Yes there was , but let's not go there:cross eyeAndyX--asked-- Wasn't there a news story a while back about someone who killed his dog 'cos he thought it was gay?
Yes there was , but let's not go there:cross eyeAndyX--asked-- Wasn't there a news story a while back about someone who killed his dog 'cos he thought it was gay?
No, it made me laugh. Reminds me of the look on my birds faces if I went into the aviary with a hat on. Or the look on my canary's face when I tried on a wedding dress once. He so obviously didn't like it that I took it back and got another one.JurekB said:Amusing tale. I was driving down the road with her sitting in the front seat when we drove past some people in fancy dress. One was dressed as a huge rabbit and the look of shock on her face was priceless. 'My god, did you see the size of that bunny!!!!'
Made me laugh but I suppose you had to be there.
Friday, September 24, 2004
CANCER RESEARCH
Study: Canines sniff out sick cells
With a sense of smell up to 100,000 times more keen than that of humans, they identify urine samples of patients with bladder cancer
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 24, 2004
LONDON -- It has long been suspected that man's best friend has a special ability to sense when something is wrong with us. Now, the first experiment to verify that scientifically has demonstrated that dogs are able to smell cancer.
Experts say it's unlikely dogs will become partners in cancer detection anytime soon, but the results of the study, outlined this week in the British Medical Journal, are promising.
They show that when urine from bladder cancer patients was set out among samples from healthy people or those with other diseases, the dogs - all ordinary pets - identified the cancer patients' urine almost three times more often than expected by chance alone.
David Neal, a bladder and prostate cancer surgeon at Cambridge University in England, said it's plausible dogs pick up the scent because people with cancer shed abnormal proteins in their urine.
"I'm skeptical about whether it will be implementable, but scientifically, it should be followed up," said Neal, a spokesman for Cancer Research UK, Britain's cancer society, who was not involved in the research. "It might be that the dogs are better than our current machines at picking up abnormal proteins in the urine. What are the dogs picking up? Can we get a machine that does the same?"
It is thought that a dog's sense of smell is generally 10,000 to 100,000 times better than a human's.
The idea that dogs may be able to smell cancer was first put forward in 1989 by two London dermatologists, who described the case of a woman asking for a mole to be cut out of her leg because her dog would constantly sniff at it, even through her trousers.
One day, the dog, a female border collie-Doberman mix, tried to bite the mole off when the woman was wearing shorts.
It turned out she had malignant melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. It was caught early enough to save her life.
In 2001, two English doctors reported a similar case of a man with a patch of eczema on his leg for 18 years. One day, his pet Labrador started to persistently sniff the patch. It turned out he had developed skin cancer, and once the tumor was removed, the dog showed no further interest in the eczema patch.
The latest study is the first rigorous test of the theory to be published. The experiment, by researchers at Amersham Hospital in Buckinghamshire, England, and the organization Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, set out to prove whether dogs could be trained to detect cancer.
Perhaps the most intriguing finding was in a comparison patient whose urine was used during the training phase. All the dogs unequivocally identified that urine as a cancer case, even though screening tests before the experiment had shown no cancer.
Doctors conducted more detailed tests on the patient and found a life-threatening tumor in the right kidney.
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Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
Children marry dogs
A group of children have married dogs in a tribal ceremony in northern India.
Residents of Kuluptang in Jharkhand organised the 'kukur vivaha' or 'marriage of dogs' with local children in a bid to ward off evil.
Parents of children whose first tooth grows out of the upper jaw perform such marriages "for the peace and welfare of the entire community" because such growth is considered "inauspicious".
Sushila, whose one-year-old son Durga was one of the grooms, said: "In such cases, dog marriage is one of the ways to ward off evil."
The children were bathed in a river before being led in a procession to a place of worship where the wedding took place.
Sonamuni, a 54-year-old woman, whose three-year-old granddaughter was given away in marriage to a dog, told Press Trust of India: "The wedding was no less important than other ceremonies. All customs which are normally associated with marriage were followed but discreetly."
