A SMALL GAME · FUN FACTS
Dog fact
or fetch?
By Gina Wilt · October 2026 · Sources checked October 2026
Some of what people say about dogs is true, and some of it is fetch: a myth worth dropping. Here are twelve to try, from dry noses to the seven-year rule.
Tap Fact or Fetch for each one to see the answer and where it comes from. Your score stays in this browser.
No. 1
A dry nose means a dog is sick.
Fetch, a myth
A dog’s nose moisture isn’t related to their overall health, and most sick pets have perfectly normal, moist noses. Appetite and energy level are better clues. A nose that stays dry all the time usually points to a problem with the nose itself.
Source: VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab), VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab)
No. 2
Your dog can pick up smells that are far too faint for you to notice.
Fact
A dog’s sense of smell is many times stronger than ours, though estimates of how much stronger vary. Letting your dog stop and sniff on walks gives their brain a workout too.
Source: VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab), VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab)
No. 3
Every year of a dog’s life equals seven human years.
Fetch, a myth
Dogs age much faster early on: a medium-sized dog’s first year is roughly like 15 human years, and aging slows after that. Size matters too, so small and large dogs reach their senior years at different ages.
Source: UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (opens in a new tab), UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (opens in a new tab)
No. 4
Dogs do a little sweating through their paw pads.
Fact
Dogs have a small number of sweat glands in their paw pads, but they can’t cool off by sweating the way people do, so panting is their main way to cool down. On a hot day, heavy panting can be a sign a dog is getting too hot.
Source: VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab), Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine (Riney Canine Health Center) (opens in a new tab)
No. 5
A wagging tail always means a happy dog.
Fetch, a myth
A fearful or anxious dog can wag too, often fast and low. Read the whole dog, including ears, posture, and face, before reaching in to pet.
Source: VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab), AVMA (opens in a new tab)
No. 6
Dogs can hear high-pitched sounds that people can’t.
Fact
Dogs hear higher frequencies than we do, and a UC Davis study found that on-and-off sounds like a smoke detector’s low-battery chirp are more likely to make a dog anxious. Swapping that battery quickly is a small kindness.
Source: VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab), UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (opens in a new tab)
No. 7
Loud snoring is normal and healthy for a flat-faced dog.
Fetch, a myth
Snoring and snorting can be signs of a narrowed airway, and a UK expert group on flat-faced dog health says noisy breathing at rest or light exercise should never be accepted as normal. If your dog breathes noisily while awake and calm, mention it to your vet.
Source: University of Cambridge, Department of Veterinary Medicine (BOAS Research Group) (opens in a new tab), UK Brachycephalic Working Group (hosted by the Royal Veterinary College) (opens in a new tab)
No. 8
A yawning dog isn’t always a sleepy dog.
Fact
Dogs also yawn when they feel stressed or worried, sometimes with ears pulled back or a paw raised. If your dog yawns a lot in a certain situation, give them some space and ease off whatever set it off.
Source: VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab), AVMA (opens in a new tab)
No. 9
Dogs see the world only in black and white.
Fetch, a myth
Dogs do see color, just not as well as we do. Research shows their eyes have two kinds of color-sensing cones, and their color vision is a lot like that of a person with red-green color blindness.
Source: Visual Neuroscience (peer-reviewed), Neitz, Geist and Jacobs, 1989 (opens in a new tab), VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab)
No. 10
A dog’s normal body temperature is a little higher than a person’s.
Fact
Cornell lists a dog’s normal range as 100.5 to 102.5°F, a few degrees above a typical person’s. If you ever think your dog has a fever, your vet can tell you how to check.
Source: Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine (Riney Canine Health Center) (opens in a new tab), MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine) (opens in a new tab)
No. 11
On a hot day, pavement can get hot enough to burn a dog’s paw pads.
Fact
Paw pads can burn on hot asphalt. On hot days, keep walks off asphalt as much as you can, and walk at cooler times of day.
Source: ASPCA (opens in a new tab), AVMA (opens in a new tab)
No. 12
Puppies are born unable to hear.
Fact
A puppy’s ear canals are sealed shut at birth and open over the first few weeks, so puppies hear their first sounds at about two weeks old.
Source: VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab), VCA Animal Hospitals (opens in a new tab)
Quiz done.
There’s more where that came from: Safe or skip covers the holiday table and the holiday house, and Doug, Dex, and Sky are hiding on six pages of this site. Tap the “Find the frenchies?” button to play.
Sources
- VCA Animal Hospitals. You can tell if your pet is sick by checking their nose for dryness.. vcahospitals.com/resources/conditions/you-can-tell-if-your-pet-is-sick (opens in a new tab)
- VCA Animal Hospitals. How Dogs Use Smell to Perceive the World. vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/how-dogs-use-smell-to-perceive-the-worl (opens in a new tab)
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Mental Stimulation for Dogs: Sniffing Walks. vcahospitals.com/resources/preventive-dog/weight-exercise/sniffing-wal (opens in a new tab)
- UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Calculating Your Dog’s Age. healthtopics.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/canine/calculating-your- (opens in a new tab)
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Heat Stroke in Dogs. vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/heat-stroke-in-dogs (opens in a new tab)
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine (Riney Canine Health Center). Heatstroke: A medical emergency. www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/riney-canine-he (opens in a new tab)
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Interpreting Tail Wags in Dogs. vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/interpreting-tail-wags-in-dogs (opens in a new tab)
- AVMA. Preventing dog bites (reading dog body language). avma.org/resources/pet-owners/how-read-dog-body-language (opens in a new tab)
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Seven fun facts about your pet's ears. vcahospitals.com/resources/lifestyle/seven-fun-facts-about-your-pet-s- (opens in a new tab)
- UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Common Household Noises May Be Stressing Your Dog (Nov 10, 2021). www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news/common-household-noises-may-be-stressing-y (opens in a new tab)
- University of Cambridge, Department of Veterinary Medicine (BOAS Research Group). Recognition & Diagnosis. www.vet.cam.ac.uk/boas/about-boas/recognition-diagnosis (opens in a new tab)
- UK Brachycephalic Working Group (hosted by the Royal Veterinary College). Noisy breathing in flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs at rest or light exercise is never normal. rvc.ac.uk/Media/Default/VetCompass/Audio-visual%20resources/241118-Noi (opens in a new tab)
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Why do dogs yawn?. vcahospitals.com/resources/behavior-dog/why-do-dogs-yawn (opens in a new tab)
- Visual Neuroscience (peer-reviewed), Neitz, Geist and Jacobs, 1989. Color vision in the dog. www.cambridge.org/core/product/5A30E35A384D10B6A2B46B01C896D3D5 (opens in a new tab)
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Dogs and cats see only in black and white. Answer: False. vcahospitals.com/resources/behavior/do-pets-only-see-in-black-and-whit (opens in a new tab)
- MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine). Body temperature norms. medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001982.htm (opens in a new tab)
- ASPCA. Hot Weather Safety Tips. www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/hot-weather-safety-tips (opens in a new tab)
- AVMA. Warm weather pet safety. www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/warm-weather-pet-safet (opens in a new tab)
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What to watch for,
before it matters.
A short note at the start of each month: the Arizona risks coming up for dogs, one practical tip with its source, and new free guides when we publish them.
Educational information, not an individual veterinary assessment.