Dogs
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8correct to beat the crowd
Dogs have been our companions for more than 15,000 years, and this quiz covers the whole story in 137 free questions with answers: the breeds and what they were bred to do, puppies and how dogs grow, famous dogs from film, space and history, working dogs, and the science of how a dog smells, hears and sees the world. More than half of the questions are simple enough to serve as dog trivia for kids, so it works for a family game night or a classroom, and the rest climb to breed-standard and canine-biology detail that will test any vet or show judge. Every answer has been checked against a reliable source and each question shows its citation once you have answered.
30 of 137 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How long was the Labrador Retriever's No. 1 AKC popularity reign, which ended in 2022?
31 years
The Labrador Retriever held the AKC's No. 1 spot for 31 years, from the 1991 through the 2021 rankings, the longest reign in the history of the list.
Q 02How many teeth does an adult dog have?
42
An adult dog has 42 permanent teeth, 20 in the upper jaw and 22 in the lower, replacing 28 puppy teeth; the carnassials do the meat-shearing work.
Q 03Which dog is famous for waiting at a Tokyo train station for nearly 10 years after its owner's death?
Hachiko
Hachiko met the evening train at Shibuya Station for more than nine years after his owner, Professor Hidesaburo Ueno, died in 1925; a bronze statue outside the station honours him.
Q 04What breed was Lassie, the famous TV and movie dog?
Rough Collie
Lassie is a Rough Collie: Eric Knight's 1938 story made the character famous, and Pal, the Rough Collie who played her in the 1943 film, founded the line used on screen for decades.
Q 05Dogs have around 1,700 taste buds; roughly how many do humans have?
9,000
Humans have roughly 9,000 taste buds, about five times a dog's 1,700, which is one reason dogs judge food far more by smell than by taste.
Q 06Which dog breed is known as the "firehouse dog" due to its historical association with fire departments?
Dalmatian
Dalmatians became firehouse dogs because they were used to run alongside horse-drawn fire carriages, clearing the way and calming the horses. Even after fire trucks replaced horses, the tradition stuck.
Q 07Zeus, the tallest dog ever recorded at 44 inches (111.8 cm) at the shoulder, belonged to which breed?
Great Dane
Zeus died in September 2014; the tallest living dog title has usually gone to this same breed, even though a different breed has the tallest average height.
Q 08The first dog to orbit Earth was a stray picked up from the streets of which city?
Moscow
Laika was a stray found on the streets of Moscow; Sputnik 2 was readied in about four weeks and launched on 3 November 1957 with no plan to bring her back.
Q 09Which hunting breed's silver-gray coat earned it the nickname 'Gray Ghost'?
Weimaraner
The Weimaraner's sleek silver-gray coat earned it the nickname 'Gray Ghost'; the breed was developed in the early 1800s at the court of Weimar for hunting big game.
Q 10What is the smallest dog breed in the world by height?
Chihuahua
The Chihuahua is the smallest recognized dog breed, typically standing 5 to 8 inches tall at the shoulder and weighing under 6 pounds. The breed is named after the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Q 11What breed of dog was Rin Tin Tin, the famous early Hollywood star?
German Shepherd
Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepherd rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier. He went on to star in 27 Hollywood films and is credited with saving Warner Bros. from bankruptcy.
Q 12In a racing sighthound's double suspension rotary gallop, how many times per stride are all four feet off the ground?
Twice
Twice: the double suspension rotary gallop has two airborne phases per stride, one with the body contracted and one fully extended, which is how a racing sighthound covers ground so fast.
Q 13What is a group of puppies called?
A litter
A group of puppies born together is a litter; a typical litter runs from one pup in toy breeds to a dozen or more in giant breeds.
Q 21Which dog breed was originally bred by monks in the Swiss Alps to rescue travelers lost in snow?
Saint Bernard
Saint Bernards were bred by the monks of the Great St. Bernard Hospice on the Alpine pass between Switzerland and Italy, where they found travellers lost in snow and led them to safety.
