Why owning a dog is good for you

They boost happiness hormones and compensate for family breakdown – no wonder dog ownership is soaring

Deborah Ross - Read Complete article Here - timesonline.co.uk March 6, 2010

What is this relationship I have with my dog? What is anybody’s relationship with their dog? To put it another way: just what is the status of humans and dogs these days?

Whatever else, dogs are doing something right. Heck, they’re so good even the Chinese are thinking about not eating them any more and, in the UK, the dog population has shot up from 6.4 million to 10.5 million in the past 20 years. There are still working dogs – dogs that flush, herd, retrieve, guard and merrily throttle rats – but almost all the increase has been in “companion dogs”

Dr James Serpell, director of the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society at the University of Pennsylvania and he says that, whatever else, today’s dogs certainly perform an important human function. “We’ve seen an explosion in pet populations in all industrialized countries in the past two decades,” he says. “And I keep coming back to the notion that dogs are providing people with a form of non-human support where traditional support has broken down. People are turning to dogs to compensate for that loss.” And he adds: “If you look at all the demographic statistics people are getting divorced more, having fewer children and have fewer friends as well as less social contact. A graph showing this decline is almost a mirror image of the one showing the rise in pet ownership.” Is this healthy? “Some people would say dogs do the job better than other humans when it comes to relationships. People have few conflicts with their pets, whereas human relations can have a nasty side. You can get dogs with horrendous behavior problems, but the relationship is very complementary on the whole.”

According to researchers at the University of Japan, dog owners experience a surge in the hormone oxytocin after periods of playing with their dogs or simply being gazed at by them. Oxytocin has been nicknamed the “cuddle chemical” for the role it plays in the mother-child bond. It produces positive, warm feelings and because it’s a serious stress reducer – it dampens down the area of the brain associated with anxiety – may also help explain the myriad health benefits associated with dog ownership.

So the things dog-owners have felt intuitively all along, that dog’s have a sixth sense and know how you’re feeling, might be true? “The thing we consistently find about dogs is that they are incredibly perceptive. While they may not have some of the human capabilities, they can behave as if they have because they are so perceptive about what is going on.” This makes sense biologically. If the dog is dependent on us, it needs to know where our behavior is going. Are we in a bad mood? Should it keep out of our way? Further, research in Hungary is showing that if a dog is trained to understand the pointing gesture and two bowls are put out – one containing food and one not – the dog will over-ride what his nose is telling him and go to the empty bowl if the human is pointing at it. “The dog always wants to be where the human is,” says Professor Mills, “and is just so incredibly tuned into our body language.”

The study of domestic dogs is a new discipline – previously, domestic dogs were considered too “artificial” to be worth the bother – and there are, he says, exciting discoveries to come. Work is being done in social cognition, language cognition and the role of dogs in child development. “If you look at family psychology, which has been going on for 50 years, the role of the pet has hardly been considered. In some cities, mainly associated with poverty, a child is more likely to grow up with a dog than it is a father. That’s really quite a shocking statistic, and psychology hasn’t even thought about it.” So it’s not all about being the dog’s boss then? “That,” he says, “is rubbish. And such a primate way to think. There is no evidence dogs can use social status to motivate behavior. It’s a really good example of anthropomorphism. Humans may think in terms of being motivated by a hierarchy, but there is no evidence a dog’s brain is capable of that.” How would he, then, describe the relationship between man and dog today? “It’s like a family friendship,” he says.

Domestic dogs are phenomenal. They look to us, are in tune with us and want to know us even when we are not worth knowing. You may say that the average dog’s life isn’t “natural”, but who is to say what nature intended? At some point in their history, wolves attached themselves to humans and became dogs. And as Rowlands notes: “To the extent that nature has intentions at all, this was part of her intentions no more and no less than wolves remaining wolves.” I ask Professor Mills if he feels sorry for the average urban pooch and he says no, not at all. Dogs are endlessly adaptable, and as long as you don’t forget the dog in the dog, and offer exercise, stimulation and company, a dog can have a good life anywhere.

Chicken adopts Rottweiler puppies

A chicken named Mabel has taken its love of extreme sports to the max, and has adopted a litter of Rottweiler puppies. This it did after losing a fight with a horse that resulted in it injuring its foot, causing its owners to allow it to sleep inside the house – where it found the puppies.

Mabel, and her puppies, live on a farm in Shrewsbury. Mabel keeps her new charges warm by ‘sitting’ on them while they are asleep in her basket. Mabel is dicing with death because the puppies aren’t actually orphans; they have a mother named Nettle. Mable waits for Nettle to leave them before entering their basket and sitting on them.

The owners of the courageous chicken, and the Rottweiler puppies, are Ros and Edward Tate.

Edward Tate explains the bizarre situation:

Mabel was hatched here about a year ago. She would have gone onto someone’s dinner plate but we saved her and brought her into the house.

Unfortunately, she got into an accident with a horse, which accidentally trod on her foot. Because of that, she gets terribly cold during the winter so we decided to bring her into the house.

And then we had puppies about three weeks ago. Mabel observed Nettle’s behaviour and, as soon as there was a chance, she hopped into the dog basket to roost on the pups. She keeps them and herself warm, while Nettle is outside on the yard.

