Do You Understand your Dog ?

Having a loyal pup in the household certainly ensures an incredible amount of love from dog to owner, in a true “man’s best friend” fashion. Understanding your dog is fairly easy and it’s not hard to understand your pup wants to give you some delightful bits of love with kisses, but dogs can often behave in a more subtle manner as well.
Unfortunately, not all of us are as good as talking to pets as Dr. Doolittle, but here are 12 different signs your dog makes and what your pup is actually trying to say to you. Of course, this one is a true classic. The puppy-dog eyes are often imitated by younger children whenever they really want something, but dogs use it to show love and enforce a greater trust between the both of you.

Following You Around

Granted, a dog that follows every step you take isn’t always ideal, but you can’t deny that it’s absolutely adorable. According to vets, this type of followers behavior is simply because it is a dog’s instinct to always do things with your family. How cute!

Giving You Little Gifts

Does your pup give you little gifts once a while when you’re not playing fetch? It turns out that dogs simply want to share their joy with someone else, and there’s no better person to share it with than you!

Cuddling After Dinner

It’s not always a great idea to interrupt your pup while they’re eating a meal because they’re often keen on their food, but cuddling with you after their bellies are filled shows that dogs feel truly comfortable around you.

Licking Your Body or Face

Some people love it, some people find it rather gross, but all dogs like giving people a couple of licks once a while. Giving licks is actually submissive behavior and helps dogs ease their stress, and it’s also a sign of love, of course.

Going Wild Whenever You Return Home

Just like in the movies, the second a dog hears you coming back home chaos is ensured – and they’re just overly happy to see you! Their enthusiastic response is simply their way of saying “I missed you”.

Knowing When Something Is Wrong

Dogs don’t need to be able to actually talk with their owners to sense that something is wrong or if you’re feeling sad. They can read your body language really well, and also use their senses to detect if something is wrong. They’ll also be more than willing to solace you.

Crawling In Your Bed

Getting up in the morning can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but perhaps your loyal pup joins you once in a while in your bed. They don’t just sit there because your bed is probably more comfortable, but it’s also how they keep you close when you’re not home and away for work, for example.

Raising A Single Paw

Raising one of two paws usually means that your dog is in the mood for some playtime or perhaps even hungry. Sometimes, they’ll do this when they spot something interesting in their environment.

Leaning Against You

If a dog is actively leaning against you, it means he or she is looking for a bit of extra love and hugs from the owner. Dogs sure love to have a bit of attention directed towards them!

Trying To Get Your Opinion

If you ever had the feeling that your dog was looking for your approval for something, it’s because pups really appreciate and value your opinion. A little love and affection go a long way!

Squinting And Blinking Eyes

When a dog is seemingly playing a lot with his eyes, attention is the thing he or she is looking for the most. They’re ready to play and have a little bit of quality time with you.

Science Confirms That Dogs Can Recognize a Bad Person

A cat or a dog? This is one question that has been debated for years. Here’s one more fact about dogs that may change your mind about which pet to get. You trust your dog, but does it trust you?
A recent study shows that dogs can analyze how reliable a person is and we want to share this information with our readers! Dogs, as real detectives, can explain to us whether or not to trust another person.
The study was conducted by Akiko Takaoka of Kyoto University in Japan. The scientist and his colleagues wanted to know if a dog would trust a person who lied to it. The researchers divided the experiment into 3 parts. They wanted to know if the dog could understand whether or not the person was untrustworthy.
The group of scientists claims that the research has a potential implication in dogs’ behavioral studies. The study tells us that dogs prefer this world to be certain, according to John Bradshaw with the University of Bristol.

In the experiment, dog owners would first point to a container with food. The dog would run to it. Then a container without food would be pointed at. The dogs were tricked and approached the container.

It’s been previously known that dogs would run to an object their owner would point at. Thus, dogs are believed to be able to understand human gestures. And if the gestures are inconsistent, the dog can become nervous and stressed.

