Bringing a dog or puppy into your family is a huge decision, and here are some things about man’s best four-legged friend that are sure to be of interest to children (and some adults):

1. An adult dog has 42 teeth.

2. A dog’s sense of smell is more than 1 million times stronger than that of a person.

3. More than 1 in 3 families in the United States owns a dog.

4. Spaying or neutering your dog can help prevent certain types of cancer.

5. If never spayed or neutered, a pair of dogs can produce 66,000 puppies in 6 years.

6. A dog’s sense of hearing is more than 10 times more accurate than that of a person.

7. The average dog can run about 19 miles per hour at full speed.

8. Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible.

9. A dog’s nose print is one of a kind, very similar to a person’s fingerprint.

10. The average body temperature for a dog is 101.2.

11. With an average lifespan of just over 11 years, the typical dog costs $13,500.

12. The only sweat glands a dog has are between its toes.

13. Dogs are omnivorous; they need to eat more than just meat.

14. Dogs have twice as many ear muscles as people.

15. Dogs will be submissive to anyone they feel is higher up in the pack.

16. People have been keeping dogs for pets for 12,000 years.

17. A female dog carries her puppies for about 60 days before they are born.

18. It is a myth dogs are color blind; they actually see color, just not as vividly as a person.

19. Obesity is the number-one health problem in dogs.

20. Seventy percent of people sign their pets name on greeting/holiday cards.