read our moods?They pick up on our faces and tone of voice, and react to how we feel. →SMELL FIRST…ignore mirrors?Most fail the mirror test, but they know their own scent. →
By the numbers
Dog~300MYou~6M~300 millionscent receptors in a dog's nose
18muscles moving each ear, one dot each
one block per 1,000 years15,000+ yrsdogs have lived with us
word 1word 2word 3+1,019 more1,022words learned by Chaser, a border collie
Myth or fact
Three things people get wrong or do not believe.
MYTHA dog year equals seven human years.Dogs age fastest early on. A one-year-old dog is closer to a 15-year-old human.
FACTDogs can smell time.Fading scents through the day help dogs anticipate routines like your return home.
MYTHDogs see only black and white.They see blues and yellows, but not reds and greens well.
All dog articles
30 articles8 min · Dec 17, 2025Dog Head Tilting: The Behavior's ScienceThe exact reason dogs tilt their heads has not been determined. One suggestion is that it helps them listen and locate sounds. Research published in Animal Cognition also found that dogs tilt their heads when hearing familiar words.8 min · Dec 16, 2025Why Do Dogs Lick People? The Science of Canine LickingDogs lick people primarily as a form of communication and social bonding, where licking signals friendliness, appeasement and greeting. The behavior may also release feel-good endorphins for the dog, and humans' salty skin can provide a sensory reward.8 min · Dec 15, 2025Why Do Dogs Howl? Origins, Triggers, and What It MeansDogs howl as a form of long-distance vocal communication, a behavior directly inherited from wolves that serves to signal location, reinforce social bonds and mark territory. In domestic dogs, howling is triggered most commonly by certain sounds (sirens, music, other dogs), separation from owners,8 min · Dec 14, 2025Why Do Dogs Eat Grass? What the Research Actually SaysDogs eat grass for several reasons including instinctive grazing behavior, fiber supplementation and in some cases nausea relief, but contrary to popular belief, grass eating is rarely a sign of illness. A peer-reviewed study found that 68 percent of dogs eat plants daily or weekly, yet only 9 percent showed signs of being ill before eating grass.8 min · Dec 14, 2025Dog Tail Chasing: Why It Happens and When to WorryDogs chase their tails for several reasons: as play behavior (especially in puppies), in response to irritation or physical discomfort at the tail base, out of boredom or under-stimulation and in some cases as a manifestation of compulsive disorder. Distinguishing between normal, occasional tail-ch8 min · Dec 13, 2025Why Do Dogs Bury Bones? The Instinct Behind the HabitDogs bury bones and other valued items as a food-caching behavior inherited from wild ancestors. In wolves and other wild canids, burying surplus food prevents competitors from stealing it and preserves the food's freshness in cooler soil. Modern domestic dogs retain this hardwired impulse even when6 min · Dec 12, 2025When to See a Vet for Your Dog: Emergency and Routine CareKnowing when to take a dog to the veterinarian immediately versus scheduling a routine appointment versus monitoring at home is one of the most important skills a dog owner can develop. Certain signs indicate life-threatening emergencies where every minute counts. Others indicate conditions that nee10 min · Dec 11, 2025Signs of a Healthy Dog: Comprehensive Health ChecklistA healthy dog has clear, bright eyes with no discharge, pink, odorless ears with no wax buildup, clean teeth with no excessive tartar or inflamed gums, a glossy coat with no bald patches or excessive shedding, ribs that are easily felt but not visually prominent, formed brown stools, pale yellow uri8 min · Dec 10, 2025How Well Dogs Hear: Frequency Ranges and SensitivityDogs can detect frequencies up to about 65,000 Hz, compared to the human upper limit of approximately 20,000 Hz. This hearing is an adaptation that underpins hunting, predator detection and social communication. Dogs can also move each ear independently to help localize sound.10 min · Dec 9, 2025Training a Puppy: Science-Based Approaches for SuccessThe most important period for puppy training is the socialization window of roughly the first three months of life, when the puppy's brain is maximally receptive to forming lasting associations with people, animals, environments and experiences. Start with name recognition, then build to sit, come, leave it, down and stay.7 min · Dec 8, 2025Stopping Dog Barking: Causes and SolutionsStopping excessive dog barking requires identifying the specific cause of the barking first, because different barking types require fundamentally different management strategies. The four most common causes, alert barking, demand barking, anxiety barking and boredom barking, all look superficially similar but respond to different techniques.7 min · Dec 7, 2025Spotting Fleas and Ticks on Dogs: Detection and PreventionFleas and ticks are the most common external parasites affecting dogs and are not merely a nuisance, both carry significant disease risk. Fleas transmit tapeworms and cause flea allergy dermatitis, while ticks transmit Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. Earl8 min · Dec 6, 2025Socializing Dogs: Critical Period and Lifelong TipsDog socialization means systematically exposing a dog to a wide variety of people, animals, environments, sounds and experiences in ways that build positive or neutral associations. The most critical socialization period is between 3 and 14 weeks of age, when the brain is specifically primed to for7 min · Dec 5, 2025Leash Training a Dog: Techniques for Loose-Leash WalkingLeash training teaches a dog to walk on a loose leash without pulling, lunging, or lagging. The goal is a relaxed walk with slack in the leash at all times. Leash manners are one of the most practical and one of the most commonly