The third time, the dogs would not follow the pointing hand. They did not believe the liars. 34 dogs took part in the experiment and they all showed the same results, according to the Animal Cognition Journal. Dogs would use their previous experience to know that a person was unreliable.

Mr. Takaoka plans to continue the experiment with wolves since they are the closest relatives to dogs. The current experiment also proves that dogs are curious about new things.

More research states that dogs also control how other people interact with their owners. In an experiment, dog owners asked people for help. Afterward, the people were trying to give the dogs a treat. And the pets surprised us!

The dogs wouldn’t take a treat from the people who behaved in a bad or rude way toward their owners. They preferred to be fed by those who helped. Even those who did nothing in response to the begging were welcomed. But the rude and aggressive people couldn’t earn the dogs’ trust.

One more study reported by Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews, states that dogs clearly read the communication between their owners and strangers. In the experiment, dog owners asked 2 groups of strangers for a little help. The dogs showed a good understanding of social rules. They avoided the people who mistreated their owners.

Unsafe Toys

The wide range of pet toys on the market offer something for every pet and every budget. All choices are not equally appealing or safe for every pet though. The age, size/breed, and personality of each pet are important factors when choosing toys for a pet, whether as a gift for your own pets or for other pets in your life.



Dogs and Bones

I have heard "my dog does just fine with bones" too many times to count. And, some dogs are fine with bones. Many dogs are not. Most of the bones in pet supply stores are hard and brittle, some are filled with a "marrow" treat.
The size of the dog, the bone, and how enthusiastic the dog is about chewing and playing with the bone all come into play. Dogs that like to play catch or fetch do better with soft, sturdy toys -- with less damage to teeth and gums.



The Dangers of Bones - The top worries about bones are:

-Broken teeth
-Bone stuck on lower jaw or lodged in upper jaw.
-Bone swallowed or stuck in pharynx or throat.
-Bone ingested, causing gastrointestinal obstruction or rupture.

I am not a fan of bones as chew toys for dogs. The above scenarios often involve surgery or at least anesthesia or sedation to remedy the problem. The risks outweigh the fun.


Safe Chew Bone Alternatives

For the dogs who like to chew and/or play catch and fetch, I recommend a durable, non-destructible, rubber bone, ball, or flying disc.
Of course, "non-destructible" isn't an absolute, but my dogs have done well with the toys mentioned below. Some dogs chew/ingest any toy though, so as always, supervision is recommended.


A few brands I have used for my dogs over the years:

Kong toys - Large variety of dog toys. Be sure to read labels for weight of dog, age (puppies, seniors, etc.), and chew durability.

West Paw Zogoflex Toys - My review of these durable soft chew toys.

Kibble Nibble - Eager chewers can chip away at this toy, use with supervision.

Stuffed animal toys - various brands - This type of toy clearly isn't for every type of dog, but my Greyhounds love them and get lots of "chewing" play time in without shredding or eating the toy.


NOTE : Rawhides, bully sticks, hooves, ears, and similar treats may be ok for some dogs, but I don't offer them to my dogs. Possible problems include: ingesting too fast (getting lodged in throat, mouth), digestive problems, and risks of salmonella.

Puppy Mills 3/3

Let's examine the claims pet shops make:

1) The "breeders" are actually millers and other large-scale dog producers whose main concerns are merely to pump out as many dogs of different breeds in as short a period of time as possible. Responsible breeders would never wholesale their dogs to petshops. Responsible breeders cannot meet the demand of pet shops, who sell many different dogs and breeds and constantly need to replenish their stock. The dog producers that DO meet the pet shop's stock demands are the millers who pump out hundreds of puppies of many different breeds annually. The pet shop is also able to enjoy the convenience of purchasing all their animals from one source.

2) As already discussed, USDA licensing does not guarentee humane treatment of the dogs in mills. (Please see the Links section above to view the grounds of some USDA licensed establishments). Also, remember that the USDA licenses and oversees factory farming. What the USDA considers acceptable in factory farms outrage and horrify many people who are made aware of what exactly goes on behind the closed doors of the industry. The animals in these situations are treated as product, and are not given the consideration they deserve. Humane treatment and quality of life are not factors deemed worthy of attention. The situation at puppymills is very similar. The dogs are merely treated as money-making items.

