In 1937, a writer and dog enthusiast named Will Judy wrote in a training manual that
dogs can only see in black, white, and gray. That line of thinking caught on
and for decades people believed that dogs lived a colorless existence. But it turns out that,
though dogs are technically colorblind, they still see *some* color, like most colorblind humans.
Hi, I’m Justin Dodd. Welcome to Misconceptions. Not being able to see
any colors is just one misconception about dogs I’ll be covering today,
from alpha males to wagging tails. Let’s talk about some good boys.
The colors dogs see are more muted than
the vivid hues most people see. Dogs are dichromatic, meaning they have two
types of cones in their retina (humans, on the other hand, have three). According to
dog cognition expert Alexandra Horowitz, “[Human] eyes respond to the colors red,
blue, or green . . . Dogs’ eyes pick up blue and greenish-yellow. They don’t see red, or orange, or
yellow the same way we do.” For them, that bright red fire hydrant they’re so inclined to pee on
“probably looks more like faint green,” according to Horowitz. It’s a bit like how a person with
red-green colorblindness might have trouble seeing the true color of a bottle of ketchup. When you’re
shopping for Sparky’s birthday present, you may want to stick with yellow and blue toys, since
they’ll have an easier time seeing those colors.
If you’ve ever bragged that your 11-year-old family dog is actually 77 in dog years—first
of all, weird brag. Also: not really correct. You were operating under the misconception that one
dog year equals seven human years, but there’s no solid evidence behind that common claim. According
to the American Kennel Club, this misleading idea has been around since the 1950s. It’s
thought that it arose because people at the time realized that dogs generally made it to around
10 years old while humans lived to about 70. It’s hard to predict a dog’s lifespan, though.
Their breed and health will affect how long they live. In general, smaller dogs tend to
live longer than larger ones. Smaller breeds are considered “senior” when they hit 7,
whereas bigger pups enter that category at around 5 or 6. In general, the average lifespan for a dog
under 22 pounds is a bit over 14 years, whereas a dog 45 pounds or more may live to around 12.
If you do want to do a bit of math to try to compare human years to dog years, the people
at the American Veterinary Medical Association can help: According to them, a mid-sized dog’s first
year actually equals about 15 human years. Their second year adds another nine human years, and
each subsequent human year equals about five dog years. If all that math scrambles your brain,
just stick to saying your dog is a cutie patootie stinky baby puppy prince,
no matter how old they are.
If you time traveled to the 4th century BCE and visited the Sanctuary of Asklepios
in Ancient Greece, you’d find more than just human healers tending to the ill.
Dogs wandered around the sanctuary, too, and they weren’t there for emotional support.
The animals were there to lick people’s wounds. In ancient times, people thought dog saliva had
curative properties. The idea can be traced to Ancient Egypt, where pups were used to lick
sores or wounds in an attempt to heal a person or rid them of disease. The Greeks caught on,
which is why Asklepios, the god of healing, was often depicted with a canine companion.
It’s thought healers of yore turned to dogs after seeing them lick their own wounds. And
their reasoning wasn’t entirely unsound: It’s been suggested that licking can help remove debris, and
dog saliva does contain proteins called histatins, which help prevent infection and encourage wounds
to close. But that’s not all that’s in there. If you’ve ever seen a dog snack on some old poop
or proudly carry around the dead rat they found on the sidewalk, then you know their mouths aren’t
actually sanitary. It’s commonly said that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s. But
neither species has very clean mouths so it’s like comparing a trash can to a slightly
dirtier trash can—like humans, dogs have over 600 different kinds of bacteria in their mouths.
Among the bacteria typically swirling around in a dog’s mouth is one called Pasteurella,
which can cause cellulitis, a skin infection that can be fatal if left untreated.
So, if you or your beloved pup wind up with any sort of wound,
it’s best to seek medical care from a professional. Ignore the French saying
“langue de chien, langue de médecin,” or “a dog’s tongue, a doctor’s tongue.” Neither
dog nor doctor should be licking you.
This saying may apply to that relative who, no matter how many times you try to help them,
just can’t seem to figure out how to set up their new-fangled Alexa robot lady. It doesn’t
actually work for dogs, though. Your pup can learn new tricks at any point in their life.
Age may even be an advantage: As two veterinarians wrote for VCA hospitals,
“ . Older dogs are not as easily distracted as pups and can focus for longer periods of time.
This ability to concentrate helps them learn new routines more easily.” So, if your senior dog
never quite mastered “sit,” it’s not too late. All you’ll need is a lot of patience—and some
good treats for positive reinforcement. In fact, learning new tricks and engaging
in different activities is probably good for your older pet in the same way that puzzles
and word games are good for older people. In 2018, a team of Austrian scientists published a study
showing that training senior dogs to play games using touchscreen computers had the potential
to help maintain their cognitive skills.
Speaking of training, it’s commonly said that a person must be the alpha of their “pack.”
To maintain their “alpha” status, some trainers will advise handlers to always eat first, walk
ahead of their dog, and sometimes even pin their pup to the ground to enforce dominance. But none
of these methods are actually backed by science. People tend to think that because dogs are
descended from wolves, they have the same social structure. But domestic dogs don’t
have packs—strays may form social groups, but those loose acquaintances aren’t the same as
the close bonds a wolf family shares. And wolf packs almost never have an aggressive
alpha who rules the others by force. In most packs, the alpha pair are just the parents,
and their so-called “submissives” are the kids. And sure, some dogs may be aggressive, but that
isn’t the same as being dominant or “alpha.” Aggressive behavior is usually caused by fear,
so trying to intimidate your dog into being a subordinate won’t actually accomplish much and
will likely do more harm than good. All dogs should be treated like royalty and that’s just
a fact, I mean it’s science.