neglected training skills, an untrained pulling dog makes walks miser8 min · Dec 4, 2025How to House Train a Dog: Step-by-StepHouse training a dog means teaching it to eliminate only in designated outdoor areas or specific indoor spots. Consistent success requires three elements: a predictable schedule that anticipates when the dog needs to eliminate, immediate access to the correct location at those times, and positive re8 min · Dec 3, 2025Dog Intelligence: Canine Cognitive AbilitiesDogs demonstrate intelligence comparable to a 2 to 2.5-year-old human child in terms of vocabulary comprehension, spatial reasoning and social cognition. The Border Collie named Chaser learned the names of over 1,000 individual objects, one of the largest documented vocabularies of any non-human animal. But dog intelligence is not a single trait.10 min · Dec 2, 2025Dog Lifespan: Factors Affecting Breed and SizeDogs live an average of 10 to 13 years, though lifespan varies enormously by breed size: small breeds typically reach 12 to 16 years, while giant breeds often live only 6 to 9 years. The single strongest predictor of a dog's lifespan is body size, and understanding this relationship along with other controllable factors can help owners maximize their dogs' healthy years.7 min · Dec 1, 2025Dog Running Speeds: Breeds and MechanicsThe fastest dog breed, the Greyhound, reaches roughly 37 to 43 miles per hour (60 to 70 km/h). Speed varies enormously by breed, body structure, limb length, muscle fiber composition and individual fitness.8 min · Nov 30, 2025How Far Can Dogs Smell? The Extraordinary Canine NoseA typical dog's nose is estimated to be 100,000 to 1 million times as sensitive as a human's. Dogs have roughly 125 million to nearly 300 million olfactory receptors, compared with about 5 million in humans.8 min · Nov 29, 2025How Dogs See the World: Color Vision and AcuityDogs see the world with dichromatic vision, they perceive two primary color ranges (blue and yellow) rather than the three color ranges (blue, green, red) that humans use. Their visual acuity is approximately 20/75, meaning what a human can read at 75 feet, a dog must be 20 feet away to resolve cle8 min · Nov 28, 2025How Dogs Communicate: Vocalizations and Body LanguageDogs use three main channels for communication: vocalizations including barking, growling, whining and howling, body language covering posture, tail position, ear orientation and facial expression and scent marking via urine, anal gland secretions and pheromones. Human communication relies mostly on verbal means, whereas7 min · Nov 28, 2025Dog Vaccination Schedule: Key Vaccines and Booster TimingThe standard dog vaccination protocol consists of core vaccines (recommended for all dogs) and non-core vaccines (recommended based on individual risk). Core vaccines include the DHPP combination (Distemper, Hepatitis/Adenovirus, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza) and Rabies. The puppy series begins at 8 we8 min · Nov 27, 2025Do Dogs Understand Human Emotions? Science of Canine EmpathyDogs can read human emotional expressions, discriminate between positive and negative emotional states, and show behavioral responses that align with empathic concern. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have demonstrated that dogs use both visual (facial expression) and auditory (vocal tone) cues to ide7 min · Nov 26, 2025Common Dog Illnesses: Symptoms, Causes, and UrgencyDogs experience a range of common illnesses, from minor infections and parasites to serious conditions like parvovirus and cancer. Recognizing the symptoms of the most prevalent dog illnesses allows owners to seek timely veterinary care, which frequently determines outcome severity. This guide cover7 min · Nov 25, 2025Can Dogs Recognize Themselves in Mirrors? What Science SaysDogs do not reliably pass the mirror self-recognition test used to assess self-awareness in animals, but this does not mean dogs lack self-awareness. The mirror test is a visually based assessment in an animal that is primarily olfactory. When an adapted version of self-recognition testing uses scen6 min · Nov 24, 2025Best Dogs for First-Time Dog OwnersThe best dogs for first-time owners are forgiving of training inconsistencies, highly motivated by positive reinforcement, not prone to extreme behavioral challenges, and adaptable to various living situations. First-time owners typically underestimate the time, cost and complexity of dog ownership6 min · Nov 23, 2025Best Family Dogs with KidsThe best family dogs combine patient temperament, tolerance of unpredictable child behavior, appropriate size and energy match for the family's lifestyle, and trainability. No breed is universally safe or guaranteed, individual dog temperament, training quality and the quality of adult supervision6 min · Nov 22, 2025Best Dogs for Cold Weather ConditionsThe best dogs for cold weather are breeds that evolved in arctic or subarctic environments, with thick double coats and high physical endurance. Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Bernese Mountain Dogs and similar breeds are built for cold. Thin-coated, small, or short-nosed breeds struggle in cold temperatures.6 min · Nov 21, 2025Best Dogs for Apartment LivingThe best apartment dogs combine low-to-moderate exercise needs, manageable noise levels, adaptable temperament and a comfortable small-space lifestyle. Size alone does not determine apartment suitability, many large breeds are far better apartment dogs than smaller, high-energy terriers. The key f6 min · Nov 20, 2025Best Dogs for Allergy SufferersNo dog breed is truly hypoallergenic, all dogs produce the primary allergen (Can f 1, a protein primarily found in dog saliva and skin secretions), and all shed some dander. However, certain breeds produce significantly less airborne allergen and cause substantially fewer allergic reactions in sens