Random fun fact

The webpage 99 fun facts about dogs claims President Franklin Roosevelt created a minor international incident when he claimed he sent a destroyer to the Aleutian Islands to pick up his Scottish Terrier who had been left behind.

I sympathize; if my dog was left behind and I had a destroyer, I'd send it. :o)

Rat Terrier

The first I heard someone say, "That's a ratty" I thought, "It's a what-and-a-what?" Then, I learned Rat Terrier is an actual dog breed.

The Rat Terrier is an American Dog breed used as all-around farm dog and hunting companion. They come in a variety of colors and patterns, and are often mistaken for Jack Russels. The Rat Terrier always has a single coat, though. They range from about ten to twenty pounds, and stand thirteen to eighteen inches at the shoulder.

Now, that's a sense of smell...

I learned something new today. The average human has about 5 million smell-detecting cells, and the average dog has more than 220 million. The part of the brain that interprets smell is four times larger in a dog than a human.

How smart is a dog?

A dog is actually very smart, much more so than most people give them credit for. An average pooch can be compared to a two year old child, and can learn to understand about 150-200 words, including hand signals and hand movements. (Source: Bailey, Gwen. 2002. What Is My Dog Thinking?) An average dog can also learn to count to four or five, and has a basic understanding of arithmetics. (Source: petside.com)

The Border Collie and the Poodle generally top the lists of intelligent dogs. They can learn over 1000 words and understand the difference between nouns and verbs. (Source: petside.com)

The video might or might not play, ABC News doesn't seem to like the spreading of it, but it's worth checking out, so follow the link to Youtube. =D