You have probably heard stories about dogs rescuing their human companions from fires or saving children from drowning, but have you heard of the dog with the longest tongue? Or the one who can hold the most tennis balls in his mouth?
While you may know that animals can be quite extraordinary, you may not know that they are capable of holding world records. The Guinness Book of World Records is full of animals that can do crazy and amazing things. Dogs are particularly well represented in this book, holding dozens of different titles for amazing world records.
Top 10 Dog World Record Holders
- Longest Tongue –
When a dog is panting in the heat, her tongue may seem impossibly long. But no dog has a longer tongue than Brandy. This Boxer’s tongue has been measured at 17 inches long and she was even featured on TV’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Brandy has held the record since 2002. - Most Tennis Balls –
Augie, an eight-year-old Golden Retriever, can hold five tennis balls in his mouth all at once – a world record! In this endeavor, Augie can beat every human on the LovePets staff.ff - Most Discs Caught –
You know how some dogs are good at fetching, but don’t want to give the ball back? Rose, a Labrador Retriever/Border Collie mix, is like that with flying discs. This playful pooch can successfully catch and hold up to seven flying discs in her mouth without dropping a single one. Rose’s owner discovered her talent when she noticed that Rose loved to catch discs but didn’t want to give up the one in her mouth to catch the next one. Perhaps we can pit Augie versus Rose? - Tallest Dog –
The Great Dane is one of the largest dog breeds in the world and the largest specimen of the breed is Giant George. Giant George actually holds two world records for his size – one for being the tallest living dog and another for being the tallest dog ever. Giant George measures 43 inches tall. - Smallest Dog –
What if Ant-Man had a pet pooch? Boo Boo, a long-haired female Chihuahua, holds the record for being the smallest pup, weighing a mere 2 pounds. We’ve had dinners bigger than that! - Balloon Popping –
We’ve been to parties where we had to pop balloons with our bodies, but some dogs like to do it with their teeth. Anastasia is a Jack Russell terrier who holds the world record for popping 100 balloons in just 44.49 seconds. That’s more than two per second! - Highest Jump –
Dogs will do anything to get a scrap of food, some of them going so far as to jump up onto the table. Cinderella May, a female greyhound, holds the world record for the highest jumping dog at 68 inches. Our tables aren’t that high. - Oldest Dog –
We all want to spend as much time with our canine companions as we possibly can and one pet parent got to spend nearly 30 years with his Australian Cattle Dog Bluey. Bluey was born in 1910 and was put to sleep on November 14, 1939. We’ll let you figure out how old that is in dog years. - Jumping Rope –
If you thought jumping rope was just for kids, you haven’t met Geronimo. This four-year-old Border Collie/Kelpie mix holds the world record for jumping rope, making 128 skips in one minute. That’s fast, but Anastasia pops balloons even faster. - Longest Tail –
What’s the longest tail you’ve ever seen on a dog? A foot-and-a-half? Two feet? Finnegan, an Irish Wolfhound from Calgary, Canada, has held the record since August 2013 with a tail measuring 28.46 inches. Size does matter.
Don’t despair. If your dog can’t compete with these record holders, perhaps some new categories are needed, like longest napper, biggest drooler, or most hindquarters sniffed.
Photo ©iStock.com/BluIz60