The dog ("Canis lupus familiaris") is one of the most popular pets in the world. The dog continues to be one of the most widely kept, working and companion animals in human history. Throughout history, dogs have had a very close relationship with man. Man utilised the skills of dogs to drag sleighs through the snow, save people's lives and more recently to detect substances and enhance the lives of people who are less physically able. The loyalty and devotion that dogs demonstrate as part of their natural instincts as pack animals, closely mimics the human instincts of love and friendship, leading many dog owners to view their pets as fully-fledged family members. A dog fits easily into family life because it benefits and thrives from attention and commitment.
If you decide to get a dog, you need to be well prepared to take care of it. In order to keep a dog healthy and happy, it is necessary to provide for its basic needs of shelter and nutrition as well as pay attention to its behaviour and appearance. This is very important so that you can recognise when your dog is unwell and may require veterinary treatment. Veterinary care is an aspect people often don't think about when getting a dog. You may visit the vet a few times during the first year so that your puppy can be vaccinated, but what should you do after that?
- Care & your vet
- Interesting facts about dogs
- Most popular names for dogs
- How old is your dog in human years?
Care & your vet
Just like people, dogs can become ill or suffer from medical conditions, obviously your vet is the first port of call to give veterinary care. You and your pet may benefit from a check up at least once a year (just like you may go to the dentist or doctor), to ensure that there are no underlying problems that could affect your dogs' health and also to receive advice about enhancing your pets' health by preventing diseases and parasites such as fleas and ticks.
Interesting facts about dogs
- There are 701 different kinds of pedigree dogs
- The most intelligent dogs are: 1) Border Collie 2) Poodle 3) Golden Retriever
- Approximately 1 in 3 households keep dogs
- Just like people, dogs dream while asleep
- Dogs have a perfect nose with a sense of smell 100 times better than that of humans
- Dogs can hear sounds 250 yards away that most people cannot hear beyond 25 yards
- Dogs sweat through the pads of their feet
- Dogs have twice as many muscles for moving their ears as people
- Male dogs and humans are the only mammals with a prostate
Most popular names for dogs
Molly
Jack
Holly
Max
Buster
How old is your dog in human years?
| Up to 10 kg | Up to 25 kg | 25 - 60 kg | + 60 kg | ||||
| dog | human | dog | human | dog | human | dog | human |
| 20 | 96 | ||||||
| 19 | 92 | ||||||
| 18 | 88 | 18 | 104 | ||||
| 17 | 84 | 17 | 99 | ||||
| 16 | 80 | 16 | 94 | ||||
| 15 | 76 | 15 | 89 | ||||
| 14 | 72 | 14 | 84 | 14 | 108 | ||
| 13 | 68 | 13 | 79 | 13 | 101 | ||
| 12 | 64 | 12 | 74 | 12 | 94 | ||
| 11 | 60 | 11 | 69 | 11 | 87 | 11 | 119 |
| 10 | 56 | 10 | 64 | 10 | 80 | 10 | 109 |
| 9 | 52 | 9 | 59 | 9 | 73 | 9 | 99 |
| 8 | 48 | 8 | 54 | 8 | 66 | 8 | 89 |
| 7 | 44 | 7 | 49 | 7 | 59 | 7 | 79 |
| 6 | 40 | 6 | 44 | 6 | 52 | 6 | 69 |
| 5 | 36 | 5 | 39 | 5 | 45 | 5 | 49 |
| 4 | 32 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 38 | 4 | 49 |
| 3 | 28 | 3 | 29 | 3 | 31 | 3 | 39 |
| ELDERLY | MIDDLE-AGED | ADULT |
