Sometimes
it may seem like a cute idea to give someone a pet as a Christmas present, but
it’s important to give that some extra thought before you do it. Most pets that
are given up lose their home because their owner loses interest in them or is
unprepared for the responsibility of pet ownership. This is a huge problem seen
among pet owners who receive their pets as “gifts.” Children especially are
given the mistaken idea that pets are all fun and games, but they are not fully
ready to take on the responsibility of feeding, walking, cleaning, and training
their pet.
Instead
of giving pets as presents, we recommend getting acclimated to the idea of
bringing a new pet into your home. Bringing your children to volunteer at an
animal shelter or babysitting the pet of a friend or family member can help.
Children and potential pet owners (no matter their age!) need to be reminded
that pets aren’t just cute; they are also hungry, need to exercise, and need to
use the bathroom. They can be messy when they aren’t fully trained, and the
training process can be difficult too.
Please,
don’t adopt until everyone in your family is READY.
‘Tis the season for friends, family and holiday feasts—but also
for possible distress for our animal companions. Pets won’t be so thankful if
they munch on undercooked turkey or a pet-unfriendly floral arrangement, or if
they stumble upon an unattended alcoholic drink.
Check out the following tips from ASPCA experts for a fulfilling
Thanksgiving that your pets can enjoy, too.
Talkin’
Turkey
If you decide to feed your pet a little nibble of turkey, make sure it’s
boneless and well-cooked. Don't offer her raw or undercooked turkey, which may
contain salmonella bacteria.
Sage
Advice
Sage can make your Thanksgiving stuffing taste delish, but it and many other
herbs contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset
and central nervous system depression to pets if eaten in large quantities.
Cats are especially sensitive to the effects of certain essential oils.
No
Bread Dough
Don't spoil your pet’s holiday by giving him raw bread dough. According to
ASPCA experts, when raw bread dough is ingested, an animal's body heat causes
the dough to rise in his stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience
vomiting, severe abdominal pain and bloating, which could become a
life-threatening emergency, requiring surgery.
Don't
Let Them Eat Cake
If you’re baking up Thanksgiving cakes, be sure your pets keep their noses out
of the batter, especially if it includes raw eggs—they could contain salmonella
bacteria that may lead to food poisoning.
Too
Much of a Good Thing
A few small boneless pieces of cooked turkey, a taste of mashed potato or even
a lick of pumpkin pie shouldn’t pose a problem. However, don't allow your pets
to overindulge, as they could wind up with a case of stomach upset, diarrhea or
even worse—an inflammatory condition of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. In
fact, it’s best keep pets on their regular diets during the holidays.
A
Feast Fit for a Kong
While the humans are chowing down, give your cat and dog their own little
feast. Offer them Nylabones or made-for-pet chew bones. Or stuff their usual
dinner—perhaps with a few added tidbits of turkey, vegetables (try sweet potato
or green beans) and dribbles of gravy—inside a Kong toy. They’ll be happily
occupied for awhile, working hard to extract their dinner from the toy.
Veterinarians see a lot of patients with ear infections. In
fact, it's the second most common reason for a client visit, according to pet
health insurer, VPI Pet Insurance. With ear problems prompting so many trips to
the vet, should ear cleaning be a necessary part of grooming your pet?
Generally, cleaning a
dog's ears on a routine basis is not necessary, according to Leonard Jonas,
DVM, MS, DACVIM, a veterinarian with Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital in Wheat
Ridge, Colo. That's because animals have a naturally occurring self-cleansing
process.
"I've had pets my whole
life," Jonas said. "I don't remember ever routinely cleaning out
their ears."
However, that doesn't mean pet owners
should never take notice of their dog's ears. Certain breeds, lifestyles and
physical characteristics will make a dog more prone to what Jonas calls
"abnormal situations," in which the pet's normal homeostasis is
disrupted. This is when something, either systemically or locally in the ear,
interferes with the normal surface barrier defense system and the normal
cleaning process that keeps bacteria and yeast under control.
There are signs to
watch for if your pet is having an issue with its ears. These, according to
Jonas, include:
Shaking its head
Flapping its ears
Rubbing at its ears, either with a paw or by rubbing
against furniture or carpet
Self-massaging the ear to ease itch, pain or irritation
Debris and/or redness inside the ear
Sores inside the ear
Odor in the ear due to abnormal oils and bacteria
"If you [the pet owner] look in
the ear, you can see sometimes a lot of debris," said Jonas, explaining
what an ear with an infection or problem may look like. "Then [you] see
redness on the ear flaps (inside) or sores developing. And then there's also
odor that occurs when you have an abnormal ear."
