Waching daily Sep 2 2017

Welcome back.

We all know I love dogs.

I mean I willingly live with two that look more like wolves than dogs but I found a creature

today that looks like a dog but a freaky, freaky dog.

It's called a raccoon dog.

I'm glad I am an American cat because these weird wild dogs are native to Asia and Europe.

They can be naturally found in dense forests near freshwater if you want to go look for

one of your own.

I'd look in Europe though – they'll let you have as many as you want since the

raccoon dog has been classified as an invasive species due to its ability to conquer new

habitats any time the fancy strikes.

Standing between 18 and 28 inches tall, these thick furred dogs weigh about 15 pounds and

come in shades of brown or brownish grey in the winter and turn reddish during the summer.

To add to the confusion with these guys, the plushness of their fur varies with the season

too.

Regardless of their color, you are sure to recognize the black stripe that runs up the

back side of the body stretching toward the shoulder where it forms a sort of cross.

If nothing else, flip it over.

Its belly will likely be yellow colored.

Hey – wonder if people though they were cowardly – you know – yellow bellied.

Probably not though because common predators include dogs, wolves, wild cats, foxes and

even birds of prey.

If they were cowardly against those kind of predators like that they would not have such

a strong reputation for conquering new territory.

The name raccoon dog is actually misleading.

The raccoon dog is not actually a raccoon or a dog though it is in the same general

family as dogs, wolves, and foxes.

They seem more like raccoons though in that they do have point snouts, short ears, elongated

torsos and short legs that when added to their striped coloration does give them a look of

a raccoon.

In addition to their appearance, the raccoon dog shares some raccoon like personality traits.

It has curved claws and extremely dexterous front paws like a raccoon.

It mostly uses these paws to climb trees, a trait it shares with its grey fox cousin

or to hold onto its dinner but will also use their hands to wash off their food before

they eat it like raccoons are known to do.

Raccoon dogs are also nocturnal like raccoons and very different from most species of dogs

in their eating habits.

The raccoon dog is omnivorous willing to snack on fish, frogs, birds, amphibians, reptiles,

invertebrates, eggs, fruit, seeds, nuts and berries with equal pleasure.

Actually, the raccoon dog does have a trait all its own.

It eats something everyone else avoids.

The raccoon dog is known to eat toads that have toxic skin secretions.

Apparently they secrete enough saliva to dilute the toxins and safely consume these nasty,

bitter, toads.

Another way they are different from most dogs is their teeth.

They have small canine teeth and flat molars.

Their intestines are also about 50% longer than the average dog.

That is long in a way that is more typical of a creature that a heavily vegetarian diet.

Raccoon dogs don't wag their tail but they do sniff out their food like a dog however

they are also the only species of dog that hibernates during the winter using whatever

reserves of fat they collected during the summer to survive and that can be a massive

gain of up to 15 pounds.

That gain is pretty amazing but even more so when you realize They have to compete to

gain that much though since foxes, badgers, and of course other raccoon dogs compete heavily

with the raccoon dog for food.

That competition doesn't stop the raccoon dog from being social though.

Raccoon dogs live in pairs or small family groups and can usually be found bedding down

in pairs.

The family unit communicates through yelps, growls, whimpers and whining sounds so dens

can get pretty noisy when the female gives birth to even the 6 or 7 average number of

pups.

Some litters have been as large as 15 pups at once which doesn't even bear considering.

Its okay if litters are that big though because both parents help take care of the young and

start the pups on meat to supplement the mother's milk at about one month of age.

By the age of 4 or 5 months all the pups set out on their own to form new family groups

and conquer new territory.

Raccoon dogs live about 6 or 7 years nad in captivity they have been noted to produce

sounds higher in pitch than most dogs.

Actually, observers say they sound more like cats but I don't know if I would go that

far.

They do have different kinds of sounds that they regularly use for different needs like

mewling when they are hungry, yelping to gain attention and growling if they feel threatened

so maybe they are smart enough to share some cat like qualities.

I have heard they are considered good luck in Japan and that statues of them are placed

outside shops to bring good fortune so that's pretty cool.

So know you know all the curious facts I discovered about the mixed up night wanderer, the secretive

raccoon dog who isn't quite like other dogs but isn't a raccoon either.

Don't forget to click subscribe because I'll be back with more curiosities to share

tomorrow.

Bye