Q 22A large UK survey found the mean age at death for dogs of all breeds and all causes was closest to what?
11 years
11 years, and 12 years 8 months for dogs dying of natural causes; only 8 percent lived beyond 15.
Q 23Newborn puppies' ears stay sealed for roughly how long after birth?
13 to 17 days
A puppy's ear canals open at about 13 to 17 days, a few days after its eyes; by two to four weeks the pups are growling, biting and wagging.
Q 14Which German breed was developed to follow badgers into their burrows?
Dachshund
Dachshund translates to "badger dog" in German (Dachs = badger, Hund = dog). Their long, low body was specifically bred to follow badgers into their burrows.
Q 15Which sled dog led the final leg of the 1925 diphtheria serum run across Alaska?
Balto
Balto led Gunnar Kaasen's team on the final 53-mile leg of the relay, arriving on 2 February 1925; his bronze statue was unveiled in New York's Central Park that December.
Q 16Which New York show, first held in 1877, ranks among America's longest-running sporting events?
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has been held every year since 1877, through the Depression, both world wars and the pandemic, making it one of the oldest continuously held sporting events in the United States.
Q 17When a dog wags its tail more to one side of its body, which side signals it feels comfortable and safe?
Right
Right: a 2007 University of Trieste study found dogs wag more to the right when they see their owner and more to the left when facing an unfamiliar, dominant dog.
Q 18Which dog breed is known as the "King of Terriers" due to being the largest terrier breed?
Airedale Terrier
The Airedale Terrier is the largest of all terrier breeds, standing about 23 inches tall at the shoulder. It originated in the Aire Valley of Yorkshire, England, and was used for hunting and as a war dog.
Q 19How do dogs primarily sweat to regulate their body temperature?
Through their paw pads
Dogs sweat through their paw pads, where their merocrine sweat glands sit; it is a minor cooling route, since a dog sheds most excess heat through its tongue and airways.
Q 20What is the CGC test, which a dog-and-handler team can sit in under half an hour?
An AKC basic-manners programme
CGC is the AKC's Canine Good Citizen programme, an AKC basic-manners test in ten steps covering things like sitting politely for petting and walking on a loose lead; it has been an official AKC title since 2013.
Q 24The African 'barkless dog' is also called mbwa shenzi in Swahili, meaning what?
Savage dog
Mbwa shenzi means 'savage dog' or 'wild dog' in Swahili; another local name, m'bwa m'kube, describes how the dogs leap straight up to spot prey over tall grass.
Q 25The Welsh breed name Corgi is a compound of two words meaning 'dog' and what?
Dwarf
Corgi joins the Welsh cor, 'dwarf', with ci, 'dog'; the low-slung Pembroke was bred to herd cattle, nipping at heels below the reach of a kick.
Q 26What is the popular term for a deliberate cross of two purebreds, such as the Labradoodle?
Designer dog
Designer dog is the term for a deliberate cross of two purebreds; the Labradoodle, first bred in Australia in 1989 as a guide-dog experiment, is the classic example, and such crosses are not recognised breeds.
Q 27Which of the seven AKC breed groups is the newest, created in 1983?
Herding
The Herding Group was split off from the Working Group in 1983; its members range from Border Collies and Corgis to the German Shepherd Dog.
Q 28Which basic obedience command teaches a dog to lower its rear to the ground and hold that position?
Sit
Sit is usually the first command owners teach, since a dog with its rear on the ground cannot at the same time jump up or bolt through a door.
Q 29Who first domesticated dogs from wolves?
Prehistoric hunter-gatherers
Prehistoric hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs from wolves long before farming began; the Bonn-Oberkassel dog, buried beside two humans about 14,000 years ago, is the earliest remains conclusively identified as a domestic dog.
Q 30What is the term for the period during which a female dog is fertile and can become pregnant?
Estrus (heat)
Americans say a bitch is 'in heat' while Britons say 'on heat'; the phase is driven by maturing ovarian follicles and peak oestrogen.