The dog is known worldwide for being the man’s (and the woman’s) best friend. Why? Because they know, or they feel, how we feel. If we need some licks to booster our mood or even when we’re so tired that we can’t even throw a ball for them to retrieve. The truth is that dogs know everything about us, but how much do we know about them? Discover some facts about your best friend that will leave your jaw dropped.

1 – Your dog thinks as a toddler: have you ever wondered why your three-year-old treasure got along so well with you four-year-old big, and still playful, dog? The answer has finally arrived hand in hand with an accurate scientific explanation: your dog understands the same things your toddler does, which translated into the language we speak in the adulthood, which would be around 230 words, orders and body language manifestations.

2 – Your dog has a sense of time: you may think its hunger that pushes your dog to ask for food when it’s time for lunch, and you’re right. However, how does he or she know when it’s time for a walk? If they didn’t have a sense of time, this question couldn’t be answered. Besides, experiments have been carried out, and they show that if you arrive home every day at the same time when it’s about twenty or fifteen minutes until you are likely to return, your dog will place itself in front of the door to give you a very warm welcome.

3 – They feel the need to protect themselves when sleeping. In case you wanted to know why they tend to curl up so tenderly when they sleep, the reason is quite simple: they’re under the 'protection instinct’. Your dog’s vital organs are held in its thorax, so its instinct sends some signals for him or her to keep themselves warm at the same time they give protection to the vital parts of their bodies.

4 – They need to smell you: your dog misses you, and that’s something no one can deny. Therefore, if you have to leave home for long hours, either daily or as an exception, there's a simple solution which is going to help them soothe and release the tension your absence is going to produce them: a sock. Yes! It can be a sock, underwear or a scarf. It doesn’t matter as long as it fulfils two conditions: the first one is that it has to have your smell, which means that a new one is out of the question; the second one is that you shouldn’t mind if he or she destroys it because that’s a possibility.

5 - They only sweat through their paws: if you want to refresh your dog on a boiling summer day, the only thing you’ve got to do is to cool its paws with some fresh water. Dogs’ sweat glands only exist in such area of their bodies and not in the tongue or palate as many people believe.

6 – A stuffed dog can be a reason of jealousy: for instance if you’re reading, cooking or watching TV and you don't pay attention to your dog. Now, if you ever try to make your dog jealous by playing, or even worse, speaking to a stuffed dog, your pet will start spinning around you with gentle leaps to call your attention. They apparently don’t distinguish if it’s a real one or not. Of course, the poor stuffed dog has already been targeted, if you doubt it, leave them alone and see who wins the battle.

7 – Your dog will never feel guilty: we’re starting to get a bit sensitive, and this is a critical point to take into account when it comes to scolding your dog. No one likes seeing their books destroyed on the floor or your clothes scattered everywhere. However, appealing to resources like “you don’t know how much money this vase cost’ or 'that cup was a family relic’ will be useless. Your dog needs to understand what he or she can’t do, but remember they aren’t children, so they won’t be able to develop that sense of guilt you want to inculcate in your kids to make them better people. A dog is an animal, and yes, they love us, but they don’t grasp our world in the sense we do.

8 – Your dog’s maternal instinct is higher than yours: don’t feel offended if you’ve just become a mother, but would you ever consider breastfeeding a lion, a hyena or a seal? Well, dogs do consider it and they do it. There are plenty of cases of specimens of the canine world giving their own milk to a cub belonging to an entirely different species. Well, it’s true that the fact of the seal was a bit exaggerated, but it has happened with tigers, lions and other wild animals too.

9 – Dogs can smell disease: much has been said about dogs 'detecting’ when someone is ill and making that person more company than what they give other members of the family. The truth is that everything lies in the dog’s smelling sense. The Schillerhohe Hospital in Germany carried out some research that showed how dogs could smell the smell organs release through the skin that indicates that the body is having serious internal problems.

10- They help you find a partner: people seeking a love partner feel much more attracted to potential candidates that keep pets. You may be wondering why not a turtle, a fish or a cat. The answer is because you can’t take them to the street to have a walk and interact with them to let your future spouse discovers all your tenderness. So, unless you’re planning to get married to the person who has come to fix the electricity at home, you’d better think about adopting a dog.

Author Bio:

Melissa Weir is a North Carolina-based freelance writer and work-from-home mother of two. In her 10 years as a professional writer, she's worked in proposal management, grant writing, and content creation. Personally, she's passionate about teaching her family how to stay safe, secure and action-ready in the event of a disaster or emergency. https://redshed.co.uk