Leaferne said:How exactly will that ward off evil?
Girl married to dog to ward off tigers
Thu Apr 7, 9:18 AM ET
NEW DELHI, April 7 (AFP) - A girl in eastern India has been married to a dog in a bid to ward off tigers.
The tribal wedding took place to the beating of drums in a slum on the outskirts of Orissa state capital Bhubaneswar, the Press Trust of India news agency said Thursday quoting witnesses.
Local people said the girl had developed abnormalities in her teeth which made her prone to "being devoured by a tiger".
The tribal ritual is believed to rid her of the danger, they said.
Mloto said he sjambokked the man and his screams attracted a crowd.
Dog trained to smell skin cancer
A dog from Kent is being trained to use its sense of smell to try and detect skin cancer.
Daisy, an 18-month-old Labrador bred at kennels in Marden, west Kent, is working for the Buckinghamshire-based charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
The organisation has been working with health professionals in Bucks and has already found evidence that dogs can be trained to sniff out bladder cancer.
That research was published by the British Medical Journal in 2004.
Research project
Daisy moved from her kennels in Kent at the end of 2004 after being recruited by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
Two years ago the charity became involved in research led by the Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
The project found evidence that dogs could detect bladder cancer from distinctive smells in sufferers' urine.
Now Daisy's nose is being trained to pick up cancerous cells on skin pads from people with skin cancer.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 515651.stm
Published: 2005/05/05 07:15:54 GMT
© BBC MMV
Uncanny Canines Sense Oncoming Seizures
By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Four o'clock in the morning a little more than two weeks ago, Cheryl Huey of Monroe, La., felt herself being roused from sleep.
Chelsea, the new 2-year-old female golden retriever that Huey and her teenage son Taylor had just brought home the day before had run from his bedroom to hers and was now agitatedly pawing at her arm.
"I got up and went to Taylor's bedroom and said, 'Hey, looks like we got to take her outside, she needs to go to the bathroom,'" Huey recalled.
However, "About 10 minutes later we were out in the parking lot, and Taylor starts having a seizure," Huey said. Taylor, 16, has epilepsy and experiences a temporarily debilitating attack about once a month.
Because the onset of a seizure is unpredictable and injury is possible if her son falls or is otherwise hurt during an attack, Cheryl Huey decided to adopt Chelsea -- a dog specifically trained to alert epileptics to seizures before they occur -- to help protect Taylor and give him an independence he hadn't had before.
Witnessing Chelsea's ability to sense the onset of an attack even as Taylor lay sleeping was extraordinary, Huey said. "At the time, I just couldn't believe it," she said.
"Then, out in the parking lot after he had stopped the seizure, I told her 'Stay, Chelsea,' and she crawled across his body and lay on top of him as I ran inside to get help. When I came out again, she was still across his body -- part of her training is to just protect and stay with him."
Jennifer Arnold, founder and operator of nonprofit Canine Assistants, where Chelsea was born and trained, said seizure-alert dogs can also be taught to push a button to dial 911, tug open doors to run and get help, and even use their mouths to bring their human a cordless phone or any medication they might need.
"Seeing Chelsea's reaction that first time, the response she had, I now have confidence that in the event of a seizure she's going to be in charge," Huey said.
Taylor Huey's new companion is giving him new freedom and peace of mind, too. "She's going to make me more confident and independent, help me do more stuff by myself," he said.
That's not always easy for people with epilepsy, which is still a very poorly understood disorder.
"It's a chronic condition and [an attack] is literally an electric storm in the brain that can change behaviors," explained Dr. Blanca Vasquez, director of clinical research at New York University's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. While seizures can vary greatly in their intensity and outward manifestations, many are preceded by sensations known as an aura, she said.
Even from far across a room, seizure-alert dogs seem to be able to pick up on extremely subtle physiological changes -- minute alterations in odor or movement -- that may begin anywhere from 45 to five or 10 minutes before an actual attack. "More research needs to be done," Arnold said. "We don't exactly know right now what the dogs are responding to."
