Top 10 Dog Myths You Must Read

This post talks about the commonest dog myths that people around us believe in. The deadliest myth is dogs are born biters. Don't believe in such cynophobic and baseless ideas. Apart from this there are other dog myths that most dog owners believe in. Here are the top 10 dog facts that are just myth. Believing these myth may put your dogs to problems.

Suggestion: Understand and Implement.

1. Garlic is good as flea prevention : This is the biggest myth I have ever come across! Researchers have proved that too much of Garlic in your dog food may be dangerous for your dog. Garlic contains natural chemical that affect the Red blood cells that can get ruptured and become incapable of carrying oxygen effectively. However, some dog owners have been giving garlic to their dogs without no issues, but some dogs are more sensitive to garlic toxicity than others. How much is too much for dog is not known yet. Toxicity level varies from dogs to dogs.Garlic has immense benefit to us humans, but is a NO for dogs.
Both garlic and onions contain natural Thiosulfate, which is toxic to canines.

2. Dogs that wag tails are considered happy : This is true, but not always. Even non-friendly dogs wag their tail too. It is important to study other body languages and facial expressions that are cumulatively considered as the indication of a dogs state of mind.

3. Mixed breeds are always sturdy than pure breeds : Not necessarily true.Both pure and mixed breeds can be equally healthy and unhealthy depending on breeding strategies, care and nutrition. Mutts are usually not prone to specific disorders that are typical to certain pure breeds. However, conditions like bloat, dermal problems, heart problems etc. can be seen in both mutts and pure breed dogs.

4. Dogs with warm nose are ill : This is an old school of thought that dogs with warm nose have health issues like fever. This is a myth. The only best way to know if your dog has fever is to check it by thermometer. Normally a healthy dog should have a body temperature of around 102.5 degrees F.

5. Eating grass is an indication of sickness : This is not true. Dogs have descended from the wolves that used to eat all parts of their prey. They also ate the stomach and its content which included grass that the animals ate. This ways grass was the part of the diets of any animals of canidae family. Dogs eating grass is quite normal, if they do not eat it in big volume.

6. Household pet dogs do not require to be vaccinated against rabies : Myth it is always important to vaccinate your dog. This is an indication of responsible ownership. Vaccinating your pet dog against rabies is a precautionary measure for both you and your pet.

7. Female dogs do not cock their legs while urinating : Not always true! Females can lift their legs while urinating and in certain cases they can even exhibit the half sitting-half cocking position while urinating. Check out why do female dogs cock their leg.

8. Dogs are carnivorous animals and should always be kept only on meat : Myth Dogs are actually omnivorous animals like us humans.They need veggies too. Fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat are some of the important ingredients of a perfect holistic dog food. Related Read (though not related to food): Does your dog need vitamins?


9. Dogs love tasty food : Not true. Remember your dogs taste buds are not as strong as yours. Dogs primarily loves food based on smell.

10. Dogs always need high protein diet : Big No! Your dogs diet management should be made on the basis of the amount of calorie it is exhausting each day. Obviously a working dog should be kept on higher protein and carbohydrate as compared to a domestic dog. However, low protein diet also makes low quality food. Right kind of ingredients is essential.

11. Dog understand human language : Not true. You say sit and Rex will sit. This doesn't mean your Rex understands the mean of the word in English. He only knows what to do he hears the particular sound. He acts on the sound.

Here are just a few of thousands of doggy myths. Responsible ownership also demands that you know the correct things related to dogs and not believing the hypes. Stay tuned Up next more talks about dogs.

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Genes Role in Dogs Characteristics

Gene is actually the basic tool of inheritance for any animal. Canines are of no exception. In canines like for any other animal, gene is the carrier of information in a biological system. However, any particular trait in your dog is actually not determined by any specific gene, but as a matter of fact a single trait in your dogs can be driven by a set of genes. Each single genetic character trait in German Shepherd, as in all other canine breeds is determined by a set of gene. Colors and patterns in dogs can be considered as one of the best instances for the fact that a characteristics can be determined by many genes, and not just only a single gene. German Shepherd Dog has many colors and patterns. This goes beyond all doubts that these entire range of patterns and colors in GSD or in any other dogs is the result of the roles of multiple genes, instead of just one. While a set of genes control the color or patterns in a dog, another set of genes determine the distribution of the patterns.

Alike almost all higher animals, dogs are also blessed with two sets of chromosomes one set from the dams side and the other set from the sires side. Dogs, alike Wolves, have 36 chromosomes in each set, which results an incredibly huge volume of permutation and combination of chromosomes. Hence, possibility of experiencing more than one litter-mates with exactly the same combination of chromosomes is hugely rare. This means two dogs (from same litter) almost cannot have all character traits (behavioral, physiological, and colors) exactly identical.

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Top 6 Dog Myths - Clarified

Myth 1: A dog shouldn't be allowed to get up on a higher place like bed or couch, or he will start considering himself an Alpha Member 

Fact: Tendencies of establishing Alpha Membership is genetically ingrained in dogs and doesn't have any link with allowing him get on to your bed or higher places. All he want in his life is food, water, play and companionship of his beloved owners and pack members. If your dog succeeds in establishing Alpha in your family, it should be considered as your failure.

