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Canine Forteana (Dogs' Weirdness & Wonders)

MsQkxyz said:
Anyway, back on topic. About 20 years ago I lived on a hippy commune out bush and there was a dog who twice helped resue a girl. One time from a fire, and once from a hanging.
Im not sure what the circumstance was with the hanging, if he was with her and ran to get help, or if he sensed it and made a fuss so others went to investigate. With the fire the dog wasnt in / at the shack at the time but was with people elsewhere. He alerted them by making a fuss and biting onto their sleeves to drag them to see the fire and get the girl out.
Unfortunatly I wont be able to get any more details though. I think the dog was a bull terrier, but am not 100% sure.
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Thanks! :) Thats the sort of thing i`m looking for! The one thing i have noticed in my research is how loyal our canine friends are.
 
Bull terriers are the way forward. 8)

My big dog (boxer/staffie cross) seems to be profoundly deaf but still knows most of what goes on, like when I'm getting ready for walkies or making food for the cats'n'dogs.

However, I put this down to general cleverness rather than any doggy spidey-sense. ;)
 
pinkstarbuck said:
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.
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There's a thread called Animal Journeys

forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6803
Link is obsolete. The current link is:
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/animal-journeys.6803/

which has a few homing dog stories on it.
 
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'Pets As Therapy' dog honoured at hospital ceremony
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 393777.stm

Zihana Thakrar and Cognac
Cognac has worked as a Pets As Therapy dog for five years

A border collie which visits hospital patients to assist their rehabilitation has been honoured by a hospital trust.

Cognac was recognised for his five-year Pets As Therapy (PAT) charity role by Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust at a long service ceremony.

The dog visits the hospital every week with his owner, Sue Cole.

Members of voluntary organisations such as the Friends of Southampton General Hospital also attended the event, where 55 other volunteers were commended.

Pets As Therapy, a national charity, was founded in 1983.

It aims to provide therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes and special needs schools using volunteers and their own dogs and cats.

More than 23,000 PAT dogs have been registered into the scheme, according to the charity.

It said there were currently more than 4,500 PAT dogs and 108 cats working for the charity in the UK.
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Two-legged dog Faith learns to walk
A dog born with two legs has learned how to walk and is bringing hope to disabled soldiers in America.
Published: 10:02PM GMT 18 Dec 2009

[ video The 7-year-old labrador-chow mix was born without front legs. ]

The puppy and her siblings, also deformed, were rejected by their mother. But Reuben Stringfellow, then 17, came across the tiny animal and brought it home.

He and his mother Jude, an English professor, had to carry the puppy, which they named Faith, for the first few months of her life. But eventually, with patience, and lots of peanut butter as a lure, Faith learned to walk on her two hind legs.

Seven years after her birth, the little yellow dog zips around crowded shops, bustling along with confidence.

Since her first steps in March, 2003, Faith has been a regular guest on US talk shows. She has also become a symbol of hope for injured soldiers.

Ms Stringfellow, who has become a motivational speaker and runs a website devoted to her tiny dog, gets more than 200 letters and emails a day.

Fans of the little dog say she provides inspiration.

"Faith has shown me that different is beautiful, that it is not the body you are in but the soul that you have," Jill Salomon of Montreal, Canada, wrote on the website.

Ms Stringfellow regularly brings Faith to veterans' hospitals across the US to provide hope to disabled soldiers, a mission inspired by her son's service in the US army in Iraq.

Ms Stringfellow told AP that during a recent visit to McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis in Washington, the dog brought cheer to soldiers heading off to war, and to those recently returned.

She just walks around barking and laughing and excited to see them all," Jude Stringfellow said. "There is a lot of crying, pointing and surprise. From those who have lost friends or limbs, there can be silence. Some will shake my hand and thank me, some will pat her on the head. There is a lot of quiet, heartfelt, really deep emotion."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -walk.html
 
"Well, Sarge, I am sure glad you brought that little doggie. She has put hope into my heart. She has shown me how to cope with the loss of my legs!"

"That's swell, soldier. Just one thing before we go: that little doggie isn't exactly a she . . . " :eek:
 
'Smartest' dog recognises more than 340 words

[video]

A seven-year-old dog in Austria called Betsy has amazed scientists by being able to recognise more than 340 words.

Most dogs can recognise about 15 commands.

Betsy's skills were recorded as part of the BBC's science programme Horizon.