But their ability to sense these changes for their owners can be invaluable, since early warning of a seizure's onset helps people with epilepsy find a safe environment or take precautionary measures.
The Labradors and retrievers trained by the experts at Alpharetta, Ga.-based Canine Assistants begin their 18 months of instruction at just 2 days of age, learning over 90 standard commands. More mysteriously, some protective measures seem to come to the dogs by instinct, Arnold said. For example, when sensing an oncoming seizure, "they tend to want their person to lie on the ground," she said.
As any person with epilepsy will tell you, that's about the most sensible action an individual can take before a seizure, since falling is the leading cause of serious injury during an attack.
"It's fascinating -- dogs who have never seen anyone have a seizure will tug at their person's sleeve, they want you on the ground," Arnold said. "How do they have that instinct that lying on the ground is safer? We have no idea."
Arnold's investment in Canine Assistants is a very personal one. Stricken with multiple sclerosis at 16, she was confined for a time to a wheelchair. Seeking to help his daughter, Arnold's father, now deceased, discovered that people were training dogs to help partially immobilized patients navigate the tasks of daily living.
Fortunately for Arnold, her MS has improved so she can walk again. But her experience, combined with a love of dogs, compelled her and her mother to start Canine Assistants in 1991. The company matches dogs with owners in need, charging no fees.
Right now, the seizure-alert arm of Canine Assistants is funded by pharmaceutical company UCB Pharma, Inc. Arnold's team also trains dogs to help individuals with other disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
And the ability of these canines to sense other, hidden health dangers is emerging, too.
"There are already dogs that have been anecdotally reported to be able to pick up on dangerously low blood sugar, including one of our own seizure-alert dogs," Arnold said. "And a service dog a few years ago alerted his owner in the middle of the night that he was having a heart attack in his sleep -- and then did it again for a stranger in a mall."
For people with epilepsy, having a four-legged, early warning system that can be taken everywhere gives them a sense of security and independence many haven't had before.
Taylor Huey said he hasn't yet decided whether he'll start taking Chelsea to school, but he certainly feels comfortable bringing her to daily outings such as church or shopping.
And Chelsea's arrival means Cheryl Huey can finally let her teenager go off on his own without worry.
"Sunday we went to the mall, and he went with me," she said. "I went to get my nails done and, as usual, I said 'Come on, Taylor.' He looked at me and said, 'No, it's OK, I've got Chelsea.' And I thought, 'Yeah, you do.' "
Woof
Dogs May Be Responding To Psychological Seizures, Not Epilepsy Seizures
26 Jan 2007
Reports of dogs that can predict their owners' epilepsy seizures have been anecdotal and not objectively confirmed by doctors and researchers. Some people obtain service dogs trained specifically for people with seizures. In two new studies published in the January 23, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, researchers found that in some cases these dogs are responding to seizures caused not by epilepsy, but by psychological conditions.
"People with psychogenic seizures need psychiatric evaluation and appropriate treatment, not a specially trained dog for epileptic seizures," said study author Gregory L. Krauss, MD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
"This is important because the treatment is very different for a person with epilepsy and one with psychological seizures, which stem from emotional difficulties," said Krauss. "Epilepsy drugs are not effective for psychological seizures, and they often have side effects. And with proper treatment and counseling, psychological seizures can often be eliminated."
For the studies, researchers monitored seven people with seizure response dogs. Most were monitored with video electroencephalogram (EEG) tests to track seizures and electrical activity in the brain. Epileptic seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. For four of the people, unlike people with epilepsy, there was no abnormal electrical activity during seizures, and they were diagnosed with psychological seizures. Another person did not have the EEG test, but was also diagnosed with psychological seizures.
Krauss said it's possible that people with psychological seizures may seek out service animals for support. He noted that some people with epileptic seizures may benefit from seizure response dogs.