Breeds to watch
There are certain breeds of dogs—such as Shar Peis, bulldogs and poodles—that
have narrow ear canals and have a higher chance of incurring ear issues.
Poodles, especially, have more hair in the canals, Jonas explained. "The
hair itself is not a problem, but if they've got something abnormal with their
whole defense system, all that extra hair in there makes it difficult."
Cocker spaniels are notorious for ear
problems, Jonas added.
When to clean your pet's ears
According to Jonas, it's best to consult your veterinarian before going forward
with an ear-cleaning regimen. Unlike cleaning the teeth, cleaning the ears does
not need be done regularly. If a pet owner suspects that something may be wrong
with the ear, it's advised to visit the veterinarian and establish whether the
dog's ear needs to be cleaned by the owner either routinely or for an
instructed period of time.
Cleaning the dog's ears without first
seeing a veterinarian is not a good idea, Jonas said, "because you don't
know what's going on inside. You don't know if there has been a ruptured ear
drum; you don't know if there's a stick or a stone or something stuck down
inside the ear that needs to be fished out by a veterinarian."
A veterinarian can diagnose the problem
and make the proper recommendations, which may be cleaning and/or medication.
Typically, there are two situations for
which a dog's ears would need to be cleaned regularly. The first is when a
veterinarian instructs for it to be done, and the second is when the dog is
frequently in water. "Water in their ears disrupts the normal defense
barrier system in that ear, and can make them prone to getting infections and
irritation and inflammation," Jonas said.
If there needs to be ear cleaning
A veterinarian should show the owner how to properly clean the dog's ears
because "there are a lot of different techniques, and it depends on what
the problem is," Jonas advised.
There are a couple of precautions to
always remember, according to Jonas. First, never use a Q-tip, because it tends
to push the wax and debris further into the ear. Second, be sure a groomer does
not pluck the hair out of the dog's ears, unless that hair is contributing to
an ear problem; Jonas believes that doing so may cause irritation.
One thing pet owners should also
consider is that if the dog has an ear infection, it could be very painful for
them. Forcing the dog to get its ears cleaned or putting medication in them can
be a dangerous situation for the owner and the dog.
"If your pet doesn't want you to
do it, don't, because it hurts," Jonas said. "You're just going to
create a problem, and you need to look to alternatives."
Unfortunately, the only thing normal about noisy breathing
for dogs with "pushed-in" faces is that it is an expected response to
a shortened upper jaw, which creates excess soft tissue in the back of the
throat.
Some dogs are
affected to the point where they experience brachycephalic (the scientific term
for breeds with pushed in faces) obstructive airway syndrome or BOAS. If left
untreated, problems can get worse to the point where an animal can collapse due
to a lack of oxygen.
Owners of affected dogs may be putting
them at risk if they do not recognize the problem and seek treatment, according
to researchers Rowena Packer, Dr. Anke Hendricks and Dr. Charlotte Burn of the
United Kingdom's Royal Veterinary College.
In their 2012 study, the researchers
discovered that owners of such dogs as pugs, English bulldogs, Pekingese,
French bulldogs, Boston terriers, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, Shih tzus and
others were not aware of the signs of BOAS. In fact, 58% of surveyed owners
said their dogs did not have breathing problems even when more than two-thirds
of the dogs showed difficulties during exercise.
What to watch for
According to Packer, while it is not yet known which are the best predictors of
BOAS, signs to look for include:
Increased and abnormal breathing noise that sounds like
snoring, both when the dog is awake and asleep
A shortness of breath while exercising or playing
Effortful, labored breathing with obvious abdominal
movements
Interrupting exercise, play or eating to catch their
breath
Inability to exercise for reasonable periods of time
without becoming out of breath
Difficulty cooling down after a walk; panting for long
periods
Physical collapse while exercising
Difficulty sleeping and/or periods where the dog stops
breathing during sleep
Restlessness and difficulty getting comfortable at
rest, stretched out head and neck position, forelegs spread and body flat
against the floor
Gastrointestinal (GI) problems, such as difficulty
swallowing, and bringing up food, stomach content or a lot of saliva.