If a dog approaches you with a wagging tail, don’t immediately
assume they’re happy to see you. It’s true that tail wagging can mean friendliness, but that isn’t
always the case. In general, when a pup holds their tail slightly raised or horizontal to their
body and wags it, that is a sign of friendliness. A low tail wag, on the other hand, can signal
fear. And if a dog has their tail held high and is shaking it so fast it seems to vibrate, that can
be a sign of extreme excitement or aggression.
If you see your dog chowing down on a mouthful of grass,
don’t assume they have an upset stomach. The animals eat grass for a variety of reasons.
Some may LARP as lawnmowers because they have some sort of dietary deficiency or need more fiber.
Some may use it as an antacid or to soothe an empty stomach, while others may chew on grass
simply because they’re bored or because they like the taste. Relatable. If a dog is feeling
lonely or neglected, it may even turn to eating grass as a way to get their owners’ attention.
In general, if Fido wants to snack on your lawn, it probably isn’t a cause for
concern—just keep an eye out and make sure they aren’t accidentally ingesting dangerous plants
or harmful chemicals like pesticides.
If you boop your dog’s snoot and it’s dry and warm instead of cold and wet,
don’t worry. It’s not clear where the idea that healthy dogs always have cold, wet noses
came from. But anything other than a chilly, damp nose isn’t a sign of illness. A healthy
dog’s nose can have a whole range of textures and temperatures, which can change throughout the day,
and are often affected by the weather. Booping a dog’s nose throughout the day, however,
is still recommended for everyone’s benefit.
Spaying and neutering dogs is an extremely common—and largely safe—procedure. And thanks
to organizations that offer it for little-to-no fees, it shouldn’t break the bank. And yet,
many people are still hesitant to neuter their dogs, thanks in part to some old misconceptions
about the procedure. But despite what you may have heard, neutering your dog won’t turn it into a
terror—if anything, your dog will become easier to handle, since they’ll no longer have to deal
with hormone-induced desires to find a mate, which can lead to behaviors like fighting and roaming.
And you don’t have to wait until your female dog has had a litter to get her spayed—it’s
actually been shown that having the procedure done before she reaches sexual maturity can reduce the
risk for some cancers by up to 85 percent. For female dogs, it reduces the risk of breast cancer
and can completely eliminate the chance of them developing uterine or ovarian cancer, depending
on the exact type of operation that’s done. As with all medical procedures, though,
there are some risks. You should talk with your veterinarian,
as spaying or neutering a dog too early could lead to complications or raise their risk levels for
certain conditions. A dog’s size and age will help determine the safest time to get them “fixed.”
Cut those adorable Pitbull pups some slack. There’s really no such thing as an “aggressive”
dog breed. A study published in Science in April 2022 found that a dog’s breed doesn’t completely
determine their behavior or personality. The researchers asked the owners of 18,385 dogs about
their pets’ behavioral traits, then compared that to the DNA sequencing of more than 2000 canines.
They found that just 9 percent of a dog’s typical behavior is related to its breed.
A dog’s environment and upbringing have a much larger effect on how it’ll behave. A Labrador,
for example, may be timid and distant if it had a bad start in life, despite the breed’s reputation
for being friendly and lovable. A supposedly aggressive Pitbull, on the other hand, may want
nothing more than to cuddle on your lap all day. Some breeds do have traits that are more closely
linked with genetics, however. Huskies have a tendency to howl, and border collies are
a bit more inclined to take directions from their humans. Those are just general trends,
though, and don’t necessarily tell you anything about specific individuals.
Sorry, allergy-sufferers. No matter how much money you spend, you’ll never be able to buy
a hypoallergenic dog. They simply don’t exist. People tend to think that if a dog doesn’t shed,
then it’s hypoallergenic. And while a non-shedding breed may alleviate some
people’s allergies, it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to stay sneeze-free. Breeds that
don’t shed a lot, like poodles, actually have higher levels of Canis familiaris allergen 1—the
main dog allergen—in coat samples, compared to high-shedding breeds like Labrador retrievers.
Low-shedding breeds like poodles, Yorkshire terriers, and Schnauzers might be better choices
for some people allergic to dogs—and those who don’t want to constantly vacuum up dog hair—but
a truly hypoallergenic pup would need to be non-shedding, spit-free, and skinless.
Still adorable.
We’ll end with one for the lazy poop scoopers.
No matter how tempted you are to leave your dog’s waste in the grass or chuck it into the woods,
just don’t. Dog poop isn’t quite like cow or horse manure. Scientists *are* looking into whether
there’s a way to make productive use out of dog feces, since it could reduce the environmental
impact of all those plastic bags going into landfills. For now, though, more research is
needed to figure out if composting dog waste is viable. What we do know is that it can be
full of nasty bacteria and parasites that could potentially contaminate waterways,
and back-yard composts don't generally reach the necessary temperatures to kill off those
harmful lifeforms. So please, do everyone a favor and dispose of your pet’s waste responsibly.
We’ve got an upcoming episode covering misconceptions about physics.
If you’ve got a concept from the world of physics that everyone seems to get wrong,
drop it in the comments below for a chance to be featured in that episode. Thanks for watching!