Here are a few good reads that are worth checking out:

Pack Management Mistakes That Most Dog Owners Make
How To Establish Your Alpha Position in The Pack

Remember, if your dog is already habituated with getting up on the couch to sleep and if he is exhibiting agression while you try to put him down doesn't always mean you have lost your position in the pack. It means he is not properly trained to obey command. He probably needs extensive remedial training session.

Myth 2: Old dogs cannot be trained well 

Fact: The popular belief that old dogs cannot learn new things is not true. If he can't learn new tricks its your failure again :). Can I give you a simple tips here?

Remember, your dog will always try to please you, if you have developed a good bonding with him. This is his natural instinct. So, the trick is to let him know what actually pleases you or what you want from him. Things become easier as bonding grows stronger. Fact is your dog can learn new trick till his last day, as long as he is mentally and physically sound enough.

A few more good stuff you should be checking out:

Why Isn't Your German Shepherd Coming When Called?

Myth 3: A dog that attacks strangers or show signs of shyness was abused in the past

Fact: This is just a possibility; May not be true always. Amongst many other reasons, the commonest one is not socializing a dog properly. 'Effective Socialization' should be a mandate in the bringing up process. Puppies that are not socialized with strangers, sounds, situations and mobs may grow shy, and may cower from strangers. Cowering may, in turn, develop attacking tendencies when they are approached by strangers.

Myth 4: Reward based training methods is equivalent to bribing a dog, who won't behave as desired when they won't get that reward 

Fact: Reward based training is the most scientific and non-abusive dog training method that has earned a global acceptance. Rewarding is motivating the dog to behave the way you want. This means that a reward doesn't have to be his favorite treat. Praising him lavishly may be one of the most effective reward you can give your dog while training him. Praises and Love will let him know what he should do to please his master. However, there's nothing wrong giving your a treat as reward. A technically trained dog trainer and behaviorist knows best how to phase out the treat once the dog has learned the trick.

Myth 5: A dog chewing because he loves chewing and that is his best time pass

Fact: Most adult dog chew things when they are frustrated. Chewing in adult dog is frustration elicited behavior, which may grow destructive with times. Dogs - especially working breeds that are given very less exercise or no exercise at all will instinctively find work for themselves. Working breeds are usually highly energetic dogs and it is a mandate to drain out their energy. A tired dog is a content dog.

Here's another great read:

Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) in dogs

Myth 6: It is necessary to keep your dogs only on meat

Facts: Much like us - humans, dogs are omnivorous animals. A dog food is not considered complete if there's no green in it. Give him green - only those that are permissible. Not all vegetables that are good for us are good for our dogs too. Dogs can remain healthy even when they are kept on full non-meat diet. However, regular meat is good for growing puppies and dogs with specific conditions or those that are recovering from illness.

Natural Dog Food Suggestions
Dog Food series

Share more ideas through comments...Your thoughts will help many dog lovers across the globe!
  

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Dog Facts - Did You Know?

Just collected some interesting facts about dogs. Some of these are already known by most of my readers, but a few, I bet was really not known.

• In the Bible there are 14 mentioning of dogs

Studies have shown that:

• A female dog bites almost as twice as a male 
•  The number of breaths of Dogs ranges between 10 and 30 in 60 seconds
• A puppy can have 28 milk teeth at the most 
• A particular gene (PKP-2) is associated with canine atopic dermatitis - eczema in dogs. 
• A team of highly talented scientists in Sweden worked on this. 
• Mixed-breed canines have been found to exhibit behavioral traits similar to the breed that their resemblance of appearance are inclined towards

• In the UK Kennel Club survey, 2004 the Bloodhounds were found to have a median longevity of 6.75 years. This made this beautiful canine breed one of the shortest-lived dog breeds
• Greyhound - known to be the fastest dog breed on the Earth can run at an incredibly high speed of 45 miles per hour, though for short time span
• Clear your confusion- Irish Wolfhound is the largest, while Great Dane is the tallest of all dog breeds. St. Bernard is the heaviest of all prevailing dog breeds. 
• Daz - a four-year-old white GSD, who has recorded a bark of 108 decibels. Daz was honored to be the world's loudest barking dog. Owners's name - Mr. Peter Lucken.
• Schultzs Law - this law had been enforced in the honor of the Gloucester police GSD, Schultz after his death while on duty 
• The oldest dog in the world recorded so far was an Australian cattle-dog named "Bluey", Victoria, Australia. Bluey survived until he was 29 years and 5 months old 
• In the Titanic massacre there were two dogs that could survive
• In German, Dachshund means badger dog - the smallest dog used for hunting purpose. 
• While breeding Dachshund, breeders in the past used pay attention on the body structure - long and low to the ground to fit into a badger's den. 
• References to Bloodhounds had been discovered first in an English writing in the mid 14th century. This suggests that Bloodhounds were already an established canine breed by that time. 
• The word 'bloodhound' has been recorded from c1350. According to the most recent documentation the etymological meaning is ‘hound of pure blood’

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Things to Remember While Feeding Your Dog

Loads of talks have been going on for years regarding dog food and nutrition. Here are just a few suggestions. These are the points that I follow when it comes to feeding my dogs.

