Have you ever watched an arson dog work? It’s fascinating! Here in Canton, Ohio, the fire investigators will bring their dog out to public events for demonstrations. If you have this option where you live, be sure to go see it. They say that the sense of smell is the most vivid of our senses, bringing back memories we didn’t know we even had when we smell something similar. Now, imagine a dog, whose sense of smell is tens of thousands of times more acute than ours.
All posts by The Dog Lady
Top Five Dogs for Public Safety Agencies
Have you ever wondered why different dogs do so well at different jobs? Just as with humans, they have different skillsets that are useful for different tasks. We’re all familiar with the German Shepherd police dog, but you may not be as aware of these other working dogs that provide us with important safety services.
What Kind of Sleeper is Your Dog?
I saw an ad in a catalog recently about the different kinds of dog beds. Never realized that dogs had individualized sleep preferences, so I’m taking a very informal poll. Please leave a comment below as your answer.
Does your dog like to sleep:
a. securely enclosed in a bed, with a raised edge on all sides
b. leaning against a back support, similar to a couch
c. sprawled out in all directions
d. burrowed under a cover
To get you started, here’s the skinny on my dogs:
First of all, you should know that my dogs don’t believe in dog beds, or rather they think my bed is theirs.
Kayla likes the support. She generally leans against the footboard of my sleigh bed, often resting her head on the top of it.
Cooper is a sprawler. He seems to think he needs to take up as much surface area as possible.
Penny is a burrower. She’s either under the covers or under the bed entirely.
Maggie can sleep anywhere. I can’t say she has an actual preference.
So, what about your dogs?
I look forward to hearing from you!
Good day, and good dog!
Loss of a Hero
From Berea, Ohio: K-9 officer Ciro was put to sleep Saturday, two weeks after receiving a devastating diagnosis of cancer. He was just five years old. Swollen lymph nodes were found during a routine vet visit, and tests revealed a very aggressive form of lymphatic cancer.
Hey, Mister, Can I Pet Your Dog?
How many times have kids come up to you when you are walking your dog, and asked if they can pet him? You may have no problem with it, but what if your dog does? Would you know whether or not your dog was feeling stressed about it?
Day Care
(Picture courtesy Dogtopia.)
Thinking about taking your dog to day care, but worried about the price? The Wall Street Journal recently did some research on the topic and quoted average prices.
Top Dog Parks
As I promised yesterday, below is the list of the runners up for Dog Fancy Magazine’s Best Dog Parks of 2008.
Better Than a Microchip?
(Photo from the Garmin website.)
Some of you wrote to me with strong feelings one way or the other when I posted about microchipping last month. See what you think of this idea. Continue reading Better Than a Microchip?
The Upside of Dog Cloning
(Picture of James Symington & Trakr from the NY Times.)
Whether or not you think dog cloning is a good idea, this is kind of a neat story. Remember the contest run by BioArts International, a biotech company in Northern California? They offered to clone dogs for free for the highest auction bidders, but they also ran an essay contest to pick one of the dogs for free cloning. Have you heard who won?
Conservation Hits the Dog Park
Jackass Acres K-9 Korral in New River, Arizona, has been picked by Dog Fancy Magazine as the best dog park of 2008. Part of the reason it was picked? It’s green!