10 of the most common old wives’ tales about dogs.

There are some persistent old wives tales about dogs, so we had a dig about to find out if there is any truth behind some of the most common.

#1 Wet nose means your dog is healthy

Some level of truth but not to be relied on. An ill dog can have a moist nose. Go with appetite, energy and temperature as an indicator of how they feel.

#2 Letting your dog lick a wound will help it heal

No, dogs have a huge number of bacteria in their mouths. Don’t do it!

#3 Garlic will help prevent fleas

There is some basis in this, but too much garlic can be toxic to dogs, use with care.

#4 Dogs can only see in black and white

Not true, dogs can see in colour, they see colour best on the blue end of the spectrum.

#5 Dogs age seven years to one human year

Yes and no, dogs age much faster than that in the first year of their life. A one-year-old dog is about the equivalent of your fifteen-year-old teenager. But as they mature it settles more into the seven-year pattern.

#6 A wagging tail means the dog is happy

No not true. A dog can communicate many emotions by the way he wags his tail. You need context and body posture. A general rule of thumb if you’re not sure then don’t approach.

#7 Playing tug will make your dog aggressive

Not true, you can play tug happily with your dog.

#8 Rubbing your dog’s nose is his pee will house train him

Absolute rubbish, your dog won’t understand why you’re doing this and you will confuse and frighten him.

#9 You can stop a wound from bleeding with cayenne pepper.

True, this works for people as well.

#10 Dogs align themselves with the earth’s magnetic fields when they poop.

Yes, scientists tell us this is true.

If you have any other old wives tales about dogs we would love to hear them. Please post them in the comments.