1. Stop free feeding your dog. If your dog leaves the meal, leave it only for 15-20 minutes, and then pick it up.
2. Make sure that his meal is at the room temperature, while you are serving it.
3. Give fresh water and change the water in every two to three hours time, and more frequently depending on the need and during the summer. If the water cannot be drunk by you, it cannot be drunk your your dogs too.
4. Serve the water in a properly washed bowl.
5. Make sure your dog's food is not microwaved
6. Make sure you dog's food is not stored wrapped in aluminum foil
7. Do not over-exercise you dog at least 2 hours before and after heavy meal.
8. Prevent your dog from becoming obese
9. Whelping females should not be fed bones to help keep the stool soften.
10. It is suggested to fast a dog once in a month. However, many experienced people do it once a week.
11. The amount of exercise a dog gets should be the determinant of the amount and type of food. Giving him meat every day is NOT a must.
12. Cooked bones are big NO
13. Onions are good for you, but not for your dogs. In dogs onions decrease the RBC count in the blood.
14. Milk are no good for your dog. Canines are usually lactose intolerant.
15. Remember... dogs are not carnivorous animals; they are omnivorous and all-meat diet throughout the life is not recommended. Give him green too!

You will love to check out the Dog Nutrition section of Welcome Dog Lovers (WDL) Blog. 

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Can Dogs Perceive Time? - Part 2

While explaining how dogs perceive time or if dogs can perceive time at all, dog behaviorists have concluded that its actually the dogs' "internal clock" (stimulus that is triggered by biological situations)  that allows them to get an idea about when their special treat is going to hit their feeding bowl! Here are the few facts about dogs that dog lovers may find quite useful.

1) Dogs use their instinct to know when their owner usually arrives each day, or what time they are going to get their meal. This doesn't mean that dogs can perceive time the same way humans do.

2) Humans can remember events that had happened during the past and can plan for events in the future. For instance you can remember what you did in the last Christmas and can plan your forth coming Christmas in the way you desire. Your dog doesn't have this ability.

3) Dogs cannot understand the passage of time, instead they rely on their "internal biological indicators to remember what time regular, daily events happen."

Check out... can animals comprehend and plan for the future?

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Can Dogs Perceive Time? - Part 1

Researcher William Roberts argued back with an explanation about an animal's way of thinking of memories. According to Roberts animals do think of memories at least in the way human does. Roberts explained that "animals might be trained to do things in the same way young children are trained to do things." Just as 4-month kids learn crawling, but without the mental ability to remember where or how they learned how to crawl, animals in the same way do not have the ability of episodic memory, or the ability to remember particular events in the past. Roberts says, "a dog can know how to respond to the command "sit" without having a memory of the specific event in which it learned that command."

But if this be the case actually, then how can your dog predict your arrival time? How can your dog predict that a day is a Sunday, and your are going to take him for a drive? Researcher William Roberts has answers to questions like theses as well! According to his study on how animals perceive time, internal biological rhythms also play immensely important part. Experiments on pigeons have helped researchers conclude that an "internal clock" allows them to get a clue about when and where food would be available for them. In the same way Circadian Oscillators - daily fluctuations of hormones, body temperature and neural activities in dogs help them understand when its the time to get out in the lawn for when their owners will give them their dinner. Dogs cannot understand how much time have passed away after the last feed; they cannot understand that they are going to get the next food at 8 pm. Instead they react to a biological state that they come across at a specific time, which is determined by human through the sophisticated gadgets called clocks and watches. If your dog asks for food in the same way & at the same time each day, you should understand that he or she is reacting to a particular stimulus that is triggered by the biological state, which come across each day at the same time.

So if your dog cannot understand or perceive time, can they comprehend things or event that they might come across in the future? We will talk about this shortly. Meanwhile check out more about how dogs perceive time.

Check out... can animals comprehend and plan for the future?

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Dog Facts - Rare Dog Breeds

Welcome Dog Lovers… here’s an interesting posts that most of you would like to read, I am sure. If you are looking for interesting dog facts that many of us have not been aware of, you are on the right page.

Did you know that dogs can actually see colors, although not as prominently as human? Did you know that Basenji is the only dog breed on the planet that cannot bark?
Did you know that a female German Shepherd guide dog led her companion, who was blind an incredible distance of 2100 mile Applachian Trail?
Did you know that dog’s nose prints, alike human finger prints, are unique, and can be used to accurately identify them? Interestingly, Chihuahua puppies are born with a very tender spot in their skull which closes with age, just like human babies.

But this post is not meant to offer info as the above. This post has been composed to provide information about some of the rare dog breeds.

