PET ZORG

12/12/2014

Chennai City 1st to get dog blood bank.......

Chennai is all set to become more canine-friendly with a first-of-its-kind, exclusive, blood bank for dogs. The proposed bank will have an advanced database of donor dogs in the city. Madras Veterinary College (MVC) has now put up notice boards insisting pet owners be part of the donor base. "There is an acute demand for canine blood during surgeries and the project is the brainchild of the vice-chancellor. Work has already started," a senior professor of MVC said. There is a growing demand for transfusion therapy to treat many diseases and injuries related to dogs, particularly in orthopaedic surgeries when blood loss is high, the professor added. So far, five donors have enrolled in the donor programme. At least 20 donors are required for inaugurating the programme. The blood bank will be a boon for dogs with anaemic complaints, viral and parasitic infections and those that get injured in accidents. The programme will not entertain monetary benefit for the donors, but the donors will be helped by the MVC when their pets are in distress. There are four types of blood groups in dogs and blood transfusion in animals is not that complicated, compared to humans, and it needs basic infrastructure which is already available in the varsity, the vice-chancellor added.

12/12/2014

Can Your Dog Read Your Mind?

Can your dog read your mind? That was the question posed in a recent study published in the journal Learning and Behavior about canine behaviour. The answer, apparently, is both a little bit yes and also, a little bit no.

Researchers at the University of Florida set out to understand the origins of exactly how it is that dogs respond to human gestures, focusing specifically on what the study's lead author, Monique Udell, called "attentional states."

To do that, they set up several different experiments. Dogs from both domesticated situations and shelters were given the choice to beg for food from a person with her face or eyes concealed, versus one whose attention was fixed on the dogs. The same experiments were also conducted with wolves - the idea being that it would show whether or not they have some kind of genetic barrier that prevents them from responding to cues of attention in the same way dogs can, as previous studies have suggested.

What the researchers found is that both the dogs and the wolves were less likely to beg for food from the experimenters who had their backs to them, which indicates a "capacity to behave in accordance with a human's attentional state," the authors wrote. In other words, most of the canines and wolves displayed some kind of ability - perhaps inherent - to sense how people were acting, regardless of whether or not they grew up in contact with humans.

But the researchers also found that, generally speaking, the dogs raised as pets rather than in shelters were more likely to respond to cues when they had a human's attention.

"What this shows is that it's not a question of nature versus nurture," explained Udell. "It's always going to be a combination to the two that informs a dog's responsiveness to humans."

In other words, Fido does have some natural ability to sense when he's got your attention, but he hones that sense through a lifetime of experience, too. Udell added that people could take this information and use it to help train the dog of their dreams. "Dogs aren't born being man's best friend," she said. "The experiences they have and the type of environment they live in influence their behaviour. If you want a dog that's very responsive to humans, that does take work."

10/12/2014

Can housing societies refuse tenants?

House-hunting, once upon a time, was all about finding a place suitable for you, within your budget and in your favorite destination. However, now-a-days, along with these, people also ask for a copy of the housing society’s law as well!
You could think “why housing society’s laws?” Well, these are the laws which govern the kind of tenants that the housing society can have. Under these laws, bachelors and families with pets are refused permission to reside in particular housing societies. Moreover, families with special kids as well as homosexual parents are also finding it difficult to even approach house owners, let alone rent a house!

08/12/2014

About a study of CLEVER DOG... :)

A recent study has revealed that dogs, like infants, are experts at interpreting human body language. Dogs pick up not only on the words we say but also on our intent to communicate with them. The findings might help to explain why so many people treat their furry friends like their children; dogs' receptivity to human communication is surprisingly similar to the receptivity of very young children, the researchers say.
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, presented dogs with two videos. In the first, a woman says, “Hi, dog,” while looking straight at the camera. The woman then turns her head toward a container. The dog follows her gaze.
However, when the woman is looking down, rather than at the camera, as she says, “Hi, dog,” the dog does not follow her subsequent gaze.
Dogs pick up on the subtle difference in the woman’s behavior in the two situations, said Adam Miklosi, a behavioral biologist at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest and one of the study’s authors. The study shows that dogs can read human behavior, he said, and understand when they are being addressed.
Other studies have shown that infants have the same ability to interpret an adult’s intent.
“Dogs are functionally similar to a 6-month-old, to a 1-year-old,” Dr. Miklosi said, “though how the dogs mind is dealing with the problem, we don’t really know, and it’s probably different from an infant.”
Dogs presumably gained this ability over generations of domestication. “Being in a human family gives the dogs the ability to interact in a human way,” Dr. Miklosi said. “You can really treat your dog as a sort of infant, which you wouldn’t really do with a goat or another domesticated animal. :) :) :) :)

06/12/2014

OBEDIENCE SHOW

21/11/2014