If you’re anything like me your dog is family, and as such you want to know as much about them as possible. In this post we’ll debunk five of the most common dog myths to help understand our best friends a little better.
Dogs Only Eat Grass When They’re Sick
You’ve seen your dog eating grass, right? The old myth says it’s a sign of nausea or an upset stomach and that they’re self-medicating. However, research from the Journal of Veterinary Behavior shows that healthy dogs eat grass just as often as sick ones. About 25% of dogs eat grass regularly.
Grass eating isn’t necessarily associated with gastrointestinal illness, but may just be a trait inherited by their wild ancestors.
Does that mean you should let your dog eat all the grass they want? Of course not; be very careful to keep them away from chemically treated lawns and toxic plants.one year
One Year in a Dog’s Life = Seven Human Years
We’ve all heard the saying that one year equals 7 years in dog life, but does it actually hold up? Not at all. As it turns out there’s a ton of variables involved, including breed and size specific formulas when it comes to trying to estimate a dog’s age.
In general, 15 human years equals the first year of a medium sized dog’s life, but after that the size of the dog comes into play when it comes to aging.
Small dogs age slower, so a 10 year old 20 pound dog is roughly equivalent to being 56 years old, while a 100+ pound dog is age 79 at 10 years old. Scientists approximate that every 4.4 pounds of body mass reduces a dog’s life expectancy by about a month.
Myth 3: You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
We’ve all heard the phrase “you can’t teach and old dog new tricks,” yet that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Sure if we’ve let our dogs get away with begging at the table for years correcting that behavior now will take more time, but it’s not impossible.
Older dogs can retain new commands just as well as puppies, sometimes better due to their calmer focus. As with any sort of training remember to rely on positive reinforcement and repetition for the best results.
Myth 4: Dogs See in Black and White
It was once thought that animals saw things in black and white, but scientists have proven that’s a myth.
Our dog’s don’t see color exactly the same we do, but they can distinguish blue, yellow and shades of grey, while red and green look brownish to them.
Dogs and cats have two kinds of cone photoreceptors in their eyes, which are sensitive to blue and green light. They also have better night vision and motion detection.
Dogs Only Wag Their Tail When Happy
One of the most important myths to debunk is this one — a wagging tail does not always mean a happy dog. In fact, stiff high tail wagging can signify aggression.
The tail position and speed of the wag are important to note, and it takes a bit of practice to learn to decipher.
Here’s a great video explaining the basics, and what to look out for when it comes to spotting a dog that is in high alert versus a happy, relaxed dog.
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