Tuesday Trivia

   It’s a cool and foggy morning but when it’s Tuesday that means it’s trivia day. Sam here…mom is being a slacker (again) so here I am working hard as usual on the blog.

Seems like a bunch of you were stumped with the last edition and both mom and I thought last week’s facts were more than challenging. With today’s fog here in the 303, my brain is a little slow today too so we’re keeping this one simple-ish.

1. What breed of dog gets its name because it strikes out with its front paws when fighting?
2. How do dogs sweat?
3. Our fur-iends over at Will & Eko should know this one. Where did Rhodesian Ridgebacks get their name from?
4. What breed of dog is the smallest in the sporting dog group?
5. Name the smallest breed of dog used in the hunting.
6. What popular breed of dog was originally named St. John’s Newfoundland?

But before we get to the answers…here are a couple of interesting facts I found while scanning the Internet.

• Did you know that all dogs can be traced back 40 million years ago to a weasel-like critter called Miacis (mom sometimes calls me a lap weasel because I try to bury myself in her lap…you think she knew about this one)? They later evolved into Tomarctus which is the direct predecessor of the genus Canis which includes wolves, jackals and dogs.
• In 2003 Dr. Roger Mugford invented the ‘wagometer’ which he claimed correctly interprets a dog’s mood by measuring the wags of our tails (good luck with measuring Old English Sheepdogs, pal-their little stumps of a tail never stop moving to get measured).
• And the strangest fact of all which kind of wigs mom out was that dog’s shoulder blades are not attached to the rest of their skeleton and allows for greater flexibility for running. No wonder I’m such a flexible, slinky dude who can wrap himself around like a pretzel! Just call me a Yoga Master.

Now for the answers…drum roll please:

(1) The Boxer (I chose this one because of my ‘BFF’ Lulu, who is quite the Boxer in every sense of the word and only thinks she doesn’t like me;  (2) Through their pads of our feet; (3) That ridge along their backs grows in the opposite direction of the rest of their fur (you did get this one correct right, huh Penny?); (4) The Cocker Spaniel; (5) Dachshunds (or as we call ’em in Germany…Dackels). They were developed to hunt badgers more than 300 years ago and because they’re built low to the ground were able to enter and maneuver through tunnels easily. Even their name spells it out-dachs means “badger” and hund of course is “dog” auf Deutsch; (6) This ever popular breed is the Labrador Retriever and to see a couple of terrific ones with the funniest stories, check out Jodi’s blog over at Heart Like a Dog. I guarantee you’ll laugh at the stories about her fur-kids. Mom is constantly snorting coffee all over the keyboard which then makes me stick to the keys. Dang it, mom! If I said it once, I’ve said it a 1,000 times, NO coffee when reading blogs! Sheesh, what’s a guy gotta do to train a biped?!

Well, that’s it for me. We hope everyone is safe and sound and starting to dry out after Hurricane Joaquin. I’m sending PPT (positive pup thoughts) to everyone affected and hope you are all getting back to normal. Till next time pups…later!

Live, love, bark! <3