How much language can dogs learn? No one knows yet.
The 1,022 words in Chaser’s vocabulary are all proper nouns. Dr. Pilley also found that Chaser could be trained to recognize categories, in other words common nouns. She correctly follows the command “Fetch a Frisbee” or “Fetch a ball.” She can also learn by exclusion, as children do. If she is asked to fetch a new toy with a word she does not know, she will pick it out from ones that are familiar.
via Dog Might Provide Clues on How Language Is Acquired – NYTimes.com.
Houston SPCA foster care program for homeless animals
Sometimes a longtime shelter resident simply needs a respite from cage life. Spending time with a family seems to boost an animal’s spirits, said Janella Clay, foster-care coordinator for the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The animals usually return acting more confident, which makes them more attractive to potential owners.
Clay remembers a dog that had been in the shelter for two months. A family took it home for the Thanksgiving holiday. “It came back, and they changed its name, and it was adopted like two days later,” she said.
Kitten wrangler Rittinger is one of about 150 foster caretakers registered at the Houston SPCA.
via Foster care gives pets new start | Life | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.
A&M center expanding retirement home for pets | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
A&M’s animal house was the “burning concept” of the late Dr. Ned Ellett, head of the veterinary school’s small animal clinic, and named for La Porte’s Madlin Stevenson, an early benefactress.
Ellett, a veterinary ophthalmologist, was a “very warm, genuine guy,” who shared the concern of his elderly clients about the future fates of their pets, Presnal said. Ellett, who died the year the center opened, viewed the program as a way to ensure quality care for masterless pets and as a tool to further medical research on aging animals.
The latter goal, Presnal said, is achieved through the four veterinary students who live at the center and through the attention the animals receive at the adjacent vet school clinics.
Kindred spirits
Stevenson, an inveterate rescuer of strays, responded enthusiastically to the idea, providing an initial $250,000 donation to get the project rolling. The center’s endowment now tops $10 million.
via A&M center expanding retirement home for pets | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.
New Year’s Resolutions for Dog Lovers, Joy Lee on Houston Dog Blog
Adopting just one or two of these suggestions can help you to have a more peaceful household and can help the problem of pet overpopulation and neglect in your community.Within our own families: Take Fido for a walk every day – not only will the exercise help him stay fit, but canine physical activity helps to keep dogs calmer and better behaved – and the walk will help your fitness, too
Therapy dogs getting an office
Wall Street Journal: The Doctor’s Dog Will See You Now, 2010-Dec-20, by Melinda Beck
A small but growing number of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and other therapists are bringing their dogs to work in their private practices, where they help calm patients down, cheer them up and offer a happy distraction with a wagging tail. The job is similar to what therapy dogs do when they visit at hospitals or nursing homes, but these “canine therapy-assistants” often work full days and get to know the patients just as well as the doctors.
Soothing music for rescued dogs
Although she has a business selling CD’s of soothing music for dogs, Lisa Spector is also busy sharing the love of music with dog shelters and rescue operations.
Through a Dog’s Ear: Free Music for Rescues, 2010-Dec-3, by Lisa Spector:
A few days ago, I was contacted by Border Collie Rescue Texas. They had just taken in 25 dogs from a horrendous hoarding situation. These dogs had never been with people, never been indoors, and now require extra professional expertise as they move into foster homes. My eyes filled with tears as I read the email request for Through a Dog’s Ear CD’s to be used in recovery efforts. Contributing my music to dogs in this way means more to me than appearing on a concert stage. After packaging 50 free CDs for the Border Collies, I pondered what else we could do to help other animal rescue organizations.
Through a Dog’s Ear music now plays in over 125 shelters internationally. We always hear from grateful shelter managers about how much calmer and quieter the shelter environment is with the addition of our music.
Fish surgery to remove tumor good as gold – Local/State – NewsObserver.com
Once Frank was sedated and taken out of the water, Dorsch removed the tumor using a carbon dioxide laser. Its beam of invisible light cuts tissue like a scalpel.”But it cauterizes as it goes, so there is less bleeding, and it cauterizes nerve endings, so it doesn’t hurt as much as a scalpel,” he said.Dorsch cut the tumor off at scale level, flush with Frank’s body. He didn’t want to cut into the fish’s body cavity because he wouldn’t be able to stitch him up afterward.To help Frank breathe, technician Taylor Kennedy squirted water from his travel bucket into his mouth.”Frank was out for two minutes at the most,” Dorsch said.
via Fish surgery to remove tumor good as gold – Local/State – NewsObserver.com.
At Duke U. Canine Cognition Center, Brian Hare is figuring out how dogs think
Hare has been analyzing our four-legged friends for about 15 years. He says dogs have figured out how to read human behavior and human gestures better than any other species has, even chimpanzees.
“The way they think about their world is that people are superimportant and they can solve almost any problem if they rely on people,” says Hare.
Kitchen Cures For Your Pet
As far as human medications: Benadryl is safe for pets with allergic reactions – one milligram per pound.
“So a 50 pound dog will take two tablets or 50 mg dose in other words,” Dr. Webster said.
Pepto Bismol is also safe in small doses. What are the doggy and kitty don’ts?
“I think as veterinarians we say please don’t give your cat Tylenol because you won’t have that cat in the morning,” Dr. Webster warned.
Any form of ibuprofen, acetaminophen or aspirin can be deadly
via Chef’s Corner: Kitchen Cures For Your Pet | Medical News and Health Information.
Can a dog be trained by a machine? Military is curious…
“Automated mammalian training devices” are the latest out-there idea from Pentagon spooky research arm Darpa, as it furthers its plot to replace every last military staffer with either a computer or a more subservient creature. The agency is seeking proposals to create a portable gadget that “automates the training of complex behaviors in animals without human intervention.”
via Darpa Wants Puppy-Training Machines | Danger Room | Wired.com.
