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Canine Forteana (Dogs' Weirdness & Wonders)

ie do dogs circle pre urination ? cant see it ...

also dogs may align their bodies north south during defecation but from memory they normally turn their faces east or west !
 
Dogs don't circle before urinating. Some have little 'rituals' they do before they go; my current dog always walks up and down the garden path twice.

I didn't see him poo this morning, but I watched him pee, and he was aligned north/south, with his head turned to the west.

I'll keep an eye out for alignments on further excretions :?
 
Personally, when outdoor excretion is necessary, I align myself into the wind, ie nose upwind... ;)

Future archaeologists may one day find my coprolites scattered beneath the sands of the Sahara, and make all kinds of interesting deductions about me...
 
HenryFort said:
ie do dogs circle pre urination ? cant see it ...

also dogs may align their bodies north south during defecation but from memory they normally turn their faces east or west !
Click to expand...
Oh, sorry, your question wasn't that clear.
 
Sheep dog patrols may curb seaside bacterial infections

Border Collies may be an effective weapon against E. coli infections at the seaside according to a new study.
Researchers found that the hard working sheep dogs were successful at keeping seagulls away from beaches.

Gull dropping are known to be a source of E. coli bacteria, which can lead to abdominal cramping and diarrhoea in humans.
High levels of the bug are a leading cause of beach closures in many parts of the world, including the UK.
The bacteria are commonly found in human and animal faeces and can end up in the seas through rain water run off or from sewage.
Seagulls have been implicated in the spread of resistant versions of the bug. A recent report showed that around a third of E. coli samples taken from the birds were resistant to more than one antibiotic.

In this new study, researchers assigned the dogs to 200-metre stretches of beach along the shores of Lake Michigan in the US, which were patrolled for parts of the summer season. Half way through the dogs were switched to untreated sections.

Populations of Ring-Billed gulls have soared in the region since the 1970s with numbers increasing by 10% per year.
The collies, known for their intelligence and their herding abilities, disturbed the seagulls and kept them from landing on the beaches.

"Most of the time, the dogs were kept on their leads," said Dr Elizabeth Alm from Central Michigan University, who led the study.
"They were released with the leads dropped, only when their handler directed them to chase gulls. Then the dogs were called, they would circle back, and the handler would pick the lead back up."

Over the course of the summers of 2012 and 2013, the scientists recorded the number of birds at each section of beach while water and sand samples were collected and tested for E. coli.
They found that the bacterial counts were significantly lower on those sandy stretches where the dogs had kept the gulls at bay.

However the benefit didn't last through the whole season and the researchers found that later in the summer, bacterial numbers had risen once again. Dr Alm believes that the timing of the dog patrols is crucial to their effectiveness.
"If the E. coli establish in the sand early in the season, they appear to be able to persist, and probably even grow in the sand so that even though the dogs can remove the gulls from the beach later in the season, this late reduction in gulls does not translate in to a late season reduction in E. coli."

One key question though was the worry that the dogs themselves might increase the levels of E. coli if they had to answer nature's call while working on the beach.
"These were professional working dogs," said Dr Alm.
"They were given ample opportunity to take care of their "business" before going to work. They didn't often poop on the beach, but if they did it was immediately picked up by their handler and disposed of off the beach."

The research has been published at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27468430
 
I hope it's the Starlight Barking. I know it isn't, but I hope it is.
 
Are they dyeing the poor creatures russet, then herding them into blue or white vans and dumping them in rural areas?
 
Edited cause being a dumb ass i didnt read the link.
There has been reports of people stealing dogs, i suspect for food, disgusting.
One of the ladies at work loves to eat dog, she said, 'It makes her tummy feel all warm' I say 'So will a knife in it'. I guess we dont understand it, as we see them as pets.
 
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In the UK its reported that there is an increase in dog thefts & in my own country there are repeated claims of dogs being snatched from walkers, just Google: dog thefts Bedfordshire & see what comes up. Locally, dog walkers are going out in groups, for support.