"If you notice these signs, take
your dog to your veterinarian for an assessment to learn whether they are
compatible with the disease or due to a different problem," says
Hendricks.
"If left to develop," says
Burn, "BOAS can lead to secondary problems due to the effort required to
breathe—putting pressure on the voice box, digestive system and heart. In
addition, the more severe the breathing problems, the greater the severity of
GI signs. They may reflect inflammation of the esophagus, stomach ulcers and,
in some cases, hiatal hernias, when part of the stomach can become displaced
into the chest cavity during breathing."
Option for severe BOAS
If your veterinarian believes the dog may have BOAS that requires treatment, he
or she may refer you to a veterinary surgical specialist. There, the dog's
airway is likely to be examined under general anesthesia to assess whether it
shows the abnormalities associated with BOAS—an elongated soft palate,
collapsing voice box and narrowed nostrils.
If present, these abnormalities would
be surgically corrected, says Packer. That could mean, for example, that excess
tissue in the nose and throat would be removed.
Surgery may improve clinical signs, she
says, but the dog may never be "normal," because of the head
structure and is likely to remain susceptible to heat stress.
For severely affected dogs, where
significant secondary problems have occurred—for example, severe laryngeal
collapse—then treatment choices may be limited. In some cases, either permanent
tracheostomy or euthanasia may be recommended.
"That is why it is vital,"
says Hendricks, "that owners recognize the clinical signs of BOAS and
perceive them to be a ‘problem' as early as possible, so that these secondary
changes can be avoided by early intervention."
Options for mildly
affected dogs
For all dogs, including those that have had surgery or have been determined by
a veterinarian to only be mildly affected, owners can help with some lifestyle
changes, says Burn. Owners should do the following:
Closely monitor the dog to keep it at a healthy weight.
Being overweight or obese can exacerbate the condition.
Use body harnesses rather than collars on walks so the
airway is not compressed by a neck collar if the dog pulls at the leash.
Avoid walking on hot or humid days. On particularly
warm days, keep dogs calm and indoors in a cool, aerated room with access
to water.
Avoid having dogs in particularly stressful or exciting
situations.
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) experts field tens of thousands of
calls each year involving animal companions who’ve had potentially hazardous
contact with insecticides, weed killers and pet-toxic plants.
"Keeping animals safe from accidental poisonings should not end once
you've stepped outside," says Dana Farbman, APCC pet poison prevention
expert. "Protecting your pet from potential hazards in your yard is just
as critical."
While gardens and yards are lovely for relaxing, they can also prove dangerous
for our animal companions.
Our experts recommend you watch out for the following:
Poisonous Plants When designing and planting your green space, it's a good idea to keep in
mind that many popular outdoor plants—including sago palm, rhododendron and
azalea—are toxic to cats and dogs. Sago
palm and other members of the Cycad family as well as mushrooms can cause
liver failure, while rhododendron, azalea, lily of the valley, oleander,
rosebay, foxglove and kalanchoe all affect the heart. Please visit our full list—and
pics!—of toxic and non-toxic plants for your garden.
Fertilizer
Just like you, plants need food. But pet parents, take care—the fertilizer
that keeps our plants healthy and green can wreak havoc on the digestive tracts
of our furry friends. Ingesting large amounts of fertilizer can give your pet a
good case of stomach upset and may result in life-threatening gastrointestinal
obstruction. Be sure to follow instructions carefully and observe the
appropriate waiting period before letting your pet run wild outside.
Cocoa Mulch Many gardeners use cocoa bean shells—a by-product of chocolate
production—in landscaping. Popular for its attractive odor and color, cocoa
mulch also attracts dogs with its sweet smell, and like chocolate, it can
pose problems for our canine companions. Depending on the amount involved,
ingestion of cocoa mulch can cause a range of clinical signs, from vomiting,
diarrhea and muscle tremors to elevated heart rate, hyperactivity and even
seizures. Consider using a less-toxic
alternative, such as shredded pine, cedar or hemlock bark, but always
supervise curious canines in yards where mulch is spread.
