After two dogs tested positive for H1N1 in China, the web is buzzing with questions about disease mutation and the safety of pets (so far it looks like the pups are going to be ok). But none are as cute as this picture of two dogs avoiding H1N1 through some classic looking masks:
AP Photo
I think I might buy one for Tibor just for fashion’s sake.
The Huffington Post has a touching piece collecting YouTube videos of the moment when soldiers return to their dogs. A number of Dogs Greet Soldiers Returning Home almost had me gushing, such as this one where Lt. Schmidt is received by his golden Gracie:
Regardless of shape or size, dogs are overwhelmed with joy to see someone they have been missing for months (although it appears that golden retrievers are expecially excited).
SFGate covers a new venture in Bernal Heights, San Francisco where dogs and their owners can exercise together. Fit Bernal Fit has an affordable doggy day care adjoining their gym, and it sounds like others are listening.
In a city that claims to have more dogs than children, they may have unleashed a hidden market, though other dog businesses are right on their heels. In January, for example, the California deluxe dog hotel Wag is unveiling a new boot camp that owners and dogs can do together, combining exercise drills and obedience training.
Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle
If only they had a swimming pool, we would be there a few times a week. Looking forward to this being a standard feature of all gyms in San Francisco.
The New Scientist reveals some interesting statistics around the environmental impact of dogs: what does it take, in terms of food, and the resulting drain on natural resources, to raise man’s best friend? Quite a lot, as it turns out.
To measure the ecological paw, claw and fin-prints of the family pet, the Vales analysed the ingredients of common brands of pet food. They calculated, for example, that a medium-sized dog would consume 90 grams of meat and 156 grams of cereals daily in its recommended 300-gram portion of dried dog food. At its pre-dried weight, that equates to 450 grams of fresh meat and 260 grams of cereal. That means that over the course of a year, Fido wolfs down about 164 kilograms of meat and 95 kilograms of cereals.
Just to compare the ecological paw print, here’s a visual representation:
Or, in other words, one large dog is equal to 1.3 Land Cruisers or 78.5 hamsters. So which would you give up first, the dog or the car?
52 Years ago today, Laika (a.k.a. Лайка) the Cosmonaut started her journey into outer space, one lonely step for a doggy, one giant step on behalf of mankind. Most of the things you read about her make her life seem short and cold, but her Wikipedia page tells a different story. The personnel who worked with her had lots of nicknames, like Kudryavka (Russian for Little Curly), Zhuchka (Little Bug) and Limonchik (Little Lemon). She was phlegmatic and did not quarrel with other dogs, despite coming from the cold streets of Moscow.
While her time in space was short, she did get to experience it from a calm state of mind, as “the early telemetry indicated that Laika was agitated but eating her food.” Today we remember one brave little doggie.
Can dogs perform arithmetic, predict seizures and detect cancer? The New York Times had a nice piece on dog intelligence, focusing on the work of University of British Columbia professor Stanley Coren. Professor Coren believes that dogs are much smarter than we give them credit for:
I believe that so much research has come out lately suggesting that we may have underestimated certain aspects of the mental ability of dogs that even the most hardened cynic has to think twice before rejecting the possibilities,” said Stanley Coren, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia and an author of several books on dogs.
Dr. Coren puts border collies, poodles, German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers at the top of the pack, but I’m sure Puli’s aren’t that far behind. More details and a complete list can be found in his book The Intelligence of Dogs.