Fun Fact Friday: Pups!

I've spent much of this evening paying attention to the beautiful, man-dog Golden Retriever that we all like to call the Chief (that's him on the left, which some may mistake for a stand-in, "model" dog), but whose full name is Chief Atticus Berry. He's very temperamental, but sweet, and requires a great deal of the aforementioned attention each and every day. When Meghan I first decided to research getting a puppy, we more or less did a quick once-over of the essentials that you'd need for a dog before heading out to look at him and his sister. Chief was the only boy among the bunch. In fact, the adorable looking Golden in the picture that was online was actually his sister... the one with the clubbed foot. When we finally got to see what would soon be "our boy," Meghan was already a little worried about his temperament after seeing a protective, growling momma-dog, deciding that maybe we'd look elsewhere for a new pup. However, that lasted all of about thirty seconds once she held that cuddly ball of warm fur and floppy ears. Once he was in our arms, we never let him go.

Of course, had we not done the cursory research to know what we were getting into, this whole happy tale might not have ended so pleasantly. There are plenty of people who see a dog out in public and decide that they have to have one, and then end up either not being able to take care of it or grow weary of the responsibilities involved, leaving the dog in a pretty bad spot. Therefore, since I've got my boy on the mind, I bring you... fun puppy (and dog) facts!

- Puppies are born blind, deaf and toothless

- During its first week 90% of a puppy's time is spent sleeping and 10% eating

- By the age of three weeks a puppy will develop their sense of smell, sight and hearing

- Puppies sleep for about fourteen hours every day

- Puppies grow while they sleep

- Puppies are weaned between the ages of 3 and 7 weeks

- Between 4 and 5 weeks interact with other puppies in the litter

- Puppies are usually found new homes between the age of 7 and 12 weeks and will start house training

- A puppy is considered and adult at the age of one year

- More than 5 million puppies are born every year in America

- Whereas humans can lose body heat by sweating, dogs can't. Panting is a way to regulate a dog's temperature.

- Some experts believe that dogs can smell one hundred times better than humans. Other experts believe they can smell up to one million times better.

- If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!

- The average city dog lives 3 years longer than a country dog.

- An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner's will

- The world's smartest dogs are thought to be (1) the border collie, (2) the poodle, and (3) the golden retriever

- Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (similar to caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill

- All dogs are identical in anatomy - 321 bones and 42 permanent teeth.

Enjoy!