National Dog Day: Dogs by the numbers

Happy National Dog Day!

We all love our doggies, right? What do you know about dogs? Here's some fun facts.

Kristine Paulus, via Flickr Creative Commons

• The American Kennel Club recognizes 180 breeds of dog.  But there are another 66 breeds in miscellaneous breeds or foundation stock service. 
• 62 percent of households in the U.S. own at least one dog.
• Pet spending in the U.S. for 2013: $55.7 billion.
• 20 percent: the number of dogs adopted from shelters. 
• 33 percent: Dog owners who talk to their dogs over the phone, even leaving them voice messages.
• More Dogs live in the U.S. than in any other country.

Dog anatomy 

• Dogs sweat through their foot pads.
• Dogs have about 1,700 tastebuds, while humans have 9,000.
• Dogs are not colorblind. They just don't see colors as vividly as we do.
• Dogs can see in the dark thanks to a special membrane in their eyes.
• Dog eyes also have a third eyelid which keeps the eyes moist and protected from dirt.
• Bloodhounds have 300 million scent receptors, beagles have around 200 million. Humans have around 5 million.

Doggy Smarts 

• The average dog can understand at least 250 words and gestures. Chaser the border collie purportedly knows over 1,000.
•  According to American Kennel Club, a dog's intelligence is based on trainability (us beagle lovers know better).
•  Dognition helps owners better understand their dogs and their level of intelligence.
• Pekingnese dogs were bred to be dog guards for the Chinese emperor. Smaller pekingnese were also kept in the sleeves as a last line of defense.
• Dogs can smell cancer, studies show.
• The smaller a dog is, the more likely they are to dream.
• Dogs can be left or right handed. Dog puzzle inventor and trainer Nina Ottosson says some dogs are also "paw dogs" and some are "mouth dogs," referring to how they attempt to solve puzzles. 

What's your favorite doggy fact?

AKC: Beagles are fourth most popular dog breed

We're number 4! We're number 4! We're number 4!

One of the beagles who took part in Meet the Breeds at the AKC Show in December.

Beagles kept the number four spot on American Kennel Club's popular breed listing. That means beagles are the fourth most popular dog among Americans who register their pet with AKC.

Here are the other nine most popular breeds from the Top 10:


2013 Most Popular Dogs in the U.S.
1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd Dog
3. Golden Retriever
4. Beagle
5. Bulldog
6. Yorkshire Terrier
7. Boxer
8. Poodle
9. Rottweiler
10. Dachshund

Labrador retrievers are the top breed for 23 years running! That will be tough to beat.
 
In order to register a dog, the puppy must come from a litter that is AKC registrable. So it's something you have to work on with the breeder of your pup. This list doesn't include non-AKC litters or shelter dogs.

A beagle with her award from the AKC show in Orlando last December.

 It also doesn't include AKC's Purebred Alternative Listing, which lets people register their pets into AKC. Then they can take part in any AKC competition, except the traditional show competitions.

Lulu got her Purebred Alternative Listing certificate last week! Now we can compete in AKC Rally or Agility if we want to. My trainer is interested in getting Lulu into Rally.

To register for PAL, you don't need a special lineage, just have your pups measurements, and pictures, and send your application in. Oh, and you get to give you pet one of those special names.

Lulu's is Zizo's Absolutely Fabulous. :)

PHOTOS: Show beagles at Orlando AKC show

I checked out the AKC All-breed Show at the Central Florida Fairgrounds Saturday. I got to see a bunch of cute 13 inch and 15 inch beagles in action!

Many of these beagles were bred by Lori Norman, whose group is called Lokavi Beagles. Many of her beagles go on to be champions and grand champions. In fact, Rebel, which Norman showed this weekend, is the top beagle in the country!

Now these are proper show beagles. You'll notice they look different than Lulu. That's because Lulu is a field beagle. Different body structure. I also learned this weekend -- field beagles bay, but show beagles do not!

Before we go, one more shot -- PUPPIES!!!!!

By the way, I have entered Lulu in the Life+Dog Cover Photo Contest. I entered this photo:

Please vote for me, and you'll help SPCA of Central Florida! To vote, head here!

10 Things I Learned About Dogs from the AKC championship in Orlando

THAT is a really big trophy.

Only one dog in all the world could win that trophy last weekend at the AKC/Eukanuba World Challenge in Orlando, as part of Celebrate Dogs! weekend.

