Laika in Space Capsule
Wow! Do people ever love dogs! Over 40 million US households have them — and of course we skew those statistics here at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge with our 75 dogs. Dogs are the first animals humans domesticated (12,000 years ago).
We were in love with dogs before we had farms or villages or the written word! Not only have they been our hunting, pulling, packing, playing and protection companions, but now they’re even our heirs: over 1 million Americans have written their dogs into the wills — as the primary beneficiaries!
Dogs share our homes and even a bit of our anatomy: they are the only animals besides humans that have prostate glands (but not appendix). Dog’s also share our food fetish: obesity is their number one health issue. Over their average 11-year life span, we spend about $15,000 to own a dog. Sadly, unwanted dogs face a very different fate: eight million lose their lives in shelters each year due to overpopulation.
From their lone ancestor the wolf (which descended from a small, weasel-like, tree-dwelling creature called Miacis that existed about 40 million years ago), we now have 703 breeds of dogs. Yet recent DNA research has confirmed they’re still all the same species, canis lupus, and can all interbreed.
It’s no wonder we’re so fond of these fascinating animals. Here are more fun facts about “man’s best friend:”
Winner of Ugliest Dog Contest
CELEBRITY DOGS
Dogs were the world’s first space travelers. The Soviets sent 13 into orbit during the Cold War era, starting with a street mongrel named “Laika” on the 1957 Sputnik flight. Sadly only 8 survived the flights. These Sputnik missions did nothing to reduce US-Soviet tension. But the dogs did. JFK’s terrier, Carlie, sired 4 puppies with Laika’s daughter Pushinka, who was presented to the White House by Khrushchev. Kennedy playfully called them “pupniks.”
Angered by his subject’s distrust of him, a 12th century Nordic king decreed this his dog Suening should rule in his place. For 3 years, Suening sat on the throne and signed all palace decrees with a paw print.
Adolf Hilter’s closest companion was an Alsatian named Blondi. In 1945 as Allied troops closed in on his bunker in Berlin, Hitler tested his suicide pills on Blondi. When Blondi died, Hilter and his girlfriend Eva Braun took the cyanide pills themselves.
The world’s best drug-sniffing dog is Snag, a Labrador that has made 118 drug busts worth over $800 million. His colleagues Rocky and Barco were so good at patrolling “cocaine alley” on the Tex-Mex border that drug lords put a price of $30,000 on their head.
DOG RECORDS
World's Biggest Dog
Heaviest dog: Zorba, an English Mastiff, 343 lbs.
Longest lived dog: Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, 29 years.
Tiniest dog: a Yorkie in Blackburn, UK, 4 ounces & 2.5 inches tall when fully grown (about the size of a matchbox).
Fastest dogs: greyhounds, up to 42 mph.
Dogs with most stamina: sled dogs, they can pull over 100 miles per day and exceed Olympic athletes in the their metabolic efficiency.
DOG BEHAVIOR
Dogs turn in circles before lying down on a rug because in the wild this instinctive “wolf” action turns long grass into a bed.
A frightened dog puts his tail between his legs because it cuts off the sent glands in its anal region, a very vulnerable part of the anatomy. Since the anal glands carry personal scents that identify the individual dogs, the tail between the legs action is the dogs equivalent of insecure humans hiding their aces.
Dogs’ strange habit of licking their private parts may appear perverse, but it serves an important purpose. The dog’s genitourinary tract will not function without the stimulation that comes from frequent licking.
Dogs often hesitate before going out in the rain. It’s not because they’re afraid of getting wet, but because the rain amplifies sound and hurts their super-sensitive ears. (They hear sounds 250 yards away that we cannot hear beyond 25 yards.)
DOG TRAINING
- Paul with budding Olympic athlete
The most important thing you can teach your dog is to sit and stay on command. Any time you are having behavioral problems with your dog, begin your training by reteaching him to sit and stay.
NEVER punish a puppy for chewing….. just be sure to provide the appropriate objects. Puppies need to chew to stimulate the loss of their baby teeth and to help place their permanent teeth.
If your dog reacts anti-socially toward visitors, put her in another room until she calms down. When you let her out, ignore her. This forces your dog to go to the visitors for social activity.
A dog can suffer from a poor self-image, just like humans. Bolster self-esteem with praise, affection and rewards.