It examined the increase in scientific investigations into canines, their unique relationships with people, and how they are helping to identify the causes of some human diseases.

Horizon: The Secret Life of The Dog is broadcast on Wednesday, 6 January at 2100 GMT.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8441974.stm
 
Horizon - 2009-2010 - 8. The Secret Life of the Dog

We have an extraordinary relationship with dogs - closer than with any other animal on the planet. But what makes the bond between us so special?

Research into dogs is gaining momentum, and scientists are investigating them like never before. From the latest fossil evidence, to the sequencing of the canine genome, to cognitive experiments, dogs are fast turning into the new chimps as a window into understanding ourselves.

Where does this relationship come from? In Siberia, a unique breeding experiment reveals the astonishing secret of how dogs evolved from wolves. Swedish scientists demonstrate how the human/dog bond is controlled by a powerful hormone also responsible for bonding mothers to their babies.

Why are dogs so good at reading our emotions? Horizon meets Betsy, the world's most intelligent dog, and compares her incredible abilities to those of children. Man's best friend has recently gone one step further - helping us identify genes responsible for causing human diseases.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... f_the_Dog/

This is a good old-fashioned Horizon - straight-forward filming (no arty-farty special effects) and clear presentation of facts and theories.

And lots of lovely dogs! What's not to love? :D
 
English lessons for 'Polish' dog
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 458184.stm
Advertisement

RSPCA care assistant gives Cent commands in Polish

A dog caused confusion in an animal home when he failed to respond to basic commands - until staff realised he could only understand Polish.

Staff at the RSPCA centre in Oldham, Greater Manchester, originally thought Cent the collie was deaf.

But when they looked into his history they realised he came from a Polish family and so did not "speak" English.

So staff brushed up on Polish commands and, four months on, they say Cent is now bilingual and ready for a new home.

"When he came in he wasn't responding to the basic commands," said care assistant Karen Heath.


Polish dog commands
Sit - siad
Come here - do mnie
Heel - noga
Stay - zostan
Fetch - aport

"We couldn't understand why at first but when we've looked at his records and his history he has come from a Polish family.

"So obviously we've gathered from that he doesn't understand the English language, so therefore he won't understand our basic commands."

Staff turned to the internet for phrases Cent could recognise - although they are unsure of the pronunciation.

"We've learnt a few basic ones which are sit - siad - and come - do mnie - and he seems to understand what we're saying," added Ms Heath.

"Obviously, maybe he's having a chuckle because were pronouncing it a bit wrong... but we've got to work alongside that to teach him the English versions of them as well."

Cent has been in the kennels for about four months and needs a new home.

But staff have assured would-be adopters that they do not need to speak Polish.
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Source - Popular Science

Moscow's Stray Dogs Evolving Greater Intelligence, Including a Mastery of the Subway
By Stuart Fox

For every 300 Muscovites, there's a stray dog wandering the streets of Russia's capital. And according to Andrei Poyarkov, a researcher at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, the fierce pressure of urban living has driven the dogs to evolve wolf-like traits, increased intelligence, and even the ability to navigate the subway.

Poyarkov has studied the dogs, which number about 35,000, for the last 30 years. Over that time, he observed the stray dog population lose the spotted coats, wagging tails, and friendliness that separate dogs from wolves, while at the same time evolving social structures and behaviors optimized to four ecological niches occupied by what Poyarkov calls guard dogs, scavengers, wild dogs, and beggars.

The guard dogs follow around, and receive food from, the security personnel at Moscow's many fenced in sites. They think the guards are their masters, and serve as semi-feral assistants. The scavengers roam the city eating garbage. The wild dogs are the most wolf-like, hunting mice, rats, and cats under the cover of night.

But beggar dogs have evolved the most specialized behavior. Relying on scraps of food from commuters, the beggar dogs can not only recognize which humans are most likely to give them something to eat, but have evolved to ride the subway. Using scents, and the ability to recognize the train conductor's names for different stops, they incorporate many stations into their territories.

Additionally, Poyarkov says the pack structure of the beggars reflects a reliance on brain over brawn for survival. In the beggar packs, the smartest dog, not the most physically dominant, occupies the alpha male position.