Insecticides Like fertilizer, herbicides, insecticide baits, sprays and granules are
often necessary to keep our gardens healthy, but their ingredients aren't meant
for four-legged consumption. The most dangerous forms of pesticides include
snail bait with metaldehyde, fly bait with methomyl, systemic insecticides with
the ingredients disyston or disulfoton, mole or gopher bait with zinc phosphide
and most forms of rat poisons. Always store pesticides in inaccessible
areas—and read the manufacturer's label carefully for proper usage and
storage.
Compost
You're doing the right thing for your garden and Mother Earth—you're
composting! Food and garden waste make excellent additions to garden soil, but
depending on what you're tossing in the compost bin, they can also pose
problems for our pets. Coffee, moldy food and certain types of fruit and
vegetables are toxic to dogs and cats, so read up on people
foods to avoid feeding your pet.
Fleas and Ticks Since fleas and ticks lurk in tall brush and grasses, it's important to
keep those lawns mowed and trim. Fleas can
cause excessive scratching, hair loss, scabs, hot spots and tapeworms as well
as anemia from blood loss in both cats and dogs. Ticks
can cause similar effects and lead to a variety of complications from
tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and
Babesia.
Garden Tools Unattended garden tools may seem like no big deal, but rakes, tillers, hoes
and trowels can be hazardous to pets and cause trauma to paws, noses or other
parts of a curious pet's body. Rusty, sharp tools caked in dirt may also pose a
risk for tetanus if they puncture skin. While cats don't appear to be as
susceptible as dogs to tetanus, care should be taken by storing all unused
tools in a safe area, not haphazardly strewn on the ground.
Allergy-Causing Flora
Ah-choo! Like their sneezy human counterparts, pets have allergies to foods,
dust and even plants. Allergic reactions in dogs
and cats
can even cause life-threatening anaphylactic shock if the reaction is severe. If
you do suspect your pet has an allergy, please don't give him any medication
that isn't prescribed by a veterinarian. It's also smart to keep
your pet out of other people's yards, especially if you're unsure of what
kinds of plants or flowers lurk there. Keeping your pet off the lawn of others
will make for healthy pets and happy neighbors.
"Most people love to spend the warmer days enjoying the outdoors with
friends and family, but it is important to remember that some activities can be
dangerous for our pets," said Dr. Camille DeClementi, Senior Toxicologist
at the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center. "By following a few simple
rules, it is easy to keep your pet safe while still having fun in the
sun."
Take these simple precautions, provided by ASPCA experts, to help prevent
your pet from overheating. And if you suspect your pet is suffering from heat
stroke, get help from your veterinarian immediately.
Visit the Vet
A visit to the veterinarian for a spring or early summer check-up is a must.
Make sure your pets get tested for heartworm
if they aren't on year-round preventive medication. Do parasites bug your
animal companions? Ask your doctor to recommend a safe flea and tick control
program.
Made in the Shade
Pets can get dehydrated
quickly, so give them plenty of fresh, clean water when it's hot outdoors. Make
sure your pets have a shady place to get out of the sun, be careful to not over-exercise
them, and keep them indoors when it's extremely hot.
Know the Warning Signs
Symptoms of overheating in pets include excessive panting or difficulty
breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling, mild weakness,
stupor or even collapse. They can also include seizures, bloody diarrhea and
vomit along with an elevated body temperature of over 104 degrees. Animals with
flat faces, like Pugs and Persian cats, are more susceptible to heat stroke
since they cannot pant as effectively. These pets, along with the elderly, the
overweight, and those with heart or lung diseases, should be kept cool in
air-conditioned rooms as much as possible.
No Parking!
Never leave your animals alone in a parked vehicle. "On a hot day, a
parked car can become a furnace in no time-even with the windows open-which
could lead to fatal heat stroke," says Dr. Louise Murray, Vice President
of ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital. Also, leaving pets unattended in cars
in extreme weather is illegal in several states.
Make a Safe Splash
Do not leave pets unsupervised around a pool-not all dogs are good swimmers.
Introduce your pets to water gradually and make sure they wear flotation
devices when on boats. Rinse your dog off after swimming to remove chlorine
or salt from his fur, and try to keep your dog from drinking pool water, which
contains chlorine and other chemicals that could cause stomach upset.
Screen Test
"During warmer months, the ASPCA sees an increase in injured animals as a
result of High-Rise
Syndrome, which occurs when pets-mostly cats-fall out of windows or doors
and are seriously or fatally injured," says Dr. Murray. "Pet owners
need to know that this is completely preventable if they take simple
precautions." Keep all unscreened windows or doors in your home closed and
make sure adjustable screens are tightly secured.