3) The sales pitch, "AKC registered" has been used repeatedly by the puppymill/petshop industry and has duped the public into believing that if a dog bares the AKC registered title, it must be of quality. The fact of the matter is that the American Kennel Club (AKC) is merely a registering body. "Papers" on a dog mean that the animal is certifiably purebred. It does not guarentee anything else. There are no requirements necessary in order for a dog to be registered other than having AKC-registered parents. Health, temperment or where a dog came from have no bearing on the matter.

Puppy Mills 2/3

A puppymill is generally considered to be a large-scale dog breeding operation that wholesales dogs to retail establishments, or to middlemen who then sell to retail establishments. Puppymills keep animals in small cages (similar to large chicken crates) for most of their natural lives. The bitches are bred on their first heat (which usually occurs around 6 months), and on every heat thereafter, until they die naturally (or are diposed of). Conditions at puppymills vary, although even in the best of circumstances, these establishments are abusive to dogs.
Puppymills are dirty, smelly, and house dogs in cramped quarters. Because of the conditions, the dogs may fight each other, develop neurotic behavior (such as obsessive licking, jumping, spinning, cage pacing, etc), and become susceptible to illness and injury. Oftentimes, dogs with wounds aquired during kennel fights or under other circumstances, will be left untreated. The cages in which the dogs are kept have wire bottoms. The dogs are forced to spend their entire lives in these cages, with little or no human contact, exercise,health care, and training.

Mills house a large number of breeding dogs, sometimes numbering well into the hundreds. The only job of these animals is to produce puppies. The puppies are in turn sold directly to pet shops or to middlemen--called brokers--across the country. The puppies are shipped in cramped, crowded trucks, at a very young age. Many times puppies become sick or injured during the trek to their destination or even die. Damaged/ill puppies are disposed of. The ones who are lucky enough to survive the ordeal end up at the pet shops, or in the hands of brokers who then sell the animals to pet shops.Puppymilling is big business in the United States, with annual grosses amounting to millions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspects and licenses mills, but their standards for licensing are too low for the tastes of many knowledgeable dog people, including veterinarians, behaviorists, and trainers. In addition, many times violations of code are ignored, and disciplinary action is rarely taken against those mill operators who are deemed to be in violation of code. Dead, dying, and sick dogs, filthy grounds, and cramped cages may be found even at those mills that are USDA licensed. The mills do not get inspected enough, nor are millers given incentive to clean up their act. The mills that are not licensed by the USDA are even worse, as hard to imagine as that may be.

Where do the puppymill pups end up ?

Puppymill pups ultimately end up in pet shops. Those cute, sweet, innocent puppies you see in the window had their beginnings in a mill, probably in a situation much like what is described above. Most likely, their parents are still locked in cramped, dirty crates, forced to produce still more dogs for the industry.
Pet shops claim that their dogs come from breeders, that their animals are purchased from USDA licensed producers, and that the dogs are AKC registered (or other dog registries, some not reputable). The effectiveness of these claims depends largely upon the naivete' of the general public. Ask if the animals come from mills, and you will get an emphatic, "No!". But this of course is not true. The employees of these stores are coached on what to say to customers, and many times are not even aware of the truth behind the puppies they sell.

Puppy Mills 1/3

Most people don’t want to support animal cruelty; that's a given. In the United States, people have particularly strong feelings about cruelty towards companion animals who many consider to be integral parts of their family. Yet, despite the desire to protect our animals, many people still unwittingly support puppy mills.

What is a puppy mill?