Read on…

one of the most rarest dog breed Ariégois that is one of the great working harrier (French pack-hunting scenthound), and is the result of cross breeding several French breeds including the Blue De Gascogne and Gascon Saintongeois and some local briquette hounds.
Another very rare breed – Japanese Terrier – a beautiful black mask dog breed is rapidly declining. A preservation society has been established in Japan to breed and enhance the numbers and popularity.

Another rare dog breed New Guinea Singing Dog has been accepted to be one of the most primitive domestic dogs that had been taken to the island around 6000 years ago. This dog breed has not been promoted properly and has been kept isolated I Papua, New Guinea. These beautiful dog breed is almost a living fossil these days.

Another very rare Korean dog breed – Poong San has been facing a stiff decline due to non-promotion. Scientific breeding programs for Poong San has recently been set up by responsible breeders. This breed was named after the place or its origin – Poong San Region of North East Korea.

Kintamani Dog is another rare dog breed that is typical to Bali, Indonesia. They are bred in a rare village and sold as family pets.
An ancient livestock guarding dog breed, Yugoslavian Herder that originated from the south-eastern mountainous range of former Yugoslavia is still used to guard and protect flocks in his homeland. Yugoslavian Herder was once called Illyrian Shepherd Dog.

Kai – a rare dog breed is fortunately increasing its popularity. Kai is a good watchdog, but a incredible good companion at the same time.

Hokkaido is another rare dog breed, which is considered to have its roots in the Matagi-ken, a breed brought by the Ainu people from the Tohoku region during the Jōmon period. The isolation of Hokkaido led to decrease in popularity. In the year 1869, the English zoologist Thomas W. Blankiston gave this breed the name Hokkaido.

Karelian Bear Dog - a rare dog breed with striking beauty had its origin in Finland and Russia (Finnish-Russian border), where it used to be considered as the national treasure.

Well, now this is for those who are planning to own a Chihuahua. Although this is not a rare breed, yet this information is indeed uncommon and most of you, I am sure, are not aware of this fact about Chihuahuas. If you are a first time owner you should remember that Chihuahuas often get "Hypoglycemic". Hypoglycemia is deficiency of glucose in blood. It is to be remembered that Chihuahua dogs have tendencies to get deficient of glucose in the blood if they are given heavy exercise (or allowed to run around in the garden or amidst the woods for long span of time) and suddenly lose energy.

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Identify Your Dog's Emotions - Dogs Have Emotions and Feelings

Identifying Dog Emotions

The dog pictures in this post will give you an idea of dog emotions

I don’t have too many friends. Most of the very few friends of mine are dog owners, yet some people are there who do not have dogs, but they love dogs. Most of my pals who don’t have dogs seem to be really confused when I say my dogs have emotions. Yes, this is something that has created a real buzz across the web. Do dogs have emotions? I am sure you will agree with me if I say dogs have emotions and if you are a dog owner. Still I have come across peeps who own dogs don’t know how to recognize a dog’s emotion. I do recognize my dogs’ emotions and moods through their gestures, body languages, expression of their eyes, and not to forget, the sound they make. Well, I am not a professional canine behaviorist or scientist. I just love dogs, can’t live without them try to learn from them as much as I can. I can understand when they are excited, when they are sad and when anxious. It’s not a rocket science! Just what we cannot do is we cannot measure emotions of a dog. There has been a hard topic of debate amongst the canine behaviorists because it's not possible to quantify the emotion of a dog. Researchers cannot say exactly how happy or sad a dog is. Only I can say that Roland is very happy because his mum, Mrs. Gordon, got back home, or he is very sad since his bother – Gordon’s son, has caught cold and cannot play with him.

So how do I recognize my dogs emotions?

Emotion is what delivers your dog an impulse to act according to situations. While the negative emotion or the emotion of fear will deliver a dog an impulse to defend himself, a happy dog will come close to you, wagging and appreciate a physical contact. Touch definitely strengthens the man-dog relationship. There’s no doubt about the fact that your dog has rich emotional aspect of his life. He feels happy when he should and becomes sad during the gloomy moments of his life. That is the main reason why your dog show symptoms of pleasure like jumping and springing, wagging and licking your face, holding his ears back and making sounds of love and happiness etc. when you get back from your work place at the end of the day. No dog owner on the planet can understand exactly how much happy his dog actually is, and hence most owners choose to ignore the emotional part of their dog’s life! A very few people who have lived with dogs would deny the fact that dogs have emotional feelings. Every time Reva (my female GSD) meets with her daughter (Rechie), they greet each other with love, wagging their tails, licking each other and biting each others’ muzzles. They seem so happy, chasing one another. The facial expressions of both the dogs are different from the expressions they both show when they come across the strangers. I am sure you might also have noticed this!

Until a recent research the canine experts and behaviorists used to believe that dogs have only the primary emotions or basic emotions like love, joy, sadness, fear and anger. Primary emotions are those emotions that form the basic platform for all other secondary emotions (which are more complicated emotions) like anxiety, jealousy and shyness. Recently researchers have come up with the conclusions that dogs have both emotions, and this is what all responsible dog lovers, who have noticed dogs, have always known! It is now proved that dogs have al emotions that we human have. Now I am sure training your dog yourself is going to be a bit easier. All you need to do is to trigger his emotional aspect. Dogs have inherent instincts to learn things just like human babies. They know how to love and be loved. Sadness, fear and anger put extra mental stress on them, which makes them hard to learn new tricks. Hence Yelling at them will never work. Scaring and hitting them will make your dog more obstinate – just like human babies, and will make training harder.

