Every dog is special and has his own personality and distinct set of characteristics. They are wonderful creatures and their nature to love and please us make our everyday special. As a dog person, you might be aware of the likes and dislikes of your dog. With his every bark and whines you may understand what he is trying to communicate to you. Even though how well you might know about your furry friend, there are a few facts you might not be aware of.
Dogs suffer from jealousy
According to a research published by the University of California, it was found that dogs show significantly more jealous behaviors when dog owners display affectionate behavior towards other dogs rather than the non-social object. Besides, dogs get jealous when they see other dogs getting rewarded for the same trick they’d been performing unrewarded. Dogs understand when they’re not receiving a fair share.
Dogs don’t feel guilty
The puppy eyes that dogs give when found at the end of being punished after destroying your favorite shoe or digging holes in your garden. That’s not a sign of guilt, it’s just them reacting to being reprimanded.
Dogs can see in the dark
Dogs have good night vision, a special membrane called the tapetum lucidum allows them to see in the dark. The tapetum also causes dogs eyes to glow at night. They have large pupils and more of light and motion sensitive cells called rod, which makes them see better than humans do at night.
Dogs can predict epileptic seizure
Dogs begin warning their owner of impending seizures anywhere from 30 seconds to 45 minutes before it happens. Every dog has its own style of alerting their owners, including pawing, barking, circling or making close eye contact. According to Gregory Holmes, a neurologist, dogs detect seizure with the change in smell. “People have automatic changes, such as increased sweating which a dog could pick up on.”
Dogs do dream
If you find your dog whimpering, scratching or twitching when he’s fast asleep- this probably means he must have been dreaming. Researchers have found that like humans dogs have similar sleep cycle through stages of wakefulness, rapid-eye-movement(REM) sleep and non-rapid-eye-movement sleep. However, small dogs tend to have more dreams than the larger one. Dogs mainly dream about their owners, since they are likely attached to them.
Dogs wagging tail has its own language.
Dogs tail wagging is usually associated with them being happy. It might not always be the case. In fact, tail wagging might interpret a wide range of mental and physical state of dogs. Dogs wag their tails to the right when they're happy and to the left when they're alarmed. Slow-wag means they're insecure, and fast narrow wag indicates their state of aggression or active threat. You can decode your dog’s tail wag with motion, position, and direction.
Dogs can see color
Dogs can only see in black and white is a misconception. Scientists have found that dogs can see the limited color range and they use their visual spectrum to distinguish between objects and select certain items from a line-up. Both humans and dogs contain special light catching cells called cones that respond to color. However, dogs have fewer cones than humans which mean the colors they see are not as rich as those seen by humans.