A puppy mill is a dog-breeding facility with the primary goal of making money. To maximize profits, some breeders make dogs suffer in deplorable conditions. The puppies bred at these facilities are then either shipped to pet stores around the country, or sold directly through newspaper and online ads to the public.
Once the puppies leave the mills, they are cleaned up and put up for sale at pet stores for anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The breeding dogs aren’t nearly as lucky. They are kept at the puppy mill to have litter after litter, often living in small cages and lacking clean water, regular veterinary care and socialization. Some mills may have 10 breeding dogs while others may have 1,000, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, better known as the ASPCA.

And because of these inhumane conditions, the ASPCA warns that puppy mill dogs have commonly been found to have health issues like epilepsy, heart disease, kidney disease, musculoskeletal disorders, endocrine disorders, blood disorders, deafness, eye problems, respiratory disorders, giardia, parvovirus, distemper, kennel cough, mange, fleas, parasites, chronic diarrhea and more. That can mean sick dogs and high veterinary bills, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

How is this legal?

The ASPCA gives insight to the barely there regulations in place to protect dogs. “Under the federal Animal Welfare Act, it is completely legal to keep a dog in a cage only six inches longer than the dog in each direction, with a wire floor, stacked on top of another cage, for the dog's entire life. Conditions that most people would consider inhumane, or even cruel, are often totally legal.”
Some states have additional laws on the books to try to put a stop the puppy mill trade, but because facilities can vary from ultra small to huge, it’s hard to define exactly what a puppy mill looks like.

How can you avoid buying a dog that came from a mill?

Puppy mills count on the public not asking too many questions, and on pet stores that largely don’t mind acquiring their dogs from mills. Like the mills themselves, many pet stores want to turn a profit rather than looking out for the best interest of the dogs. Since there's no
legal definition of a puppy mill, the ASPCA warns that unscrupulous pet store owners can get around the issue by saying that their puppies all come from licensed USDA breeders or local breeders. Since all breeders who sell their dogs to pet stores are required to be licensed by the USDA, that’s not any kind of guarantee the dogs come from a reputable breeder.
The ASPCA explains, “The fact is, responsible breeders would never sell a puppy through a pet store because they want to screen potential buyers to ensure that the puppies are going to good homes.”

Where should I get a dog if I shouldn’t go to a pet store?

The big animal protection organizations like the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States recommend heading to your local shelter or rescue organization to adopt a dog rather than buying from a pet store. Many people aren’t aware that purebreds end up in shelters just like any other dogs. Plus, there are rescues that specialize in certain breeds.

SEE THE DOG FACTORY VIDEO BY BBC HERE

If you're determined to go to a private breeder, make sure you visit that breeder in person at the facility so you can see the operation for yourself.

People who talk to their pets are actually genius

Pet owners around the globe, if not all then most of them, have daily conversations with their pets, how they’d talk to normal human beings. They wish their pets good morning, ask them if they’re hungry and if they wish to go for a walk, almost as if their pets are understanding them and will talk back any second now.
Do you talk to your pets like you talk to your friends? Be it a dog, cat, parrot or a guinea pig. If so, we’re sure you’ve heard things like “Are you nuts?”, “You’ve gone cuckoo” and seen people get weirded out by your behavior.
Maybe you, too, sometimes wonder why you are the way you are. Why you prefer the company of your pets more than humans. Have you really gone cuckoo?
But, what if we tell you that your habit of talking to your pets, plants or any inanimate object, for that matter, is a sign of intelligence, rather than stupidity? You’re not a crazy cat lady, you’re just smart. The act is called anthropomorphizing, which is, the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. 
To quote Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago, - “Historically, anthropomorphizing has been treated as a sign of childishness or stupidity, but it’s actually a natural byproduct of the tendency that makes humans uniquely smart on this planet,”

The ability to perceive non-human things as a human is called anthropomorphism. Usually, when kids do it, we find it cute but when adults do it, it’s frowned upon and seen as something weird. Anthropologist experts believe that seeing human traits in a non-human thing or an object, is actually a sign of intelligence.
According to a study conducted in Harvard, in 2011, A group of people was shown pictures of baby animals and adult animals, to which most of the subjects chose the baby animals, and agreed that they would give them human names and would refer to them while using proper gender terms.
Not only that, if they could own a baby animal, they would name him and talk to him, like they talk to humans. No other living being beside humans has such an ability to identify human behavior in inanimate objects.

