My middle son, Jimmy, has recently become involved in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program here in Canton. His big brother, Chris, tells this story about his Australian Shepherd, Sloopy. (Yes, he is a big Ohio State fan.)
Category Archives: Behavior and Psychology
The Amazing Skidboot
Have you seen this dog yet? He’s been called the Worlds’ Smartest Dog and has been featured on Oprah, Letterman, Leno, and other shows – he is truly amazing. And to think, I can’t even get my dogs to stop counter-surfing!
Friday Funny: Cooper Loses a Cat
Last night, I was sitting in my La-Z-Boy writing an article, and Twiggy (one of the cats at my house) jumped up into my lap, which is the normal resting place for my Vizsla, Cooper. Even though he was perfectly comfortable on the bed, he had to come chase Twiggy off of my lap, but halfway there, he stopped to scratch.
Can This Dog Read?
According to an article in the October 12th issue of People magazine, a 12-year old English terrier mix has been taught to read! Continue reading Can This Dog Read?
The Story of Faith, One Amazing Dog
I know I’ve seen this dog on TV before but I can’t remember where. Thanks to friend-of-the-blogger Wendy for submitting this story about a dog born on Christmas Eve, 2002, and thanks to Judy Stringfellow for believing in him!
Top Ten Tuesday: Hero Dogs
I recently wrote an article called Extraordinary Hero Dogs for our Doggies Den article library. I’m not sure when it will be available, but I thought I’d give you a preview here. These are dogs who, although not specifically trained to be assistance dogs or rescue dogs, performed an act of heroism to benefit their families, or in some cases, total strangers. Out of the forty-four dogs profiled in the article, here are what I consider the top ten.
Dogs: Smarter than we thought?
A new article in Time Magazine shows that dogs may well be smarter than we thought. Seems Brian Hare, an anthropologist at Duke, has worked out an experiment that shows that a dog can respond to a finger point. Now those of you who have trained your dogs using hand signals may not think this is too ground-breaking, but apparently, it’s quite an accomplishment. From the article:
Consider…all the mental work that goes into figuring out what a pointed finger means: paying close attention to a person, recognizing that a gesture reflects a thought, that another animal can even have a thought.
When you think about it that way, I guess it is pretty remarkable! Apparently, no other animal (besides man) is capable of interpreting a gesture.
The article goes on to discuss other evidence of intelligence in dogs, as well as looking at how these abilities developed. It’s a bit long, but worth the time – very interesting!
OK, now I have to be snarky for just a minute. Does anyone else think it’s funny that the picture from the article (shown above) shows a greyhound and a guy named HARE? Wonder if the dog chases him around the lab???? Wonder if his mother knows she paid for his education only to find him playing with dogs!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Another Touching Story of Dog Loyalty
WEWS in Cleveland is reporting on a great story of the love dogs are capable of. In Lorain, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) someone had dumped a Poodle and a Rottweiler by the side of the road. The Rott had a large tumor on his leg and was unable to move. The Poodle, bless his heart, was unwilling to leave the Rott alone in the road.
A passing Good Samaritan picked up both dogs and took them to the shelter, which is now looking for homes for them.
Wouldn’t it be nice if our human friends were this loyal?
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Saturday Survey: Who cleans up after your dog?
Continuing on our potty patch theme from last week: we all know dogs were born to make messes, but this time I’m talking specifically about the mess that emits from the back end of his or her body on a daily basis. Who gets the lucky job of cleaning up at your house?
Continue reading Saturday Survey: Who cleans up after your dog?
Never Leave Your Pit Bull Alone with A Child
If you are an owner of a dog that belongs to a ‘dangerous breed’ category and you also have a child or a visiting small child, please take this as a warning. Don’t leave your dog with a small child unattended under any circumstances! Only one little moment was enough for the following to happen.
Continue reading Never Leave Your Pit Bull Alone with A Child