The Australian Pet Care Association (APCA) has revealed 10 of the mostinteresting facts about dogs and cats.
1. Dalmatian puppies are born pure white, and the spots appear as theyage.
2. The poodle ‘haircut’ was originally designed to help them swim! Poodleswere first used as water retrieving dogs, and shaving their bottom halfreduced their heavy coat to help them stay afloat. The hairstyle became verypopular in the breed and is often still seen today.
3. More than 60 per cent of Australians own pets. Of those pet owners, 40per cent own dogs, compared to 25 per cent who own cats. That makes dogs byfar the most popular pet owned by Australians!
4. Ever wondered why cats have whiskers? Aside from looking cute, they arethe ultimate sensory tool. Whiskers are connected to the muscular and nervoussystem and send messages directly to the brain. They also have exactly 12whiskers on each side of their face in a completely symmetrical distribution,so they can accurately measure their environment.
5. Dogs have three eyelids. Their eyes are protected not only by the sametypes of eyelids as humans, but also a third eyelid, which protects theeyeball from scratches or in response to inflammation.
6. Cats can jump up to six times their height in one jump! Their abilityto jump comes down to powerful hind legs which propel them up into the air,and they use their tail for balance.
7. Greyhounds are one of the fastest breeds of dog alive. They can run ata whopping 70km/hour and can reach that speed withing about six strides. Toput that into some perspective, Usain Bolt (the fastest man alive) has reacheda top speed of 44.72km/hour.
8. A dog’s sense of smell is far superior to a human. Dogs can have up to300 million smelling cells, compared to humans five to six million smellingcells.
9. Sir Paul McCartney confirmed during interviews that the famous Beetlessong ‘A Day in the Life’ has a high frequency tone at the end that only dogscan hear.
10. A cat’s spine is so flexible because it is made up of 53 looselyfitting vertebrae, compared to humans who only have 33. Cats also have anincredible 32 individual muscles controlling their ears, allowing them to moveeach ear 180 degrees, and each ear can move independently of the other.
This article was provided by Australian Pet Care Association (APCA). Become amember by visiting Australianpetcareassociation.com.au/membership/application/or emailing [email protected].
Tagged: Australian Pet Care Association
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