Summer Style
Feel free to trim longer hair on your dog, but never shave your dog: The layers
of dogs' coats protect them from overheating and sunburn. Brushing cats more
often than usual can prevent problems caused by excessive heat. And be sure
that any sunscreen or insect repellent product you use on your pets is labeled
specifically for use on animals.
Street Smarts
When the temperature is very high, don't let your dog linger on hot asphalt.
Being so close the ground, your pooch's body can heat up quickly, and sensitive
paw pads can burn. Keep walks during these times to a minimum.
Avoid Chemicals
Commonly used flea and tick products, rodenticides (mouse and rat baits), and
lawn and garden insecticides can be harmful to cats and dogs if ingested, so
keep them out of reach. When walking your dog, steer clear of areas that you
suspect have been sprayed with insecticides or other chemicals. Keep citronella
candles, oil products and insect coils out of pets' reach as well. Call your
veterinarian or the ASPCA
Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 if you suspect your animal
has ingested a poisonous substance.
Party Animals
Taking Fido to a backyard barbeque or party? Remember that the food and drink
offered to guests may be poisonous to pets. Keep alcoholic beverages away from
pets, as they can cause intoxication, depression and comas. Similarly, remember
that the snacks enjoyed by your human friends should not be a treat for your
pet; any change of diet, even for one meal, may give your dog or cat severe
digestive ailments. Avoid raisins, grapes, onions, chocolate and products with
the sweetener xylitol.
Fireworks Aren't Very Pet-riotic
Please leave pets at home when you head out to Fourth of July
celebrations, and never use fireworks around pets. Exposure to lit
fireworks can potentially result in severe burns or trauma to curious pets, and
even unused fireworks can be hazardous. Many types of fireworks contain
potentially toxic substances such as potassium nitrate, copper, chlorates,
arsenic and other heavy metals.
As the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day is a
great excuse to get outdoors. But whether you’re partying, barbequing, or just
soaking up some rays, it’s important to keep your pet’s safety in mind at all
times. To prevent any Memorial Day mishaps, we’ve put together five tips to
help protect animals during the “Dog Days” of the season.
Party
Smart
Barbequing is one of the best parts of Memorial Day,
but remember that the food and drink you serve your guests may be poisonous to
pets. Keep alcoholic beverages away from animals, and remind guests not to give
them any table scraps or snacks. Raisins, grapes, onions, chocolate, and
avocado are all common at barbeques—and they’re all especially toxic to
animals.
Be
Cool Near the Pool
Don’t leave pets unsupervised around a pool or
lake—not all dogs are expert swimmers! Introduce your pets to water gradually
and make sure they wear flotation devices when on boats. Also, try to keep your
dog from drinking pool water, which contains potentially dangerous chemicals
like chlorine.
Skip
the Spray
Unless specifically designed for animals, insect
repellant and sunscreen can be toxic to pets. Signs of repellent toxicity
include drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, and lethargy. DEET, a
common insecticide in products for humans, may cause neurological issues in
dogs.
Made
in the Shade
Pets can get dehydrated quickly, so if you’re
spending time outside, give them plenty of fresh, clean water and make sure
they have a shady place to get out of the sun. Note that animals with flat
faces, like Pugs and Persian cats, are more susceptible to heat stroke since
they cannot pant as effectively. These pets, along with the elderly, the
overweight, and those with heart or lung diseases, should be kept cool in
air-conditioned rooms as much as possible.
IDs,
Please
Time spent outdoors comes with the added risk of
pets escaping. Make sure that your pet is fitted with a microchip or ID tag
with identifying information, or both. It’s always better to be safe than
sorry.
Pets aren’t always easy to take care of, and they often require a
substantial time commitment (something you’re all too aware of at, say, 3 a.m.,
when Bing Clawsby is finally ready to go outside and do his business). But pets
provide an amazing return on that time investment, especially when it comes to
your health. Case in point: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, pet owners tend to have lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and
triglyceride levels than non-pet owners. But that’s not all. Pets also model
many surprisingly healthy behaviors that humans would do well to emulate. Here
are just a few, according to veterinarians, dog trainers, and other pet
experts.
