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Oldest Breed
The world’s oldest known breed of domesticated dog is the saluki, believed to have emerged in 329 BC. Saluki dogs were revered in ancient Egypt, being kept as royal pets and being mummified after death. There are carvings found in Sumer (present-day southern Iraq) which represent a dog, closely resembling a saluki, which date back to 7000 BC.
Most popular breed
The most popular breed many countries was the Labrador retriever with (in 2006) with 45,700 registered in the UK.123,760 registered by the American Kennel club, and 8,710 in Canada. However in Italy, in 2009 Pomeranians were the top dog.
Your chosen breed really does say something about you!
A study being presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the British Psychological Society finds that dog breeds reflect certain facets of their owners’ personalities.
Pastoral and utility breeds score highest on extroversion. Owners tend to be outgoing, talkative and the “life of the party.” Examples: Chris Evans –German Shepard, Adam Sadler and Winston Churchill- Bulldogs.
Gundog and toy breed owners are highest on agreeableness, that’s a trait that makes people easy to get along with. Agreeable people sympathize with others, care about their feelings and try to make other people feel at ease. Examples: Gwyneth Paltrow owns a Labrador retriever, and Jennifer Aniston owns a golden retriever. Sir Isaac Newton owned a Pomeranian, and Paris Hilton owns multiple Chihuahuas.
Utility dog owners are the most conscientious, that is they are dutiful and self-disciplined. They like order and schedules.Examples: Mariah Carey owns a Shih Tzu, part of this category. Warren G. Harding owned a Boston terrier, as did Gerald Ford and Helen Keller. Martha Stewart owns and shows chow-chows.
Hound dog owners have the highest emotional stability, they are calm, cool and collected. Examples: George Washington owned a foxhound. Lyndon B. Johnson owned a beagle. Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas owns two dachshunds.
Toy dog owners are the most open, these are people who are intelligent, open to new experiences and appreciative of art. Examples: Fashion designer Valentino owns a pug. Natalie Portman, Paris Hilton, Alyson Hannigan and Lindsay Lohan all own Yorkies.
Terrier owners score high in agreeableness and openness. Examples: Simon Cowell owns a cairn terrier. Late conservationist Steve Irwin owned a Staffordshire bull terrier, as does action star Vin Diesel.
Working dog owners are also high in agreeableness and openness. Examples: Justin Timberlake owns a boxer. President Obama owns a Portuguese water dog. Jim Carey owns a Great Dane and Will Smith owns a Rottweiler.
Tallest dog
The tallest dog ever is Giant George, a Great Dane, who measured 1 m 9 cm (43 in) tall on 15 February 2010 and is owned by David Nasser of Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Shortest dog
The smallest dog living, in terms of height, is a long-haired, female Chihuahua called Boo Boo, who measured 10.16 cm (4 in) tall on 12 May 2007 and is owned by Lana Elswick of Raceland, Kentucky, United States.c
The smallest dog in terms of length is Heaven Sent Brandy, a female chihuahua who measured 15.2 cm (6 in) from the nose to the tip of the tail on 31 January 2005. Brandy lives with her owner, Paulette Keller in Largo, Florida, USA. Brandy’s date of birth is 31 December 2003
Longest Tongue
The longest tongue on a dog measures 11.43 cm (4.5 in) and belongs to Puggy, a male Pekingese owned by Becky Stanford (both United States). The measurement was taken at Avondale Haslet Animal Clinic, Texas, United States, on 8 May 2009, when Puggy was 9 years old.
Balloon popping record
The fastest time to pop 100 balloons by a dog is 44.49 sec by Anastasia (a Jack Russell Terrier) owned by Doree Sitterly (USA) on the set of Live with Regis and Kelly in Los Angeles, USA on 24 February 2008.
Tennis ball holding record
The world record for the most tennis balls held in the mouth by a dog at one time is five. Augie, a golden retriever owned by the Miller family in Dallas, Texas, USA, successfully gathered and held all five regulation-sized tennis balls on 6 July 2003.
