News, Advice and Resources for Thoughtful Pet People
Besides being sweet, this is some pretty cool video from a dog behavior point of view. Great play bows—you can see photos and read about them. The lifted paw is another friendly gesture. Want to learn more about canine body language? Check out Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide Interpreting the Native Language Of The Domestic Dog, by Brenda Aloff. It’s an outstanding and very useful book.
The only thing missing is oodles of praise for Chaucer for being such a gentle dog!
Scientists have shown that dogs use the left gaze bias to look at human faces. Left gaze bias means the right side of an object is inspected first and for a longer period of time.
This suggests that left gaze bias may be an adaptive trait that aided dogs in developing their successful relationship with humans.
We’re pretty fond of Horatio the Hamster. This ambitious little guy is on a virtual hike of the UK from Land’s End to John o’ Groats. His wonderfully geeky people have hooked up his hamster wheel to a thingy (actually a reed switch) that converts the revolutions of his wheel to distance on his route. He averaged 4.07 miles per day last week!
You can track Horatio’s progress and read his travel diary. They’ve even analyzed and graphed his stats. Wonder what was going on on Jan. 17th? You can participate in his hike if you live along his route or through a contest to guess the day Horatio reaches the end of his hike.
Update: Matt from Horatio the Hamster has offered to help anyone who wants help setting up their own hamster wheel like this. Nice!
Love this! We have a couple of very utilitarian, collapsible bowls for summer outings with Saffron. I’d much rather have the stylin’ oilcloth bowl in this great tutorial. It’s made following an origami pattern and then sewn in strategic places.
Depending on the patterns you use, these bowls could be really fun. You could even do a faux bois bowl.
You’ll need:
Australia is just finding out the scope of the devastation from the bushfires. In the coming days, pets are going to need medical care, housing, food, and reuniting with their people. You can help with a money donation to the RSPCA Victoria.
The RSPCA Victoria’s phone number is 03 9224 2222. They can help with emergency assistance, medical care, temporary shelter, and providing emergency food. If you’re in Australia, they are accepting donations of food, bedding, bowls, and leashes. They are especially seeking donations of temporary fencing. At this time, they have enough private foster homes.
If you’ve lost or found a pet, submit this form.
If you’re able to offer help, submit this form.
You can also donate to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) who is sending volunteers. You can see their updates on their blog.