A happy dog will be anxious to see what trick is going to be made by his master. If you carefully notice his ears, eyes, head movement, tail position and movement, the way he’s carrying his head, the posture he is carrying himself with etc. you will get and idea of his emotional state. Not just one thing can give you a correct view, for example, tail wagging doesn’t always mean that he is in playing mood. A bed ridden dog will wag his tail seeing his owner; that doesn’t mean that he wants to go out to play, but it’s an indication that he is happy to see his loved one and wants his owner to stay by him during his bad time. Tail wagging indicates excitement, anticipation, playfulness, contentment/enjoyment, happy, self-confidence etc. Along side the tail wagging, I notice the tail position, facial expression, ear position and obviously the vocal communication to conclude exactly about my dogs’ emotional state.

Bottom line is that I try to understand the communication of my dogs to identify his requirements.

Interesting Links:

HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH DOGS

UNDERSTANDING DOG ATTACKS

WHY DO DOGS BECOME AGGRESSIVE

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Fascinating Facts about Dogs’ Age – Oldest Dog in the World

Oldest Dog in the World

I am sure many dog lovers came across an interesting article that was published in the Telegraph.co.uk about a mix Labrador Retriever named Bella, whose owners claimed that she broke the record of the oldest dog in the world. The owner David Richardson, from Chesterfield, claimed that his dog was at least 26 years old, which in the canine years is 200 years of age.

Mr. Richardson brought Bella 26 years ago from an animal home, although RSPCA said that it doesn’t have any record for Bella. The Guinness World Records refused to enlist Bella as the world’s oldest dog in it’s book without proper paperwork and proof. Gareth Deaves, records manager from Guinness World Records, said “unless we can see a doggy birth certificate or some really clear evidence from the RSPCA then we won’t be able to prove Bella’s age and we can’t list her as the oldest dog.” According to Mr. Deaves, the most recent record of the world’s oldest dog was held by a dog called Butch. Butch, from America, died in 2003, when he was 28 years old. The prize for the oldest dog in the world ever recorded was awarded to Bluey, a sheepdog from Australia, who lived a happy 29 years and 5 months of life.

More facts about oldest dog in the World

"Barry" the St. Bernard, lived 15 years (1800-1814) and is still standing smartly around today, although taxidermically (stuffed), at the Natural History Museum in Berne. Barry saved dozens of lives in the Swiss mountain.

"Bramble", the Collie, who is living in Bridgewater, Somerset, is the living legend running 28th year. Experts think that an exclusively vegetarian diet… “rice, lentils and organic vegetables every evening”, accompanied by good regular exercise have blessed Bramble with such a long life. Guinness World Records is thinking that Bramble is the oldest living dog in the world. Bramble is not only world’s oldest living dog, but lucky too, thinks Anne Heritage, 43. Ms. Heritage described how Bramble had a narrow escape from the death at the onset in February, 1977. "The day after we brought her home, the [New Quay rescue centre] kennels flooded and the other dogs drowned… So she's been incredibly lucky" says Ms. Heritage. She added, "She has a big bowl of rice, lentils and organic vegetables every evening."

How to help your dog live longer?

Four things are very much essential! Good food, fresh water, good exercise and pure love. An extensive 14 years of study (conducted in the University of Pennsylvania) finally concluded that calorie-restricted diet would result in dog living a median 1.8 years longer than the known average dog’s life span. The study was published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in the issue of May 2002. Gail K Smith, the professor of orthopedic surgery at Penn said: "Dogs in the calorie-restricted group didn't require treatment for osteoarthritis until a mean age of 13.3 years, fully three years later than the dogs in the control group. Because osteoarthritis is painful, this deferral represents a substantial boost in quality of life." Contrary to the myth, I would like to say that dogs are not carnivorous animals; they are omnivorous. So give them green.

Visit Dog Care Tips and Dog Healthy Issues.

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Dogs Facts That You Should Know

Here are some facts about dogs, probably you might not be aware of. While some of these dog facts have been sourced from my personal experiences, others have been sourced from different sources. Some of these facts about dogs are really interesting. Others are more interesting, because you should know these dog facts and knowing these might come to a great help for you.