1. They focus on what matters most. You
may get grumpy after a bad day at the office, but your pooch never does.
“Companion animals mostly care about food, love, and shelter (not always in
that order). As long as they have those things, they don’t need much else,”
Mary Gardner, DVM, a veterinarian and cofounder of Lap of Love Veterinary
Hospice tells Yahoo Health. “Pets also don’t complain much at all. People
believe they hide their pain; I simply think they manage it differently.” If
humans could model these behaviors, Gardner adds, we’d be healthier, happier,
“and more people would want to be around us.”
2. They practice portion control (even if
not by choice). Snowball might not want to limit her kibble intake any more
than you want to limit your tortilla-chip intake. Nonetheless, she typically
eats reasonably sized helpings of nutritionally balanced food — and never gets
to eat straight out of the bag. Follow her lead. “Both animals and people need
structure and regulation when it comes to portion size,” says Jme Thomas,
executive director of Motley Zoo Animal Rescue based in Redmond,
Washington.
3. They know how to de-stress. Your pooch
doesn’t pour a glass of cabernet when the going gets rough (though, yes, it
would make a very popular YouTube video if she did). She may, however, start
begging for a walk or to play a game. Smart dog! “Actively seeking healthy
activities — that function as de-stressors when stress levels are high — helps
to reset people as well as dogs, and bring us back to a productive and
functional status, from which many things feel a lot more ‘do-able,’” Marisa
Scully, a certified dog behavior specialist in Philadelphia, tells Yahoo
Health.
4. They hit the hay. People don’t get
enough sleep: According to a 2014 survey by the National Sleep Foundation, 45
percent of Americans said that a lack of sleep had impaired their activities at
least once in the previous week. Learn from your cat or dog, who knows just how
important it is to get enough shut-eye, says Jeff Werber, VVM, president and
chief veterinarian of Century Veterinary Group in Los Angeles. “Whether it’s a
lazy dog day afternoon, or a quick cat nap, you won’t find them burning the candles
at both ends.” 5. They stretch! There’s a reason one of the most common yoga
moves is named downward dog. Dogs (and cats) stretch constantly — and we should
do the same, notes certified dog behavior consultant Russell Hartstein. Why?
Stretching can improve flexibility and reduce your risk of injury.
6. They’re open to new things. Animals are
naturally curious. “Open a box or empty a bag and before you know it, your cat
will have climbed in to investigate. Walk your dog past a gardener planting
flowers and chances are she will check it out before moving on,” Werber says.
“And they’re always up for some fun. A game of catch, a walk, a visit — bring
it on.” Since research has found that seeking out new experiences can keep
people feeling young and healthy, we’d do well to follow suit.
7. They’re comfortable getting zen.
Numerous studies have found a correlation between mindful meditation and
reduced stress, decreased heart disease, and a stronger immune response — and
that’s something your cat already knows how to do instinctively. “Each morning
I sit on the sofa with my cat, Turtle, while I drink my first cup of coffee,”
says Kristen Levine, a pet living expert. “We spend about 10 minutes together,
her getting neck and head rubs, me enjoying her purring and having a few
meditative moments at the start of the day.It sounds simple, and it can be, but
depending on the activity, it can have a powerfully relaxing or invigorating
effect for both human and critter.”
Science is proving what pet
owners have long believed: Dogs understand what we're feeling. Specifically,
dogs can recognize the difference between a happy and an angry human face, a
study published Thursday in Current Biology suggests.
It's the first research to
show definitively that dogs are sensitive to our facial expressions, says
coauthor Ludwig Huber, head of comparative cognition at Messerli Research
Institute at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.
In the Austrian study, 20
pet dogs of various breeds and sizes were taught to play a computer game
through a series of exercises. In the first, the dogs were shown two touch
screens, one with a circle and one with a square. Through trial and error, they
learned that a treat would appear if they chose the right geometrical figure.
Eleven of the 20 dogs were
able to catch on to rules of the game and make it to the next phase, where they
were shown photos of faces. Half the dogs were rewarded for picking a happy
expression and half for choosing an angry expression. The interesting catch:
the dogs were shown only the upper half or the lower half of a face.
It was easier to teach the
dogs to choose a happy expression than an angry one, suggesting the dogs do
indeed understand the meaning behind the expression, Huber says.