"Seizure response dogs can help people during seizures and stay by them when they are unconscious and provide companionship that aids them in dealing with a chronic disorder," Krauss said. "People with nonepileptic seizures require psychiatric evaluation and behavior therapy. This study demonstrates the importance of establishing an accurate diagnosis of epilepsy before obtaining a seizure response dog."
Study author Michael J. Doherty, MD, of the Swedish Epilepsy Center in Seattle, Washington, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said the findings raise several questions that need to be further investigated. "If dogs can predict psychological seizures, could the seizures be a conditioned response to stereotypical dog behaviors? Does having a seizure alert dog lead people to have psychological seizures more or less often? Given the cost of training seizure alert dogs, should people requesting one be screened for psychological seizures?"
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com.
American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
1080 Montreal Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55116
United States
http://www.neurology.org
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medical ... wsid=61567
New-born lambs' Rottweiler 'mum'
Rottweiler Molly showing her maternal instincts with lambs Lucky and Charm.
Enlarge Image
They have a fearsome reputation, but one Rottweiler is proving that the breed has a softer side by helping to rear two lambs.
Molly has been using her maternal instincts after lambs Lucky and Charm were born with complications on a farm.
Her owner Maria Foster, 38, from Forden, near Welshpool in Powys, said Molly slept with the pair at night, and even protected them from other animals.
Lucky and Charm are recovering and will be placed in a field in about 10 days.
Ms Foster said the pair needed help to improve their circulation soon after they were born.
They were placed in an Aga oven for warmth and after being lifted out Molly took over and started licking them as a ewe would have done.
Molly protects the lambs and sleeps with them
"The first 12 to 24 hours for a lamb are absolutely crucial and if Molly hadn't been doing what she was doing, I would have had to have been there rubbing the lambs through most of the night to keep their circulation going," said Ms Foster.
"She could have ignored them but she didn't and it is quite comical to see."
Now 11-month-old Molly is like a mother to the two lambs, who stick closely to their unlikely guardian.
Ms Foster added: "The cat came into the kitchen the other day and walked over to the bucket where the lambs were sleeping, but Molly pushed her away as if to say: 'They are mine.'
"She will let the sheepdog have a look, but only for so long before she pushes him away as well."
Ms Foster said they cannot be returned to their mother because they would be rejected by her after so long apart.
A spokesman for the Kennel Club, which organises Crufts, said in the right hands Rottweilers should not pose a problem.
He added: "Rottweilers were originally bred as guard dogs in Germany, but in the right hands they should not pose of problem. They are not born aggressive, they learn it from us.
"Nonetheless, it's certainly the first time I've ever heard of a Rottweiler caring for lambs."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wale ... 321827.stm
Friday, March 30, 2007
Prozac for Your Dog
A new canine version of Prozac will soon be available. It is just the latest in pet-specific drugs, as pharmaceutical companies increasingly chase this lucrative market.
By Emily Singer
Anxiety-ridden dogs that go berserk when left alone by their owners will soon have a new treatment option--a reformulated version of the antidepressant Prozac, known generically as fluoxetine. To be marketed under the name Reconcile by Indianapolis-based drugmaker Eli Lilly, the drug is chewable and flavored with a doggie-delectable zing. It is the latest in a string of recently approved canine drugs, reflecting the growing market for pet pharmaceuticals.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Reconcile in February after clinical tests in dogs showed it significantly improved symptoms of separation anxiety, a problem that strikes 10 to 20 percent of canines with varying severity; dogs affected may bark, chew household items, or urinate in inappropriate locations when left alone. The drug, which will go on the market in April and will be sold along with a behavior modification program, is the first product introduced by a new division of Lilly devoted entirely to pets.
Most drugs used for companion animals, as the pharmaceutical companies refer to pets, are human drugs that veterinarians prescribe off label. The cost of drug development is so high that few companies are willing to spend the money it takes to develop a canine-specific drug, or to run clinical trials testing human drugs for dogs or cats. But as more and more Americans view their pets as family members that is changing, and a new market is opening up: medications are being reformulated and sold in animal-friendly forms, and drugs that never quite made it through the human testing process are being revived.