• Don’t stare directly into eyes of a stranger dog. Staring directly into the eyes of a dog that you don’t know is interpreted as a challenge to the dog, which might make him attack you without prior indications. Such attacks are recognized as ATTACK DUE TO PROVOCATION, which means provoking a dog attack.
• Some dogs chase vehicles because they think vehicles run away, because they chase them. Each time a moving vehicle is chased, the dog’s tendency of chasing cars is reinforced. This happens due to lack of socializing the dog to different conditions.
• If your dog is not loyal to you, it’s your fault. My dogs are loyal to me not because I feed them or feed them well, but because me and my whole family love them and give them our companionship as much as possible.
• Smelling sense in dogs is called sense of Olfaction. Dogs naturally have an amazing sense of olfaction, because the number of sensory 'smelling' cells in dogs is much more than a man's 5,000,000.
• A well bred German Shepherd Dog has 220,000,000 sensory 'smelling' cells
• A well bred Fox Terrier has 147,000,000 sensory 'smelling' cells
• A well bred Dachshund has 125,000,000 sensory 'smelling' cells.
• Researches have shown that sense of olfaction in some dogs is as high as 1 million times greater than human beings.
• A dog can hear sounds 250 yards away which human beings cannot hear beyond 25 yards only. The auditory perspective is much higher as compared to human beings, because dogs can perceive the sound waves sound waves that vibrate at frequencies of over 30,000 times per second, while man can perceive the sound waves sound waves that vibrate at frequencies of over 20,000 times per second
• A heart count of a dog remains between 70 and 120 times per minute in normal case, while in human it ranges from 70 to 80 times per minute.
• In normal cases body temperature for a dog remains around 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Dogs cannot see as clearer as human beings, but they can see better in dim light than us.
• On an average a dog's mouth can exerts 150 to 200 pounds of pressure per square inch. Some dogs can apply even up to 450 pounds.
• The basenji, an African wolf dog, is the only dog in the world that can’t bark and the Chow Chow, a Chinese dog breed that has blue tongue.

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YOUR Stress Affects Your Dogs

"Stress is like an iceberg..." that affects not only your health, but all other who are in close relation to you! Dogs are of no exception... shows researches. It's no more a wonder that your dog affects your stress level. The million dollar companionship and unconditional love diminishes your stress level to a great extent! It reminds me of Bob Vetere, COO and managing director of APPMA, who once said, "We've known for a long time that we feel good when we are around our pets. "We now have studies confirming what many of us suspected all along -- pets are good for our health. To name a few findings, having a pet lowers the risk of a second heart attack by 80 percent. Petting your dog or cat or just watching fish swim lowers blood pressure. And, interacting with a dog can help improve the owner's physical fitness".

But Until discovered very recently, it has really been a hidden fact... probably the world's most treasured truth that your stress can affect your dogs too adversely too. Wondering? But its true!

While studying cases related to Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) in dogs, some vets noticed that HGE in dogs has a hidden relation with the owner's psychological stress due to unfavorable economic effect. As recently as February, 2009 dog behaviorists have studied HGE in dogs and concluded that this might be due to the long hidden truth that dogs might be picking up on their beloved master's increased level of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, there is hardly any permanent solution to such illnesses in dogs. Owner's are recommended to steer clear of mental anxiety and financial worries, since this is the only perfect solution for such stress oriented bloody diarrhea of dogs. Overnight stay at the veterinary hospital, administering antibiotics along side re-hydration by intravenous drips and 24-hour medical supervision may bring such HGE in dogs within control by restoring the electrolytic balance, but do not cure permanently. Veterinarians have warranted a caution that stress oriented HGE in dogs, if untreated, may result severe dehydration, and turn out to be fatal as well. Sometimes dogs do not stop drinking water even though they are suffering from HGE resulting from YOUR stress and anxiety.Even if they drink water, re-hydration may be required.

Now the mystery has been unfolded as to why many dogs started suffering from Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE), with the sudden onset of the present economic crisis! Advisable to audit Your level of Stress this tax season if you don't want to see your dog in stress. Responsible pet ownership now paves a way for being responsible yourself too! So let not this economic crisis get over your head and disturb you and your dog's health. This might sound to be the most amazing fact about dogs, but don't miss out reading some other FACTS ABOUT DOGS. Steps should immediately be taken to avoid increasing stress in dogs at your home!

Also check out ECONOMIC DOG CARE TIPS.

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Interesting Dog Facts: Some Facts About Dogs Are Amazing

Here are some really interesting facts about dogs that you probably never knew. I am sure you have been looking for some really amazing information about dogs like the ones you will find here.

Did you know these dog facts?

• Dogs are not color blind, as many of you have been thinking that they are! They can see color, but not as clearly as us. Their color vision may be compared to what we can see during dusk.
• France ranks the world's 2nd country according to dog population, USA being the first.
• Only dog breed - Newfoundlands have webbed feet, which is why they are awesome swimmers.
• The holy Bible mentions about dogs 14 times.
• Three dogs were lucky to survive the sinking Titanic - a Pomeranian, a Pekingese and a Newfoundland. If you are one of the avid dog lovers like me, I am sure you have been looking for some information about dogs like this.
  
• Jesmine – the greyhound played surrogate to 50 new born animals. Click here to read Jesmine's life story. If you read it, I am sure you will fall in love with Jesmine.
  