As a test, the dogs were
then were presented with:
the same half of the faces
they saw during the training, but from different people
the other half of the faces used in training
the other half of new faces
the left half of the faces used in training
In the vast majority of cases the dogs chose the right answer 70 to 100 percent
of the time.
Dogs who had been trained
to recognize an expression of anger or happiness on the upper part of a face
could identify the same expression when shown only the lower part, and vice
versa, Huber says, adding “the only possible explanation is that they recall
from memory of everyday life how a whole human face looks when happy or angry.”
Dog owners know their pets
not only recognize emotions but also feel empathy.
Delilah, a 3-year-old
Chihuahua, always seems to know when her owner Eva Shure is having a bad day.
Delilah knows when her owner is having a bad day.
Making eye contact and cocking her head to the right, the little dog will stare
at Shure's face as if trying to assess her feelings. “It’s weird, I can see her
thinking and processing,” says Shure, a 35-year-old New York City business
owner. “I’ll say, yeah, it’s not a great day and she’ll come up and sit next to
me.”
Beverly Levreault, 57, says
her 6-year-old Australian Cattle Dog mix is always tuned in to her moods. “If
I’m not feeling well, like when I have the flu, Lacey is definitely lower key
and will not leave my side, ” says Levreault, a graphic designer from
Williamstown, New York. “If I take her for a walk, she’s not as rambunctious as
she usually is.”
Lynette Whiteman says she’s
not sure that her 5-year-old Yorkie-Maltese cross is using facial expressions
to gauge how she feels. “But she definitely reads my emotions,” says the
58-year-old from Toms River, New Jersey. “I run a therapy dog program and the
dogs are just amazing. They go into a room and immediately pick out the person
who needs help.”
Behavioral experts say the
new findings, while important, wouldn’t surprise anyone with an intimate
knowledge of dogs.
Coco and Lynettte
"This new work continues to build the case for just how sensitive dogs are
to our subtle behaviors,” says Dr. Brian Hare, chief scientific officer at
Dognition and an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke
University. “This is the strongest evidence yet that dogs are even reading our
facial expressions.”
That sensitivity may be the
result of generations of selective breeding for a true partner, says Dr. Carlo
Siracusa, director of the behavior service at the University of Pennsylvania
School of Veterinary Medicine. “We have selected animals that are able to perceive
our emotions and communicate with us at a level that no other animal can,”
Siracusa says.
Dogs may not talk, but they
are very good communicators, says Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a professor in the
department of clinical sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
at Tufts University and director of the animal behavior clinic at Cummings.
“Just as we are masters of
the spoken word, dogs are experts at reading body language,” Dodman says.
“It’s almost impossible to
hide your feelings from a dog.”
Turns out, reading facial
expressions isn’t the only thing dogs have in common with us.
They can be bitten by the
computer gaming bug. “They can really become freaks for it,” Huber says with a
chuckle. “They don’t want to stop playing. It’s incredible. They’ll play till
they are exhausted and fall asleep.”
Petcube is a box with a laser pointer,
speaker, and light that you can control from anywhere in the world via the
Petcube smartphone app.
You control the laser by moving your
finger around your iPhone or Android phone’s screen. Anywhere your finger
moves, your pet will follow, as long as she likes lasers.
You can also take screenshots of the app
and share them via Petcube’s social network. What’s more, you can make your
Petcube open to the public, so you can let anyone play with your pet while
you’re home or away.
To be honest, letting
strangers get a view of your home when you’re away (or home) sounds kind of
strange, so maybe you’ll just want to stick with the lasers.
Motorola Scout 5000:
The Petcube
isn’t the only Internet-connected pet tech at CES 2015. Motorola’s Scout 5000
attaches to your dog’s collar and features a camera, speaker, microphone, and
GPS tracker.
Basically, it
lets you see exactly what your dog sees; lets you talk to your dog when you’re
not home — which is probably very weird for your dog — and even make sure your
dog is safe when you’re away all from a companion smartphone app.
The Scout 5000
is fairly large for a pet-tracking device, so it will fit only medium to large
dogs. This is not for your teacup designer dog. It goes on sale this summer for
$200.
If these two
gadgets are any indication, your pooch or kitty will soon be as connected as
you are. And for pet lovers who can’t stand to be away from their little furry
ones for even a minute, that’s pretty great.
