Fun Dog Facts That Help You to Understand Our 4 Favorite Breeds

Understanding dog facts that correlate with specific breeds can help you become a better dog owner. Here are facts about 4 breeds you won’t want to miss.

There are eight classes and more than 150 different dog breeds. While you may know your Labrador from your retriever, there are some dogs whose lineage and history stand out from the crowd.

Do you own an Australian Kelpie, Akita, Basenji, or Daschund? Keep reading to learn all about these extraordinary breeds.

Australian Kelpie

All dogs are descendants of wolves, but the Australian Kelpie was believed to be closer than others.

Kelpies are native to Australia but are now found around the United States, typically on farms and ranches. Legend has it that Australians created them by breeding collies with other traditional herding dogs and even potentially with dingoes. Doing so would make the collies more resilient to the climate.

The dog’s origins as a dingo were mostly urban legend. Author Bill Robertson said the dingo genes found in the dog occurred after a fateful mating during the 1870s.

However, the University of Sydney published research suggesting that this bush folklore is just that – folklore. They found no DNA evidence that the two dogs share any DNA.

Want more fun facts about this breed? Click the link for more info.

Akita

The Akita is an old breed, and they have been around for thousands of years. They get their name from the prefecture of their origin – Akita. It’s also one of the most famous breeds thanks to its strong links with Japanese culture.

The most famous Akita is Hachiko, a dog who would walk his owner to the train station each day and wait at the station for his owner to come home. Unfortunately, his owner died at work and never took the train home.

Hachiko waited on the platform for ten years until he died in 1935. He became a local cult figure, and now, there’s a bronze statue in his memory.

How did this quintessential Japanese pooch make it to the U.S.? Sources say Helen Keller was the first to bring an Akita to the U.S. after learning about Hachiko on a trip to Japan in 1937.

Basenji

The Basenji isn’t popular in the United States, but it is an incredibly distinctive breed.

These dogs have short coats and muscular bodies, but they are best known for being a ‘barkless’ dog.

Rather than barking like most other breeds, the Basenji lets out a sort of yodel. Experts believe that it doesn’t have a bark because it is one of the oldest breeds of dog in existence, so it would not have had a chance to evolve its bark.

Dachshund

The little Dachshund has short legs and a sweet smile, but why?

Three hundred years ago, German breeders created the Dachshund for a specific purpose: badger hunting. The name Dachshund means badger (Dachs) and dog (Hund).

Their short legs may make them cute, but they also made them the perfect height to enter badger dens, where they’d encounter 15-pound badgers.

Although Dachshunds were bred for a purpose, they are incredibly diverse dogs. Today, the American Kennel Club recognizes 12 standard colors and three markings, and they come in two sizes. And when it comes to take care of your Dachshund, food is a vital factor, we suggest you should read this article about food for Dachshund so you will have a better idea on how to feed this breed.

Americans have had a complicated relationship with this breed thanks to their German origins. However, they remain one of the best-loved pups around the world.

Learn More Dog Facts

These four distinctive dog breeds are incredible animals and loveable pets. Learning these dog facts shows how unique each animal is as a species and as a member of your family.

Do you know the origin story of your favorite dog breed? What you learn might surprise you and tell you more about your dog’s personality and behavior.

Keep tabs on our blog for more insights.