Most expensive dog
With a price tag of 10 million Chinese yuan or £945,000, an 11-month-old red Tibetan mastiff became the world’s most expensive dog when sold by breeder Lu Liang to a Chinese multi-millionaire in March 2011. Weighing 82 kg (180 lb), Big Splash enjoys a diet of chicken and beef.
Dogs are good for your health
If you have cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy, your dog might be the first to know. Studies have shown that dogs can be trained to sniff out cancers of the lung, breast, skin, bladder and prostate. Researchers suspect the canines are picking up on extraordinarily faint scents given off by the abnormal cells.
Dogs are used as service animals for people with diabetes, whose health can be harmed when their blood sugar peaks or drops. Specially trained dogs can detect the scent of these fluctuations (sweet for high blood sugar, acidic for low) and alert their owners before they even feel symptoms.
Dogs can predict an epileptic seizure 45 minutes before it begins. No one knows what the dogs might be picking up on, but theories range from an unknown smell to subtle behavioral changes.
Doggy Intelligence
Dogs can be as smart as 2-year-old children, according to research presented in 2009 at a meeting of the American Psychological Association. Border collies are the top dogs in the intelligence category, with some in the breed capable of understanding up to 200 words. Poodles, German shepherds, Golden retrievers and Dobermans round out the top five smartest breeds. (The most popular breed in America, the Labrador retriever, comes in at number seven.)
Older breeds like hound dogs, bulldogs and beagles are among the slow learners of the doggie world, the researchers reported. Unlike newer dog breeds, which are designed for companionship and sociability, old breeds were bred to sniff and hunt, perhaps giving them more brawn than brain.
Dogs can be envious
A 2008 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that when dogs saw other dogs getting treats for a trick they’d been performing unrewarded, the unrewarded dogs became agitated, scratching themselves and avoiding the gaze of the rewarded dogs. They also stopped doing the trick much faster than if they were alone and not getting a reward. The dogs’ version of jealousy isn’t as sophisticated as a human’s: The animals didn’t seem to mind if other dogs got sausage while they just got bread, and they didn’t care if another dog got food for nothing while they had to do tricks for a snack.
Dogs don’t feel guilt
Those puppy-dog eyes your dog gives you when you tell him off isn’t a sign of guilt. During the videotaped study, owners were asked to leave the room after ordering their dogs not to eat a tasty treat. While the owner was away, Alexandra Horowitz gave some of the dogs this forbidden treat before asking the owners back into the room. In some trials, the owners were told that their dog had eaten the forbidden treat; in others, they were told their dog had behaved properly and left the treat alone. What the owners were told, however, often did not correlate with reality.
Horrowitz found that whether the dogs’ demeanor included elements of the “guilty look” had little to do with whether the dogs had actually eaten the forbidden treat or not.
Docile dogs live longer
Research published in June 2010 in The American Naturalist compared the energy use, personalities, growth rates and life spans of 56 dog breeds. After controlling for factors like body size, the researchers found that bold, aggressive breeds lived fast and died young. They grew faster than obedient, eager-to-please breeds, and also had higher energy needs. The findings suggest that in selectively breeding for personality, humans inadvertently tapped into linked traits like metabolism and longevity.
Dogs are the most diverse-looking mammals around
From the droopy Bassett hound to the sleek-and-slim Weimaraner, dogs show an amazing diversity in body shape. A study published in The American Naturalist in 2010 found that the differences between dog breeds’ skulls are as pronounced as the differences between completely separate mammal species. A Collie skull, for example, is as different from a Pekingese skull as a cat’s skull is from a walrus’s.
Dogs are good for your social life
Man’s best friend may even net you more human friends. A 2000 study published in journal of The British Psychological Society found that walking with a dog at least tripled the number of social interactions a person had. Unfashionable pet owners take heart: The dogs elicited positive social contact even when the animal looked fierce or the owner dressed in shabby clothes.