Even though naming your pets and inanimate objects are the most popular way of anthropomorphizing, it’s not the only one. Giving your pets character traits, like humans, also comes under anthropomorphism. Calling your dog your “baby”, your cat as a “grumpy old man” isn’t you being weird, it’s the intelligence talking.
Human brains are complicated beyond anyone’s explanation. Years of research and scientific studies, yet, we still are not sure what all our mind is capable of. Trying to find human characteristics in inanimate objects such as cars, pens, toys or anything at all is a sign of your brain’s creativity.

Anthropomorphism not only affects humans, it also affects our pets. Studies have shown that, if you keep talking to your dogs, they learn to differentiate between words and learn your gestures. These animals have been human companions for years and have evolved accordingly.
When you talk to your dogs, they can understand your words and the emotions situated with them. Cats, however, don’t understand your words, as much as dogs do, but they too have the ability to recognize their owner’s voice and commands. In fact cats use over 16 different ways to communicate.

There are three primal reasons why humans try to anthropomorphize an object: The inanimate object looks like it has a face, we’d like to be friends with it, or we can’t explain its unpredictable behavior and we’re curious. By understanding how each of these triggers works, we can understand why this tendency is both essential to human survival and intelligence.

Our brain gets confused when it sees an object with eyes and tries to perceive it as human. Put toy eyes on a fridge and you’ll want to talk to it, or at least name it! No, you’re not a delusional psycho, it’s basic science and as social animals, we wish to talk to everybody we can and befriend them, it’s in our nature.
To summarize, talking to your pets is very normal and natural, there’s nothing wrong with you. If anything, you’re smarter than those who do not talk to their pets as their brains aren’t functioning how they normally should!

Joanne Kiking - for Animalix

News From Other Sites | Creates Death and Panic by PetSmart and Petco Grooming Salons

SOURCE : PETA

When Henry’s guardian dropped him off at a California PetSmart grooming salon, he thought that his dog would be getting a simple, routine nail trim. But just three minutes later, a groomer reportedly emerged from the back room carrying the 1-year-old dachshund, who was limp, bleeding from the mouth, and struggling to breathe. An on-site veterinarian tried to save Henry, but within minutes, the tiny dog was dead. His guardian may never know exactly what happened in the back room of that PetSmart store, but a necropsy revealed that Henry had sustained two broken ribs and a punctured lung and died of strangulation.
Henry’s horrific ordeal is anything but an isolated incident. Big-box pet store chains like PetSmart, Petco, and others have a long laundry list of incidents involving animals who have been traumatized, allowed to escape, severely injured, and even killed in their grooming salons.

Beaten, Bloodied, and Baked Alive in the ‘Back Room’

These giant corporations deal in volume. The animals they sell come from cruel mass-breeding mills, where they’re crammed into crowded bins; deprived of food, water, and veterinary care; and killed by being bashed against tables or gassed in coolers. The grooming businesses shove animals through quickly and often carelessly. Profit is their priority, and as a result, countless animals have strangled after being left unattended on grooming tables; overheated in cage dryers; been badly cut on the ears by clippers; and been screamed at, roughly handled, punched, kicked, and strangled by frustrated, impatient, and abusive groomers at these chains’ stores.

While PETA has been alerted to countless other incidents, and many have gone unreported, here are just some of the many animals whose suffering and deaths in PetSmart and Petco grooming salons have made the news:

May 2018

On May 22, Brandi Villarreal picked up her dog, Lexi, from a PetSmart store in San Antonio, Texas, and found her distressed and breathing heavily. Her tongue was blue, and her gums were purple. After multiple trips to the vet over the next two days—during which time PetSmart called the distraught Villarreal requesting the veterinary paperwork—the previously healthy dog was found to have a consolidation in her chest (fluid in the lungs), likely caused by trauma, and had to be euthanized because of her declining condition.