• A dog's jaw can exert a pressure of around 150-200 pounds per square inch, although some breeds have the potential to exert an incredible pressure up to about 450 pounds per squre inch.
• One amazing German Shepherd Dog fact is that, a GSD called "Max of Pangoula" could jump as high as 11 feet 5 inches. Max's record was broken by another dog called "Young Sabre", who crossed him by 3 more inches and reached a height of 11 feet 8 inches. Click here to get more amazing facts about German Shepherd Dogs.
  
• German Shepherd Dog was the first canine breed that was trained as the “Seeing Eye Dog”, in the year 1920. Check out the German Shepherd Dog FAQs...
  
• A guide dog - German Shepherd led her blind companion an incredibly long distance of 2100 miles Applachian Trail.
• Chow Chow – the Chinese dog breed is the only dog breed in the world that has blue tongue.
• A female dog (mongrel), named Huani became the surrogate mother of three tiger cubs, born at a zoo in China's eastern Shandong province. Click here to know more about Huani.
  
• The year 2002 is a remarkable year, because in 2002 alone, more people were killed in the U.S. by dogs than by sharks in the past 100 years.
• The world's smallest dog breed - the Chihuahua, borns with a soft spot in their skull, which closes gradually as they mature.
• Border Collie is the world's most intelligent canine breed. Check out my posts on Canine IQ and Dog Intelligence... Click here.
  
• World's oldest known dog breed is Saluki. Recent DNA analysis confirmed that Chow Chow is also one of the oldest dog breeds.
• Dogs have no appendix, but have prostates like humans.
• African wolf dog - the Basenji is the only dog breed in the world that cannot bark.
• Bloodhounds have the ability to identify more than one scents simultaneously and have the superlative ability to track one particular scent for a long span of hours and even days old, over long distances.
• A dog's heart beats up to 120 times per minute, which almost 50% faster than the heartbeats of average human beings (80 times per minute).
• McNab, a very uncommon breed was developde by crossing his Scottish-born Border Collie with various shepherd dog. Click here to know more about McNabs.
• A group of scientists at the "Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona" have unearthed the secret about the heavy wrinkles in SharPei dogs. They said the wrinkles in Shar Pei is a health disorder. Want to know more about it? Click Here!
  

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Shar Pei - The Wrinkle Dogs: A Long Held Mystery Unfolded

With just a week or so to go before Mr. Barack Obama to be sworn in, the hype is at its zenith! Today's breaking news is, an incredible number of around four million people, including Bono and Beyoncé is going to be attending the Obama inauguration! Starting this weekend, as many as 10,000 buses, innumerable cabs, trains and air vehicles are going top ferry upwards of this huge volume of mass into Washington DC. The hype is really at it's peak... and Mr. Obama seems to be not paying much attention on the First Dog issue - his commitments to his daughter. I'll write about Obama Dog when he will be up to it again. Until then, I am sure, he's not going to change his focus from Labradoodle or a Portugese Water Hound.

So let's take a turn towards a bit different stuff about dogs. Here's something that most of the dog lovers have been wondering about. Why Shar pei have so much of wrinkles? The mystery's revealed. The article has been adapted from an extract provided by "Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona" - UAB. A group of scientists at the UAB have been burning their midnight oil to trace out the secret about the heavy wrinkles in SharPei dogs. They discovered the origin of mucinosis - rather dermal mucinosis (broad clinical and histologic category of diseases) that is present in the breed. This is a hereditary health disorder, which is responsible for the characteristic wrinkles of this dog breed. The study was carried out by scientists Lluís Ferrer, Maria José Docampo, Giordana Zanna, Anna Bassols and Dolors Fondevila from the UAB, Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a report of this appeared in the journals Veterinary Dermatology and Journal of Heredity.

In the report the researchers talked about a genetic alteration in Shar Pei dogs, which multiplies the activity of an enzyme that produces excessive hyaluronic acid in abnormally excess amount. Hyaluronic acid is one of the major components found in the space between tissue cells. The excess production hyaluronic acid, gathers under the skin and makes the skin of Shar Pei wrinkled, which is a disease. The age old belief that the wrinkles of Shar Pei skin are a natural charecteristics, has now been proved wrong! According to the scientists its a disease caused by the accumulation of excessive hyaluronic acid in the sub-cutaneous region as well as in their blood stream too. Scientists have isolated fibroblast cell cultures from the Shar Pei's skin, which allowed them to demonstrate how synthesis of hyaluronic acid is produced in high amounts due to an hyper activity of the HAS2 enzyme - one of the three enzymes that encourages the synthesis of acid in mammals.

If this is a disease anyway, the Shar Pei breeders would need to understand the molecular mechanism and have to choose for a more scientific and selective breeding programmes, with a motive to make life better for Shar Pei dogs. I think, happy days for the Shar pei are not away. Re-designing of Shar Pei breeding program is the only solution to this health disorder in Shar Pei dogs, according to the researchers.

All shar pei photos are taken from net

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Cruelty to Animals Can't be a Solution To Dangerous Dog Problem in Society

Thanks to Humane Society International (HSI) for raising a voice against cruelty to animals. Having read my post regarding insane act of Peru Government, some of the readers expressed their gut feelings through emails.

