Dog Anatomy Fun Bits

All dogs have an equal number of bones. It is the length, thickness, quality and their strength which causes breeds to ultimately differ.

A dog’s skeleton is similar to humans. The differing attribute is a human’s posture is vertical and a dog’s posture is horizontal.

Dogs typically shed hair in spring and fall. Other contributing factors are; the increase and decrease in the amount of daylight hours, and their fluctuation in hormones.

All dogs are born blind and deaf. Their ears and eyes typically open up within the first 9-14 days.

In all breeds, smell is a dog’s most advanced sense. The average human has 5 million scent receptors, while a dog has approximately 200 million.

An average gestation period (pregnancy length) is 63 days. Puppies are fed solely by their mother for the first 3-4 weeks, and should not leave before the age of 8-10 weeks.

As a general rule, smaller breeds live longer than larger breeds.