April 2018

Ollie, a 4-month-old Maltese mix, sustained a broken leg during a grooming session at a Petco in San Antonio.

March 2018

Oliver Buttons, an 18-month-old cairn terrier, needed stitches for lacerations to his face and neck as well as surgical glue for nicks all over his body inflicted by a Petco groomer in Appleton, Wisconsin.

A cat named Cloudy died during a grooming session at a Petco in Providence, Rhode Island.

Abby, an 8-year-old corgi, died during a grooming session at a PetSmart in Toms River, New Jersey.February 2018

A PetSmart groomer in Houston was fired after a video of her violently handling a small dog went viral.

December 2017

At least two dogs allegedly died, and a third sustained a back injury, after being taken to a New Jersey PetSmart for grooming:

Just over an hour after his guardian dropped him off, Scruffles, a healthy 8-year-old bulldog, was reportedly taken to a veterinary hospital, where he was dead on arrival. The store apparently refused to give any information regarding what took place during his fatal grooming session.

An 8-year-old shih tzu named George allegedly returned home in extreme pain and arching his back. Veterinarians found that he’d sustained a back injury and prescribed him heavy steroids and 10 days of cage confinement.

Another dog, named Ranger—who was reportedly lethargic after returning home—died two days later on Christmas Eve. His heartbroken guardian had to break the news of his death to her children on Christmas morning.

March 2017

Ollie, a 5-year-old pug in Newport, Rhode Island, died after a grooming session at Petco. E.J. Finocchio, president of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that it was clear the Petco technicians were not trained to deal with an emergency. “It’s very troubling here, what happened,” he said. “We have an otherwise healthy dog that goes to have his nails clipped, and he ends up dead, and there’s not much we can do about it.”

When Pepper got home from a grooming session at a La Quinta, California, PetSmart, she wasn’t acting like herself. Her guardian immediately took her to the vet, who found that the dog had ruptured blood vessels as a result of “some sort of trauma.” While PetSmart denied wrongdoing, it paid for Pepper’s vet bills.

August 2016

When Demon’s guardian came to pick him up from a grooming session at an O’Fallon, Illinois, PetSmart, she immediately noticed that he had labored breathing. He was rushed to the vet, where it was discovered that his temperature was over 103 degrees. Within 20 minutes of arriving at the vet, he was dead.

June 2016

When 5-year-old Casper was taken to a Petco groomer in Moses Lake, Washington, his guardian, Desiree, had no idea that he’d never make it back home. Instead of getting a call from the store to let her know that her dog was ready to be picked up, she got a call informing her that he was “non-responsive” and being taken to the vet. Sadly, he passed away.

April 2016

Shortly after Buff, an 11-year-old golden retriever, went in for grooming at a Poway, California, Petco, he began to have trouble walking and developed an infection. Soon after, he died.

March 2015

An employee of an Atlanta Petco was fired after reportedly being caught on a cell phone video violently yanking on a dog’s paw and shoving the terrified animal around on a grooming table while trying to clip his or her nails.

https://twitter.com/peta/status/991482444242128896

July 2014

When Sierra was taken to a Beckley, West Virginia, PetSmart for grooming, she came home with razor burns and a cut on her foot pad that needed suturing. PetSmart paid for the dog’s vet bills.

July 2011

A California woman reportedly sued Petco after her dog Sadie suffered from heat stroke, internal bleeding, and burns when a groomer at a California store left her locked inside a cage dryer. Sadie had to be euthanized because of the extent of her injuries.

Don’t Trust Just Anyone With Your Animals’ Lives

If it isn’t possible to groom your animals yourself, hire a groomer who makes house calls, and insist on staying with them at all times during the process. Groomers who have nothing to hide should welcome your presence, and it’ll help your animals to feel at ease, too.

Always thoroughly research and screen potential groomers, and don’t hesitate to get your animals and leave if something seems suspicious or “off.”