There was again a similar incidence that happened some weeks ago, about mass killing of over 200 dogs in Baghdad. The campaign started on Sunday November 23 2008 in western Baghdad. An incredible number of over 200 stray dogs have been killed in the most cruel way by keeping them at the gun point or poisoning them to death. This was an approach by the authority to reduce the number of ferocious dogs that had bitten 13 people in Baghdad on August 2008. Nobody can deny the necessity of culling off the dangerous dogs in the society, but this cannot be a way. While some were cruelly shot to death, others were poisoned. These approaches are the examples of the world's most callous deeds and cruelty to animals. Although the Humane Society International sent out a letter to the Prime Minister and other administrative persons, no responses have yet been reverted back.

Kelly O'Meara, the director of international programs for Humane Society International said, "When we send these kinds of letters, it takes time to get a response". Kelly also added, "When there's media attention, as there was on this, they usually shut it down immediately. They don't want to be looked at in a bad light in the eyes of the international community".

Dr. Hassan Chaloub, an official at the veterinary hospital, who supervised the campaign, said that three teams of veterinarians and police officials were on the mission of killing dogs in Baghdad by poisoning and shooting them. Although under Saddam Hussein, authorities used to kill stray dogs in the capital almost every year in the way they have been killed this time, but the practice was put to an end by implementing legal bindings in 2003. Since then, the number of strays in Baghdad have been counted to over one thousand, which made them take the decision of killing dogs in the way they did.

This really sounds cheap... be it any type of animals. HSI officials have suggested a better way, a “Holistic Approach” to control such dangerous problem in the society. Although these approaches do not work as fast as shooting and poisoning dogs down to death, but these are still very effective. Spaying and Neutering is the best way to control stray dog population. Officials of Humane Society International have recommended “euthanasia” by qualified people, instead of killing them in the cruel manners.

Cruelty to Animals can't be a solution to any problems - including Dangerous Dog Problem in Society.

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Wendy - The Whippet, Claim to Fame

Hey folks... you know something? Wendy has an Internet abuzz! Yes, she has marked a name of herself in the dog world - not because of winning a championship award or a VA title, but for a reason, that has revolutionized the canine community across the globe. Many of you have already read about Wendy by now, I am sure; I am sure again many haven't yet.

I came across the news just a few weeks back... I wasn't aware of it too, but since I've been overwhelmed with my work loads and busy in chasing marketing targets, I could not post stuff here since days.
Lets come to the point now. I am sure you wonder who actually Wendy is. Well, Wendy is a Whippet, whose claim to fame is her state-of-the-art bully build. She had been a part of a study in the US on mutation in myostatin gene of Whippet breed. She was born with a couple of mutated myostatin genes and soon she became a canine celebrity. Lovely Wendy's lucky owner, Ingrid Hansen said that she was over twice the size of an average whippet, when she weighed only 27 kilograms! She is a rippling mass of double-tonned muscles, with bull like structure and neck like the ruff of the most powerful African lion, although her legs are dainty whippet-thin.

Ingrid Hansen boasts to pat his most loved Wendy and say, "People have referred to her as Arnold Schwarzenegger". It's all because of the rare genetic mutation that led Wendy being the most incredible specimen in the canine world. Wendy has been getting calls from media across the globe, including the National Enquirer and Japanese television. According to Hansen, "it was no hoax, that this dog is real". The secret behind Wendy's bully build is the two mutated copies of the gene, which can make a thin and lanky Greyhound a doubled-muscled powerful bull. General breeders around the world tend to experiment with only single mutated gene in the breed, which makes a whippet the most capable racing dog that can run faster than 60km/hr without hault.

Hansen bought Wendy from a Shawnigan Lake breeder, when she was only 8 months old. Wendy had landed in clover and started living on an acreage. She's a grown up kid now and runs around with her other pack mates and horses. She sleeps on Hansen's bed and pretty much anywhere else she that pleases her.

Hansen said that people are often afraid of Wendy, seeing the rippling muscular mass running up towards them. But she is as docile and friendly as the average whippets.

I Love You Wendy

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My Canine Friends are Dying to Teach Peruvian Army the Art Of Killing

What else my dog friends have to do for us mankind??? They have been doing a lot for us -- guiding the blinds to the destination, fetching the news papers to their old masters, guarding and protecting our properties, going down to fetch games for their hunter masters, carrying messages during the war times and what not?

But it's really painful to say that they are now dying to teach the respected soldiers of Peru how to kill. Shame on the Government of Peru and educated Peruvian army officers !!!

The Peruvian commandos are tought how to kill where live dogs are spreadeagled and tied between the poles fixed vertically into the ground. The muscular Peruvian heroes slash and stab the helpless creature to death. This is how they are tought how to kill. Shame on the Government of Peru and educated Peruvian army officers !!! This is not the end...

I will not put the picture in my blog but all I can do is to redirect you to read about what's going on over there. Click here. This barbarism of the Peruvian military was first brought to notice by World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), which is a British charity. I owe millions of thanks to WSPA to bring the fact before the mass attention.

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