Dogs-Mans Best Friend

Dogs can see better in the dark than humans. Their vision enables them to identify fast moving objects due to a higher flicker rate. They can identify people from a mile’s distance. They hear between 40 to 60,000 Hertz. They are excellent hunters and have been used throughout history for their hunting abilities. Their sense of smell enables them to detect prey from large distances. Their olfactory lobes are more developed than other animals. These lobes help them identify and discriminate between more than a million smells. Their ability to hear at very low and very high frequencies make them perfect candidates for hunting prey in the past.

Dogs have been known to rescue people trapped under houses and debris during earthquakes and storms. K-9 teams in law enforcement and officers in tracking units are accompanied by them. They are also used to detect contraband, smuggled goods, and drugs at airports. Many work to watch homes and large estates as guard dogs. As household pets they provide company to young and old alike, and are their master’s best friend. Bomb detection units use them for their tracking capabilities to identify dangerous objects. Dogs in the past have been known to help and rescue ship wrecked, marooned and lost people in oceans.

At an estimate, there are about 400 million dogs in the world. They belong to the mammal group of Canidae, which includes wolves, foxes, jackals, and coyotes. Dogs bear their litters 56 to 72 days after mating. A litter consists of an average of 6 puppies. They are known to have a high degree of cognitive intelligence among animals.  Also, dogs are capable of understanding social behaviours and develop a pattern of recognizing repeated manners of a social system. This makes them adapt faster to communities and societies than other animals.

They are consumed as food in many East Asian countries. Dog meat is a source of vitamins and iron. It is also known to have medicinal properties. They can cause diseases in humans from toxocariasis to hookworm. Dog bites are known to cause rabies. This is caused by being bitten by an infected animal. Symptoms include malaise, headache, fever, acute pain, mania, lethargy and may also cause death. The smallest known dog is a Yorkshire Terrier and the largest known is an English Mastiff. The coats of dogs are usually single layer, but can be double coated in colder climates. They are known to be vulnerable to theobromine poisoning. This is due to the ingestion of chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Dogs are also vulnerable to fleas, ticks, mites, hookworms, and tapeworms.