Sarah C.'s Blog (59)

Canines and Dominance.

I was thinking about the fact that there's a tendency in the dog behavior community to treat dogs like tame wolves, and use wolf behavior as analog to dog behavior. Then I hear on the other side that wolf behavior ISN'T dog behavior and that dogs are much more than tame wolves, they are something all on their own. So then, what behaviors are analogous to dog behaviors.

Then I remembered that I read that the process of domesticating canines produces pronounced neoteny, and that dogs… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on January 5, 2010 at 4:50pm — 16 Comments

Ordeal; Warning - Descriptions of vomit

Yesterday, or day before yesterday now, so Sunday, I had a baked potato for lunch. Completely forgetting that dogs shouldn't have potato peals, I slipped Didi a chunk of the baked potato shell while the puppy was busy gnawing on rocks. Seemed innocent.

Flash forward to Sunday evening. Didi seems a little lethargic, but I assume that's from being run ragged by tussling with the puppy and frapping around the yard for a half hour. She's also belching alot, and I wonder if mom gave her too… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on October 21, 2009 at 1:27am — 8 Comments

David Blouin says there are Three distinct relationships that people have with dogs!

And I say that he is oversimplifying;

If you like to read the article before you hear my opinion, click the link. If you are not interested in reading the article, I will summarize below. If you don't care about behavioral science, go to the top of the page, hover over View and click Photo (If you are viewing this on the front page, simply direct your eyes to the left of the page). BAAAAW… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on September 5, 2009 at 10:00am — 4 Comments

Puppies and the subsequent cleanliness

I am over the minor bout of new-pet blues that seems to always come with adjusting to having another puppy in the home (for me anyway).

Reagan just had his new shots and is adjusting wonderfully. He and Didi have become the best of friends. Didi is very gentle with him, though she does occasionally "yell" at him. She will let him have anything, the rawhides, the toys, her bed, her food, but if he comes within 3 feet of her kong toy she's infront of him with her best "Go Away" face on. I've… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on September 3, 2009 at 3:00pm — 2 Comments

First night with new puppy

Didi and little Reagan are already fast on the way to becoming friends.

At first Didi was a little wary, and she's still a cautious. For the most part she gives Reagan a wide berth, but every once in awhile and come up and give him a sharp poke with her nose, do a play bow and then they go on a merry chase, mostly with the puppy chasing her, and her slowing down so he can just catch her and then springing away. It is very cute.

Now, I know that the puppy is 11 weeks old, but I must… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on August 29, 2009 at 10:24am — 5 Comments

New Member of the Family!

After a long search, there's a new member to the C. clan.
I present you, Didi's new brother.

Reagan.
Yes, former president Reagan.

Added by Sarah C. on August 28, 2009 at 10:31pm — 7 Comments

How are dogs helping fight human disease today?

How are dogs helping fight human disease today?

According to this article from the AP, dog coats are dictated by the interactions between 3 genes, which have been isolated.

Complex interactions between genes can now be observed and monitored to see why and how they interact, and if they can be manipulated in the ways they interact.

However, these findings only apply to purebred dogs. Mutts remain a mystery to the science community, I imagine because it is easier… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on August 28, 2009 at 11:14am — 2 Comments

Experiment Aka. Tortuting my dog.

My curiousity got the better of me.

Awhile ago people were talking about how if you shave your dog, the fur will never come back right again, or that it takes forever. I noticed when my dog got shaved for her sterilization, it took almost 3 months.

So I've been toying around in my mind about doing an experiment, and today against my better sense, I went through with it.

I took about an inch and a half long lock off of the fur between her shoulders, the bit that goes up when she's… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on August 19, 2009 at 8:03pm — 5 Comments

Interested in the genetic evolution of your short legged dog?

Scientists are hot on the trail!
Article here!

There's a lot of specifics in the article that don't make much sense to me as a layperson, but what I got out of it was that short legged dogs began occuring pretty early after the dog became a dog and not a wolf.

Added by Sarah C. on July 18, 2009 at 10:11am — 1 Comment

Genetic Research on Tameness

Source: Live Science

Apparently, scientists are beginning to identify gene regions that effect tameness, or an animal's willingness to tolerate and seek out human contact.

I wonder if this research could be used to help correct some breeds that have had some aggression bred into them. If you can identify tameness through genetic markers, than can genetic markers help you find out which will tolerate… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on June 10, 2009 at 8:25pm — No Comments

Peanut Butter Salmonella Risk Spreads to Dog Treats

Saw this coming through the feed this morning. Links to the article at the bottom of the post.