The road to getting this trophy though is not easy, and that's the first thing I learned.

1. Showing a dog isn't easy. I got to show a dog myself as part of the Blogger Stakes. They paired me up with a show dog named Copper. On top of the grooming and the lessons and everything else, there's a whole particularly way to show a dog in the ring. I had to learn it all in a few minutes. We'll talk more about this soon, but this isn't easy.
2. The American Kennel Club is not just for pure breeds. Mixed breed dogs may not be allowed in the big show rings, but you can register your mutt, and there's plenty for them to do -- from obedience to canine good citizenship. Head to the AKC website to find out more.
3. Rescue dogs can join AKC too! The Purebred Alternative Listing/Indefinite Listing Privilege program allows you to register your dog with AKC even if it doesn't have papers. You just need to include pictures of the dog in your application. Check out the PAL/ILP section of the AKC website for more information.

4. Eukanuba is getting into breed formulas. Eukanuba is the sponsor of Celebrate Dogs! and they were there in full force. We won some awesome prizes, and learned about their newest products, including Shakeables treats, which come out in January. They also just added a dachshund formula, and mom is pretty excited about it. Now we just need to find it.
5. There are field beagles. I often wonder whether Lulu is a full beagle. She is bigger than the beagles I saw at the show this weekend. And while one Treeing Walker Coonhound breeder thought she might have some coonie in her, the beagle breeders in the "Meet the Breed" section thought she may be a field beagle. They tend to have a different body type. I had never heard of that before. I hope to find more information when I contact the beagle breeders this week.
6. There are lots and lots of breeds! I knew there were lots of dog breeds, but I was amazed at the Meet the Breeds section at Celebrate Dogs! There were dozens of breeds. They filled aisles and aisles. Some of the breeds were familiar, like the beagles or the dachshunds. Some I had never heard of before, like the Xoloitzcuintli! There are dog breeds all over the world. So when you walk into a shelter, and you see a dog that's unusual, don't just walk past it. It may be a great dog!
7. Children can show dogs. After a day at Celebrate Dogs! my six-year-old niece was itching to get into the ring. Well she can. AKC told us that my niece can show dogs at her age. Of course, she needs a dog she can show first. Cappy and her new rescue dog are not quite ready for primetime.
8. Dogs can do awesome things. There were high-flying dock-diving dogs, and soccer-playing dogs, and hurdle-jumping, agility-racing dogs, and dancing dogs, and celebrity dogs, and service dogs, and of course, show dogs. It's amazing what a dog can do if their owner (and the dog) put their mind to it.
9. Show dogs eat regular food.  I asked around, and many of the owners feed their dogs Purina Pro Plan. I was amazed by that. You'd think they would go for one of the cadillac brands, or make them special food. And some do. But others use Pro Plan or Eukanuba. Very interesting.
10. Show dogs are just like regular dogs. At the show, I saw show dogs bark at people and other dogs. I saw show dogs beg for treats. I saw show dogs try to play (or fight) with other dogs. I saw show dogs have accidents. Just like my dog. Ok, so my dog doesn't get groomed daily with $100 brushes, and Lulu isn't exactly show quality yet. But she is just as good as the beagles I saw at Celebrate Dogs! -- they all eat their food on the same side of the bowl!

My niece with some of the beagles at the Meet the Breeds section.

Celebrate Dogs, AKC/Eukanuba Championship Coming to Orlando

Lulu and I have class today.

Alas, I doubt she and I will make a great championship dog team.

But I can dream, and so can you, and the perfect place to do that is in Orlando the weekend of Dec. 15.

Celebrate Dogs! is a big family event at Orange County Convention Center Dec. 15 and 16, with the crowning event being the AKC/Eukanuba Championship.

More than just a dog show, Celebrate Dogs! gives people a chance to learn about different kinds of dogs, and about what dogs can do if you channel their instincts. That includes agility, soccer, dock jumping, obedience and of course, the big show.

Meet dozens breeds and breeders, meet celebrity dogs, and check out the dealer section with all kinds of stuff for your best furry friend. You can't actually bring your own dog, but you don't want to do that if you're getting them a Christmas present anyway, right?

Celebrate Dogs! is $20 at the door for adults, $15 for seniors and young adults, and $5 for kids 2 to 12 years old.

UPDATE: I just added a pet events page to Life With Beagle! Find pet-related events in Central Florida every month. And, if you know of any, let me know! Drop me an email at czizo@cfl.rr.com.