I originally took the whole thing to be an urban legend, although where I live it's more likely to be a rural one. But cutting out possible bull shit, such as someone being hospitalised, after swallowing a microchip while eating out, there seems to be a strong basis for the theft claims. Pedigree dogs are sold on, after the microchip is cut out with a razor blade, others it is rumoured to be used to train dogs for fighting.

There seems to be a strong dog fighting fraternity among certain local minority groups & a recent local murder was supposed to be as a result of the victim walking away from a fight on which a lot of money had been wagered.
 
FelixAntonius said:
Pedigree dogs are sold on, after the microchip is cut out with a razor blade, others it is rumoured to be used to train dogs for fighting.

There seems to be a strong dog fighting fraternity among certain local minority groups & a recent local murder was supposed to be as a result of the victim walking away from a fight on which a lot of money had been wagered.
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I think this is sadly the case 80% of the time. Romani and Polish groups are well known to do this. At least where I come from in Dorset.
 
8 March 2015 Last updated at 03:04 GMT
Frankie the dog ‘sniffs out thyroid cancer’
By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website, San Diego

A dog has been used to sniff out thyroid cancer in people who had not yet been diagnosed, US researchers say.
Tests on 34 patients showed an 88% success rate in finding tumours.
Click to expand...

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31785245
 
mr_nic said:
Rupert Sheldrake was just mentioned in another thread - he's certainly explored this phenomena in depth:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dogs-That-Their-Owners-Coming/dp/0099255871/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

As for my own dog - she knows approx 20 seconds before either myself or my wife are due home, although I'll possibly put that down to acute hearing and recognising both our car engines.
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Sheldrakes findings are disputed by Richard Wiseman. Also covered in Heretics by Will Storr.
 
ramonmercado said:
Sheldrakes findings are disputed by Richard Wiseman. Also covered in Heretics by Will Storr.
Click to expand...

Interesting - although I have no leanings either way, it seems Sheldrake disputes the disputing (as you'd expect!). Taken from Sheldrake's site:

"In his book The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science (2011), Will Storr described his own independent investigation of Wiseman's skeptical claims, and found that they were seriously misleading. After several discussions with Wiseman, Storr concluded, "Wiseman's career as a celebrity Skeptic is predicated on there being no such thing as paranormal phenomena. He admits to never having had 'any interest in investigating if it's true because I've always thought it isn't.'" (p. 325)."

Full response here: http://www.sheldrake.org/reactions/...m-to-have-debunked-the-psychic-pet-phenomenon
 
I remember Rupert Sheldrake came to give a talk at the University of East Anglia a few years ago when he'd just published his results about dogs supposedly knowing when their owners came home. Apparently some of the resident academics took umbridge to that and mounted some kind of protest. (I imagine them marching up and down outside the lecture hall in their labcoats waving placards proclaiming ""Down with this kind of thing!" and "Careful now!". In reality, they probably just wrote a very stern letter.)
 
My dogs have always seemed to know when I am going to the fridge to get the cheese out. They have all loved a treat of cheese every now and again and have always followed me to the fridge, but only for cheese. Milk, eggs, butter...if I'm going to the fridge for anything other than cheese then they don't bother. How do they know? I don't have to tell them, I simply have to think to myself that I am going to the fridge for cheese and along they came!
 
A dog's sense of smell is so good, it can smell a kipper on the Moon.
If that's not sixth sense I don't know what is.
 
It would be a fifth sense because it's already one of the five senses all mammals have.
 
Bolivian monastery accepts four-legged friar
_95030684_friar4.jpg
Image copyrightKASPER MARIUSZ KAPRON OFM
Social media users in Bolivia nicknamed the dog Friar Moustache on account of his facial fur
When Bolivian monasteries accept new members, they do not usually cause an online sensation.

But Friar Carmelo, nicknamed Friar Moustache, is unlike any resident the Franciscan monastery of Cochabamba has seen before.

For a start, he has four legs.