Wow! Do people ever love dogs! Over 40 million US households have
them — and of course we skew those statistics here at Wintergreen Dogsled
Lodge with our 75 dogs. Dogs are the first animals humans domesticated
(12,000 years ago). We were in love with dogs before we had farms or
villages or the written word! Not only have they been our hunting, pulling,
packing, playing and protection companions, but now they’re even our heirs:
over 1 million Americans have written their dogs into the wills — as the
primary beneficiaries!
Dogs share our homes and even a bit of our anatomy: they are the
only animals besides humans that have prostate glands (but not appendix).
Dog’s also share our food fetish: obesity is their number one health issue.
Over their average 11-year life span, we spend about $15,000 to own a dog.
Sadly, unwanted dogs face a very different fate: eight million lose their
lives in shelters each year due to overpopulation.
From their lone ancestor the wolf (which descended from a small,
weasel-like, tree-dwelling creature called Miacis that existed about 40
million years ago), we now have 703 breeds of dogs. Yet recent DNA research
has confirmed they’re still all the same species, canis lupus, and can all
interbreed.
It’s no wonder we’re so fond of these fascinating animals. Here are more fun facts about “man’s best friend:”
CELEBRITY DOGS
Dogs were the world’s first space travelers. The Soviets sent 13 into orbit during the Cold War era, starting with a street mongrel named “Laika” on the 1957 Sputnik flight. Sadly only 8 survived the flights. These Sputnik missions did nothing to reduce US-Soviet tension. But the dogs did. JFK’s terrier, Carlie, sired 4 puppies with Laika’s daughter Pushinka, who was presented to the White House by Khrushchev. Kennedy playfully called them “pupniks.”
Angered by his subject’s distrust of him, a 12th century Nordic king decreed this his dog Suening should rule in his place. For 3 years, Suening sat on the throne and signed all palace decrees with a paw print.
Adolf Hilter’s closest companion was an Alsatian named Blondi. In 1945 as Allied troops closed in on his bunker in Berlin, Hitler tested his suicide pills on Blondi. When Blondi died, Hilter and his girlfriend Eva Braun took the cyanide pills themselves.
The world’s best drug-sniffing dog is Snag, a Labrador that has made 118 drug busts worth over $800 million. His colleagues Rocky and Barco were so good at patrolling “cocaine alley” on the Tex-Mex border that drug lords put a price of $30,000 on their head.
DOG RECORDS
Heaviest dog: Zorba, an English Mastiff, 343 lbs.
Longest lived dog: Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, 29 years.
Tiniest dog: a Yorkie in Blackburn, UK, 4 ounces & 2.5 inches tall when fully grown (about the size of a matchbox).
Fastest dogs: greyhounds, up to 42 mph.
Dogs with most stamina: sled dogs, they can pull over 100 miles per day and exceed Olympic athletes in the their metabolic efficiency.
DOG BEHAVIOR
Dogs turn in circles before lying down on a rug because in the wild this instinctive “wolf” action turns long grass into a bed.
A frightened dog puts his tail between his legs because it cuts off the sent glands in its anal region, a very vulnerable part of the anatomy. Since the anal glands carry personal scents that identify the individual dogs, the tail between the legs action is the dogs equivalent of insecure humans hiding their aces.
Dogs’ strange habit of licking their private parts may appear perverse, but it serves an important purpose. The dog’s genitourinary tract will not function without the stimulation that comes from frequent licking.
Dogs often hesitate before going out in the rain. It’s not because they’re afraid of getting wet, but because the rain amplifies sound and hurts their super-sensitive ears. (They hear sounds 250 yards away that we cannot hear beyond 25 yards.)
DOG TRAINING
The most important thing you can teach your dog is to sit and stay on command. Any time you are having behavioral problems with your dog, begin your training by reteaching him to sit and stay.
NEVER punish a puppy for chewing….. just be sure to provide the appropriate objects. Puppies need to chew to stimulate the loss of their baby teeth and to help place their permanent teeth.
If your dog reacts anti-socially toward visitors, put her in another room until she calms down. When you let her out, ignore her. This forces your dog
to go to the visitors for social activity.
A dog can suffer from a poor self-image, just like humans. Bolster self-esteem with praise, affection and rewards.
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