Here Are 26 Dog Facts That You Probably Didn’t Know

#1 There Are Vending Machines For Dogs

There are vending machines in Istanbul that dispense food and water for stray dogs. The price? An empty recyclable bottle.

#3 Cheetahs Are Nervous Animals, So Zoos Give Them Their Own Emotional Support Dogs

While cheetahs might be quite the big cats and the fastest animal on the Earth to add to that, actually, they are very sensitive beings. They get so anxious; they don’t know how to socialize with each other and get too stressed to procreate. Seeing that cheetahs need some assistance, for years now zookeepers have been assigning these animals their very own emotional support dogs. “When you pair cheetah cub with a guide dog, the cat looks to the dog for cues and learns to model their behavior. It’s about getting them to read that calm, happy-go-lucky vibe from the dog” explains Janet Rose-Hinostroza, animal training supervisor at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

#5 Chaser The Border Collie Had The Largest Tested Memory Of Any Non-Human Animal

According to Wikipedia, "Chaser could identify and retrieve 1,022 toys by name, which was the foundation for her vocabulary. She began to understand that objects have names at five months of age." The dog could also recognize common nouns such as house, tree and ball, as well as adverbs, verbs and prepositional objects.

#7 Sergeant Stubby Is The Most Decorated War Dog Of WWI, And The Only Dog To Be Nominated For Rank And Then Promoted To Sergeant Through Combat

He served for 18 months and participated in seventeen battles on the Western Front. He saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks, found and comforted the wounded, and once caught a German soldier by the seat of his pants, holding him there until American soldiers found him. Sgt. Stubby is the subject of an animated film, Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero.

#9 In 2017, A Black Lab Got His Photo In A School Yearbook For Helping His Owner Regulate Blood Sugar Levels

A black Labrador named Alpha was put next to his owner A.J. in a yearbook for helping his human out. A.J. has Type 1 diabetes and Alpha helps to monitor his blood sugar levels.

#11 When Police Dogs Retire In Some Countries They May Have The Chance To Receive A Pension Plan For Their Contribution

English police forces even set up a retirement plan for dogs. According to Wikipedia, "police dogs in Nottinghamshire, England, now have the opportunity to retire with a form of security since their government forces now offer $805 over the span of three years to cover any additional medical costs". Not only do they now receive a pension plan but they also get to retire and reside with their original handler.

#13 When Playing With Female Puppies, Male Puppies Will Often Let Them Win

Puppies exhibit behavior that's been previously recorded in some other species too, like red-necked wallabies, squirrel monkeys, hamadryas baboons and even humans. Researcher Camille Ward and her team collected data showing that male puppies tend to let female puppies win and speculated that they do so in order to not discourage female puppies to play with them in the future as female puppies tend to choose other females as playmates.

#15 Ancient Greeks And Romans Mourned And Buried Their Dogs

According to "Mourning Animals– Rituals and Practices Surrounding Animal Death" book, people of the Ancient world sometimes buried their dogs with gravestones that survived the upcoming centuries. One of the surviving epitaphs reads:"I am in tears, while carrying you to your last resting place as much as I rejoiced when bringing you home in my own hands fifteen years ago."

#17 Bomb-Sniffing Dogs Never Scratch, Paw Or Bark At The Luggage When They Detect Explosive Materials

All bomb-sniffing dogs are trained to calmly stop and sit down when they detect the scent of explosive materials.

#19 The Dogs React To Humans Crying The Same Way They Do To A Dog Whining

Annika Huber of the University of Vienna's Clever Dog Lab and her colleagues conducted an experiment that observed a number of dogs reacting to various sounds. Dogs showed to be responding more to emotional sounds (dogs whining, people laughing or crying) than neutral sounds (birds chirping, water running). They also appeared to react more to negative emotions than positive and the reactions were identical when exposed to humans crying and dogs whining. The researchers explained that it's likely an evolutionary reaction. "If an animal is displaying negative emotions because it's in a dangerous situation, it would be wise for nearby animals to pick up on those feelings."

#21 Dogs That Are Elderly, Small Or Short-Haired Actually Need Sweater For Cold Temperatures

PetMD suggests that dogs that were not genetically "designed" for colder temperatures, as well as older dogs and dogs with weaker immune systems do need a sweater, especially dogs that have to go outside.

#23 According To Facebook Data, Dog People Have More Friends While Cat People Get Invited To More Events

According to data collected by Facebook, "on average, dog people have 26 more Facebook friends than cat people". However, cat people, while having less friends, are more likely to be invited to various events, meaning that they're putting those friendships to good use. Unsurprisingly, cat people tend to be friends with other cat people and dog people with other dog people.

#25 In 2014, An Estimated 2.8 Million Dogs In America Were On An Antidepressant Drug Like Prozac

According to the National Pet Owners Survey of the American Pet Products Association, an estimated 2.8 million dog owners give their dogs calming and anxiety medicines like Prozac each year. The medicine could be given for a number of reasons, starting from separation anxiety and ending with increased aggressiveness to mellow them out.