Friar Carmelo is a schnauzer. A small dog adopted by the monks four months ago, he was photographed roaming the cloisters dressed in a traditional habit.

Since then the images, taken by a visitor, have been shared thousands of times. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39203580
 
They called for more vocations and look what turned up!

They are rewriting the hymnbook already . . .

A Bite With Me

All Things Bite and Neutered

Nearer My Dog To Thee

I Know That My Retriever Liveth

Shall we Slather at the River

The Old Ruff Is Cross

The Lord Is My German Shepherd

Guide Me, O Thou Great Retriever




. . .
 
BOULDER CREEK, Calif. -- A blind dog that was lost in the mountains in California was missing for more than a week before being rescued, CBS San Francisco reports.

Sage, a 12-year-old Labrador, lost both eyes due to glaucoma and a recent tumor. For eight days, the family dog was alone, lost in the thick woods and steep terrain of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The family mistakenly thought she had been brought into the house, only to realize after about an hour that Sage was gone.

“It was horrible. We just didn’t know,” Beth Cole, Sage’s owner, said. “You know, it was cold, she’s kind of helpless as far as being able to find her way back on her own.” ...

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-...after-a-week-lost-in-the-mountains/ar-AAnZCgz
 
'Hero' street dogs in India help catch criminal

Two street dogs in the south Indian city of Chennai (Madras) have become the unlikely heroes of a stabbing incident after helping apprehend the perpetrator.

The two chased down and bit a man accused of stabbing one of his former colleagues on the roadside in what police describe as a "revenge attack".

Locals were then able to catch the man, identified as R Raghunath.

The victim is currently receiving treatment for abdominal injuries.

Police say Mr Raghunath attacked the woman because he had lost his job after she accused him of sexual harassment.

"When they bit him, he could not run because his focus was on the dogs. That is when I and other members of the public got hold of him until the police came and took him away,'' S Raman, a rickshaw driver who takes care of the dogs, told BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-39377105?ocid=socialflow_twitter
 
Sheepdog missing for 12 days is rescued from gorge near Fort William

_95299938_colliesix.jpg

[More pics on page]

A sheepdog that went missing 12 days ago has been rescued from a gorge.
Nell the collie was spotted stuck down Monessie Gorge, at Roybridge near Fort William, by a person on a train that was passing on the nearby West Highland Line.

Members of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team used ropes to get down into the gorge on Thursday evening and rescued the cold and hungry dog.
Team leader John Stevenson said: "The dog belongs to a local crofter."
He added: "It is an older dog and retired from working and it had been missing for 12 days.

"The gorge cannot be seen from the side of the road, but the driver or a passenger on a train passing on the nearby line saw the dog.
"We were having a committee meeting at the time. We left that and headed for the gorge.
"It is not deep, but you can only get down into it using ropes.
"But it was a nice quick job. It was over in an hour, and provided a little bit of training for the team."

He added: "The collie was a bit timid and took a bit of coaxing to come out from where it was.
"I think it was glad to see us and the crofter was glad to have his dog back."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-39378768
 
Good news for dogs and possibly for humans.

Love dogs? So does science. Scientists can now edit the genes of dogs to relieve them of a particular type of muscular dystrophy.

Preliminary results of this here study published at the end of August in Science and conducted by individuals from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Exonics Therapeutics, and Royal Veterinary College, London suggest that it took merely eight weeks to restore the functionality of the protein dystrophin — dystrophin is a protein that helps ensure muscle fiber strength — in one-month-old beagle puppies impacted by the disease.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the sample size here is small: scientists observed four dogs for less than two months. Another caveat to keep in mind: while dystrophin may have been restored in the animal, there was little evidence that the animals regained control of their muscles, leading at least one scientists to speculate as to whether or not the lead scientist rushed to announce the result to draw potential investment to a company one of the scientists launched to help develop the treatment. (The lead scientist denies this, saying that these announced results were about seeking out proof of concept first.) ...

https://bigthink.com/evan-fleischer/see-spot-heal-crispr-heals-muscular-dystrophy-in-dogs
 
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