Synap:

Some of the salmonella-tainted peanut butter was used to flavor/fill certain treats. Petsmart voluntary recalls "Great Choice" Peanut butter flavored biscuits.

I'm not clear on whether this is preemptive or if dogs have become ill. There doesn't seem to be reported cases of dogs infected with salmonella, but I imagine that Petsmart does get their peanut butter… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on January 24, 2009 at 9:52am — No Comments

Green Eye'd Dogs

I found a really neat article about dogs and envy. The basic premise is that if a dog sees another dog getting a better reward for the same command that they are doing, they will stop doing the command because they see that they are getting a raw deal.

Some of us already know that our Corgis are clever little furkids, but I never imagined that the reason she hates the cats might be because she thinks they get better… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on December 10, 2008 at 3:18pm — 1 Comment

Corgi Fights off Cougar, Loses life.

I saw this article and it about broke my heart.

If you don't feel like clicking, here's the scoop;

In Nevada, a four year old Corgi named Big Bear went out in the morning for a potty and to play with the neighbors dogs. Some time later he returned home gravely injured with puncture wounds around his neck. They estimate he dragged himself an eighth of a mile home after, presumably, escaping a mountain… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on November 20, 2008 at 7:00pm — 8 Comments

DogConomy

I was reading the news feeds today, the information junky that I am and I came across an article saying that pets are feeling the economic pinch too.

I can certainly relate, I had to postpone my cat getting her tooth extracted because things were getting a little hard pressed. When it comes between my mom getting a root canal and the cat getting a tooth yanked out, mom wins, hands down, and that's unfortunate.

The article said that people were missing appointments, not filling… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on November 19, 2008 at 9:33pm — 7 Comments

Becoming a bad mom

More and more I find myself knocking leftover food (potatos I didn't want out of stew, the noodles from ramen, the last bit of mac 'n cheese) into my pup's bowl on top of her food. What a bad furmom I've become. She doesn't seem to be gaining wait though... I imagine it's only a matter of time.
I must resist... those corgi eyes...
Gaaaarh!

Added by Sarah C. on November 13, 2008 at 6:18pm — 6 Comments

Animal Guardianship Vs. Ownership

crossposted from personal blog

In response and support of Wendt Worth's Corgis

Animal Guardianship:

Animal Guardianship is a campagin to change the term to describe pet owners from "owner" to "guardian".

On the surface it just looks like an attempt to make pet ownership feel more fuzzy and PC. You don't own your dog! You care for your dog, like a child or an elderly adult. There's more to this change than terminology, though.

The idea is that if people… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on November 3, 2008 at 2:15pm — 7 Comments

Dog Theft On The Rise

A pretty scary article was posted on the Corgilove Live Journal Community.

Corgis are mentioned specifically.

"Toy breeds, puppies, and purebred dogs that look expensive or unusual are most vulnerable, says Peterson. Among the stolen breeds tracked by the AKC in 2008 are Yorkshire terriers, poodles, Pomeranians, shih tzu, bulldogs, corgis, a Norwich terrier and… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on October 1, 2008 at 6:00pm — 6 Comments

Too Perfect Crate Training

~_~

I accidently left Didi in the crate for 10 hours yesterday.

When she is in the crate she never makes a sound because it never gets her anywhere. I had to go pick up my parents from the cruise terminal early in the morning so we went out, had breakfast, went out again and she went right into the crate. Ran to the cruise terminal, picked up the family, came home, unloaded luggage, fed ourselves, more family came over, stories and tasting things and gift giving. We left at 7am.… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on September 29, 2008 at 10:27am — 3 Comments

Recovering from Ike

Well, Friday night/Saturday morning Ike hit us like a ton of bricks. The house sustained minimal damage. Some leaks that we'll get fixed soon. Some fences down. We were lucky

Didi was actually very calm during the storm. She watched us with a somewhat increased vigilance and didn't sleep through the entire thing, but she was calm. More calm than we were at times.

We didn't have power from 8pm Friday night to 3am Monday morning. We only stayed at home Saturday and Saturday night. She… Continue

Added by Sarah C. on September 16, 2008 at 9:40pm — 9 Comments

Didi prepares for Hurricane Ike!

Here on the third coast, Didi's preparing for hurricane ike! Mostly by watching me prepare for Hurricane Ike by laying lazily at my feet while I toil away!
And by toil, I mean put up and away water-sensitive things. Also cleaning the yard of potential projectiles. And boarding up. She thinks that moving outdoor furniture is hilarious!
We're sheltering in place with all the animals, so wish us luck. :)

Added by Sarah C. on September 11, 2008 at 8:19am — 9 Comments

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