"I think the human-animal bond has changed in the last few years," says Dawn Boothe, a veterinary internist and clinical pharmacologist at Auburn University in Auburn, AL. "People are starting to say, 'My animal is a member of the family, and I am willing to pay the cost of drugs that were developed for humans.' I think the pharmaceutical companies have picked up on that."
Two other pet drugs were approved early this year: the first diet drug for dogs, Slentrol, and the first motion-sickness drug for dogs, Cerenia. Both are being sold by New York-based Pfizer. Unlike Reconcile, neither drug has ever been prescribed for humans. Dirlotapide, the generic form of Slentrol, was originally tested for human use, but its side effects were deemed intolerable. (Compounds in the same class are being tested for their cholesterol- and triglyceride-reducing properties in humans.)
Veterinarians are excited about the prospect of drugs that have been tested specifically in pets. "Prozac is a drug we've used for years," says Boothe. "But having it approved in dogs gives us a level of confidence regarding safety and efficacy in that species." Although scientists have tested different drugs in cats and dogs, Boothe and others say it has been difficult to get pharmaceutical companies interested in developing them. Nicholas Dodman, an animal behaviorist and veterinarian at Tufts University in Medford, MA, says a drug currently used to treat dementia in humans is helpful in treating an animal form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but so far no pharmaceutical company has opted to develop it for the pet market.
Lilly's companion-animal division is testing molecules from its vast library of compounds to treat obesity and other conditions in pets, a process they hope will produce some returns on the original investment in those molecules. "Even if you assume only two million of the dogs with anxiety disorder get treated," says Dodman, "with owners paying $50 per month, that's a viable market."
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/18463/
PeniG said:When assessing any nonhuman's "sixth sense," you should also bear in mind their acute comprehension of body language. Most psychic animal acts are based on cues from the handler, and when a person genuinely believes a performing animal is psychic, it is often because the animal is responding to cues the handler isn't aware of making.
The absence of abstract thought tends to make animals hyperaware of their surroundings compared to humans; we could be just as wise, if we would pay attention.
PeniG said:I won't be any help as I'm pretty much a cat person; though if my friend with four dogs who works at the Humane Society tells me any stories, I'll pass them on. Have you read Gary Paulsen's My Life in Dog Years, but all the dogs he's known who were so much smarter than him? I won't guarantee him against pulling the longbow - he's a storyteller, after all - but the border collie who irrigates the orchard and the stray gun dog who hunted with him when he was a teen-ager aren't to be missed.
pinkstarbuck said:PeniG said:When assessing any nonhuman's "sixth sense," you should also bear in mind their acute comprehension of body language. Most psychic animal acts are based on cues from the handler, and when a person genuinely believes a performing animal is psychic, it is often because the animal is responding to cues the handler isn't aware of making.
The absence of abstract thought tends to make animals hyperaware of their surroundings compared to humans; we could be just as wise, if we would pay attention.
Thanks for the input! I have a diploma in canine behaviour and psychology and am currently studying for a diploma in wolf studies. You are right, dogs and indeed wolves are incredibly communitive animals, both species (or just the one species, depending on which taxonomist you ask) have a complex array of signals and gestures that they use among themselves and others. They are far more intelligent than we give them credit for!
I`m more interested in the stories you hear, such as dogs rescuing their owners from burning buildings, dogs finding their owners when they have moved thousands of miles away, that sort of thing. I`m also interested in certain breeds of dogs apparent precognitive awareness, for example, my welsh corgi was very aware of certain people and whilst out on walks he would either run to greet a person he considered "nice" or physically pull me away from people who he deemed to be a danger to me. My husky, however is a big softy who would probably just roll over and wag his tale in the face of adversity! However, there was a six month gap between my corgi passing away and getting my husky and sometimes when my husky is playing with his toys, its almost like hes playing with another, smaller dog. I`d like to think its the spirit of my corgi, but who knows?