Wild Facts

Well folks, we have already completed 100 Wild Facts!  I want to thank all of you for supporting this project and I hope you will all stay with me as we reach our goal of 1000 Wild Facts!  As well, I hope to see this site evolve and become even better as we get to the last Fact. With that said, if you have any comments or suggestions then please let me know.  You can contact me either in the comment thread or by the contact form on the menu bar. To celebrate the 100 Wild Facts I decided to complete a fact on an animal we should all be familiar with.

That’s right, today I wanted to shed some light on a few of the interesting behaviours of man’s best friend, the dog. Have you ever wondered why your frightened dog puts its tail between its legs? How about why your dog pants a lot more than we do? If you want to know some interesting facts about dogs then I suggest you continue reading.

Why does a frightened dog put its tail between its legs?

I am sure we have all witnessed this behaviour with our beloved pets but have you ever stopped to think why Fido is doing this? First you need to realize that dogs have anal scent glands which display a lot of information about themselves, such as sex, age, social status, etc.  This is why you will see dogs sniffing each other’s behinds. When a dog is scared it will try to hide this information from other dogs by using its tail.  I guess it would be like us hiding our face when Freddy Krueger is about to jump out from behind the house.

Why do dogs pant so much?

You will often notice your dog panting on hot days or after a lot of exercise.  They need to do this to help them cool down.  Unlike humans, dogs can’t control their heat by sweating since they have a limited number of sweat glands.  Panting will cause evaporation in the mouth and throat which brings in cool air.  Since so much blood is flowing around the head of the dog this will actually cause the blood to cool and eventually allows the dog to cool down.

Why do dogs wag their tails?

Most people believe that dogs wag their tails because they are happy. This may be true but it isn’t quite this simple. Tail wagging is a form of communication which is proven by the fact that dogs don’t wag their tails when they are alone. Dogs may use their tails to communicate happiness, fear, aggression, submission or dominance.  As well, some have suggested that wagging the tail is a way to disperse their personal information.  Remember those anal scent glands we talked about? Well, when the dog wags its tail the muscles around these glands will contract causing the pheromones to be released.

Why do dogs turn around before lying down?

There are a couple of potential answers to this question, however, both are based on instincts and evolutionary behaviour. The first theory suggests that dogs exhibit this behaviour since their ancestors use to travel in packs (i.e. wolves) . When a pack of animals lie down they form a tight circle in order to take advantage of their neighbours heat. Your dog may be instinctively carrying out this behaviour.  The other theory is that in the wild they would turn around to trample down long grasses and make a comfortable bedding area. Either way, your dog is exhibiting traits that have been passed down thousands of years.

Dog Fast Fact: When your family dog growls and barks while your kids are rough-housing, which my mother always told us to take it outside, they aren’t actually upset.  Believe it or not they just want to be a part of the fun! Your dog is just a childish as your kids and enjoy messing around.  So I guess when you ground your kids after they break your best vase then you should also ground your favourite dog!

I hope you all enjoyed our 100th Wild Fact dedicated to Man’s Best Friend!

Have a great day!