The evolution of Moscow's stray dogs has been going on since at least the mid-1800s, when Russian writers first mentioned the stray dog problem in the city. And that evolution has been propelled by deadly selective pressure. Most of the strays arrive on the streets as rejected house pets. Of those dogs kicked out of their homes, Poyarkov estimates fewer than 3 percent live long enough to breed. To survive those odds, a dog really does have to be the fittest.
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Big black dog. Holy Moly!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/22/tallest-dog-world-record

And I do mean, BIG. :shock:

Edit to Add:
Giant George takes crown as the world's tallest dog
Great Dane from Arizona clinches Guinness world record for tallest dog, measuring over 2m from head to tail ...
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A-Great-Dane-called-Georg-001.jpg
 
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How on Earth do you convince a dog that size that you're the boss?!? :shock:
 
Simple. Only you hold a key to the tripe cupboard. 8)
 
Judging by its expression I'd say it's eaten its owner and is experiencing severe discomfort halfway through trying to excrete the indigestible bits.
 
If that's Scooby, where's Scrappy? I bet a very tall sandwich is its snack of choice. Zoinks, etc.
 
'Pinches a loaf'? That's a new one on me. :)
 
Meet Jack, the sheepdog that was so good no one knew he was blind
By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 6:53 AM on 29th October 2010

It's only fair to make allowances for a newcomer.
So when their new sheepdog missed rounding up the occasional ewe, farmers Barry and Liz Edwards put it down to inexperience and gave him a bit of extra training.
After all, their new recruit was a willing learner, had settled well into the farm and won the hearts of the family.

Unknown to them, it was amazing that Jack was doing any work at all. The four-year-old sheepdog was blind – a fact the Edwards only discovered when he ran straight into a wooden peg sticking out of the ground.
A check-up with the vet confirmed Jack had lost vision in both eyes. It changed their view of him from a trainee with a few teething problems to undisputed superdog.
‘He is such an inspiration,’ said Mrs Edwards, who has 150 breeding ewes and 100 cows on the family’s farm at Warmington, Cheshire.
‘This dog goes blind and yet he has carried on as if nothing has happened. He must have had our farm mapped out in his head. He knows exactly where everything is.’

The Edwards bought Jack for £1,250 from a farmer and sheepdog trainer in March last year.

In hindsight, they believe he was probably going blind when he was being trained. Certainly the trainer had no idea he had problems with his vision. Jack is believed to have lost his eyesight because of a disease he picked up from something he ate.
When he arrived on the farm at lambing time he wasn’t required to herd sheep immediately and was ‘given time to settle in’.
There were a few incidents, such as when he failed to move out the way of a flailing cow and injured his back leg. But the family thought nothing of them.

Now Jack, who is taking part in the Drontal pet competition, has been retired and is being kept simply as a pet.
‘He has a great quality of life,’ Mrs Edwards said. ‘He can chase and fetch a ball, as long as it makes a noise and he still occasionally rounds the sheep up. He really is incredible.’ :D

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z13jsz9zXv
 
It could be a black bear or a mountain lion. Though they are rarely spotted they do exist in those parts. We just had a confirmed mountain lion sighting here in NW Missouri.
 
mmm, ok?

More at link
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/02/dogs-poop-in-line-with-earths-magnetic-field-says-study/

"A study published this week in the journal Frontiers in Zoology suggests that dogs choose to relieve themselves along a north-south axis in line with Earth’s magnetic field. The Motherboard blog reported on the study’s findings, saying that the research was carried out by a team of Czech and German scientists.

“Dogs are sensitive to small variations of the Earth’s magnetic field,” said the research team. “Dogs preferred to excrete with the body being aligned along the North-south axis” rather than the East-west axis.

The study examined the daily habits of 70 dogs during 1,893 defecations and 5,582 urinations over the course of two years. Consistently, during times of calm electromagnetic “weather,” the dogs chose to eliminate while facing north or south. "
 
I'd love to know the address of the funding body for this kind of thing.

Not that I like watching dogs crapping or anything . . . :?

edit: Missing "that" in second sentence spotted and corrected.
 
Does that explain why they have to circle before they poop? Are they getting themselves magnetically aligned?

Also, seems like that was some severely constipated dogs - I'm sure mine could manage a good 750 or so excretions on his own over two years.
 
We used to have a thread on white dog poo, with plenty of additional explanation and speculation about all aspects of the subject. This'd've fitted nicely there. :lol:

Yup, dogs do circle and make themselves comfortable before the act. My brother reckons his dog Bo used to get a slide-rule and spirit-level out on unfamiliar ground.
 
They also do it before pooping, often half-crouched with their tails sticking up. Big dogs seem to do this more than little ones do.
 
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