It seems that Mabel isn’t at all concerned that Nettle could be a protective mother, as most dogs are with their pups. Mabel is determined to help out, regardless of the risks to her own personal safety.

It was within a week Mabel was jumping in the box with them and brooding over them. She took to them like they were her own chicks.

Nettle was a bit startled to say the least – but she didn’t mind too much eventually. She’s happy to have a helping pair of wings.

We were amazed when we first it happen – my 13-year-old daughter first saw it happen and called us to come and have a look. And when we saw Mabel here roosting on the pups – we just laughed.

We’re hoping that soon Mabel will have her own chicks to look after but I don’t think Nettle will be returning the favour when that happens.

A lot of dogs love chicken, but Mabel and the puppies are taking this love to extremes.

Full Article Here - dreamdogs.co.uk

2009 H1N1 influenza virus CONFIRMED in Iowa cat

A cat in Iowa has tested positive for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, state officials confirmed this morning, marking the first time a cat has been diagnosed with this strain of influenza.

The cat, which has recovered, is believed to have caught the virus from someone in the household who was sick with H1N1. There are no indications that the cat passed the virus on to any other animals or people.

Prior to this diagnosis, the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus had been found in humans, pigs, birds and ferrets.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) are reminding pet owners that some viruses can pass between people and animals, so this was not an altogether unexpected event. Pet owners should monitor their pets' health very closely, no matter what type of animal, and visit a veterinarian if there are any signs of illness.

The AVMA is actively tracking all instances of H1N1 in animals and posting updates on our Web site at www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/new_virus.

http://www.avma.org/press/releases/091104_H1N1_Iowa_cat.asp

For more information, contact Michael San Filippo, AVMA media relations assistant, at 847-285-6687 (office), 847-732-6194 (cell), or msanfilippo@avma.org.

Missing PA Rottie exhibitor-Sherrie Buck

Please spread the word and help look for Sherrie.  Many of you have shown with this lady, in UKC, AKC, and USRC. http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/1009/665306.html Newport, Pa. - State police in Perry County are seeking information from the public in a missing persons case. Sherie Lee Deardorff-Buck, 47, was last seen Friday afternoon in Cumberland County, in the area of Hampden and Lower Allen townships. ABC 27 Talkback: Click Here to Comment on this Story Police say she was driving a red Ford Focus station wagon and was traveling with a dog, described as a Rottweiler. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at (717) 567-3110

 

Please help for 'Hope'

 

Please help for 'Hope'

Hope is a 2 year old female Rottweiler. She is one of the sweetest and kindest dogs you will meet. She was less than 2 hours away from the being put to sleep when we found a foster home who could take her.

 

 

 

She was full of hook worm, whip worms, and roundworms to the point we had to immediately de-worm her or she would have died. She was so anemic it terrible.  She had diarrhea and vomiting for which we had to get her to a vet immediately.  She had 3 big bags of fluids mixed with B-12.  She is finally getting under control but has to be hand fed about every 1.5 to 2 hours so she can hold it down.

We desperately need donations to continue to help this girl to heal and begin to live the life she is meant to.

www.heidislegacydogrescue.com

please click here for Paypal link

Heidi's Legacy Dog Rescue
3102 Nichols Road
Lithia, Florida  33547

We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization

All donations are tax deductible.

 

 

Man stabbed rival’s rottweiler

A man who stormed into his love rival’s Wolverhampton home armed with a knife and stabbed his pet rottweiler has escaped an immediate prison sentence.

Damian Hubble was so distraught when neighbor Daniel Morgan got his fiance pregnant that he went round to the flat, demanding: “Tell me the truth”, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

When Mr Morgan let him into the apartment in Wodensfield Tower, Wednesfield, Hubble produced a 12in kitchen knife from behind his back and lunged at him.

The five-year-old dog jumped up to protect his master and bore the brunt of the attack, said Ms Alka Brigue, prosecuting.

The pet suffered stab wounds to the back and shoulder that required more than £600 in veterinary treatment.

Full Article - August 5, 2009

Organic Milk Company Pressure to Close a 'Puppy Mill' Works!

....Horizon sent an inspector to B & R the next day and found dogs living in
filth. The company suspended the farmer, John Stoltzfus, who has since
dismantled his dog-breeding operation, according to Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture records....

....Smith says the Whole Foods letter was a "huge step" forward because
"consumers have always had the power to close these facilities.".....

B & R Puppies, which had been cited by authorities as recently as a year ago for housing dogs in squalid cages and failing to vaccinate them-was also supplying milk to Horizon Organics. Horizon is a major presence in markets like Whole Foods, where animal welfare is paramount.

The April article, "A (Designer) Dog's Life," highlighted Smith's efforts. Before NEWSWEEK published the story, I notified Horizon and Whole Foods that my piece would reveal they were buying and peddling organic milk from a farmer who mistreated dogs. Horizon sent an inspector to B & R the next day and found dogs living in filth. The company suspended the farmer, John Stoltzfus, who has since dismantled his dog-breeding operation, according to Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture records. That allowed him to resume supplying Horizon, which he began doing earlier this month.

Full article can be found here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/206163