Smartdogs’ Weblog

 We © Working Dogs

Fish and wildlife enforcement dogs have some of the same skills as typical police dogs. For example, they can run down and latch onto, or bite, a suspect’s arm. They also can defend their human handlers.

In a recent successful search:

CO Todd Kanieski (Osseo) along with his K9 partner Saber investigated a report of a large nine-point deer shot illegally. K9 Saber’s skills were put to use by determining where the poacher and the buck were standing when the deer was shot. Saber located two expended shotgun shells from the suspect’s gun. Saber also helped pinpoint where the buck was standing based on a search for trace blood evidence. The suspect was charged for shooting from the road right of way. The shotgun and deer were seized.

I really wish I could post myspace or flash video into wordpress.  Since I can’t, check out the link below for:

Twenty Ways to Tell if Your Dog is Evil

If your dog is evil you may want to consider a new sort of house pet.  Of course if you’ve spent years ‘in dogs’ and have become addicted to obedience trials, conformation shows, agility trials, hunt tests and other canine performance venues you may find it difficult to select a pet that will provide the sort of Je ne sais quoi that your competition dog (evil as he may be) afforded.

If so, the folks at the R2 Fish School may have just what you need.  They’ve developed the R2 Fish School Training Kit.  The kit includes everything you need to teach your goldfish AMAZING tricks like doing weave poles:

playing soccer:

or even doing the limbo!

And even SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING!

If you don’t want to spring for the video and obstacle course training set, see if this book is available at your local library:

Conformation shows and races for goldfish are already common.  If this program catches on it may not be long before piscatory performance events take the world by storm.

I have two dogs.  One is brilliant, the other not so much. 

Does being smarter make Audie a better dog than Zip? 

I’m not sure that it does.   In fact, I suspect that Zip’s poor skills in problem solving give her a distinct edge in excelling at much of the work she does for me.  Zip isn’t creative, she’s content to follow the rules.  She’s wonderfully dependable.

Audie is usually one step ahead of the game.  While this means that he picks up new skills very quickly, it also means that he can figure things on his own.  Sometimes this is a good thing, others times its not.  That energy, enthusiasm and creativity make for a young dog that requires a lot of supervision.  He’s brilliant, but not particularly reliable.

In today’s New York Times reporter Carl Zimmer quoted Tadeusz Kawecki, from the University of Fribourg who said:

“If it’s so great to be smart, why have most animals remained dumb?”

So, is braininess not all it’s cracked up to be?  And is it even necessary?  According to the Times:

It is possible to adapt to a changing environment without using a nervous system to learn. Bacteria can alter behavior to help their survival. If a microbe senses a toxin, it can swim away. If it senses a new food, it can switch genes on and off to alter its metabolism.

“A genetic network like the one in E. coli is amazingly good in changing environments,” Dr. Dukas said.

Learning also turns out to have dangerous side effects that make its evolution even more puzzling. Dr. Kawecki and his colleagues have produced striking evidence for these side effects by studying flies as they evolve into better learners in the lab.

 The article goes on to say:

It takes just 15 generations under these conditions for the flies to become genetically programmed to learn better. At the beginning of the experiment, the flies take many hours to learn the difference between the normal and quinine-spiked jellies. The fast-learning strain of flies needs less than an hour.

But the flies pay a price for fast learning. Dr. Kawecki and his colleagues pitted smart fly larvae against a different strain of flies, mixing the insects and giving them a meager supply of yeast to see who would survive. The scientists then ran the same experiment, but with the ordinary relatives of the smart flies competing against the new strain. About half the smart flies survived; 80 percent of the ordinary flies did.

 So, being smarter (or at least being better at learning how to differentiate good from bad food based on taste and/or odor) wasn’t better for the flies in the experiment.  The study didn’t discover the reason for the smart flies poorer survival rate under the changed conditions of the second part of the experiment.  Did growing and maintaining extra neutrons use up too much energy?  Did enhanced abilities to detect the right food more rapidly come at the cost of other sensory functions?  Did the flies become less persistent instead of smarter, or did those nerdy pocket protectors just get in the way?

Dr. Kawecki suspects that each species evolves until it reaches an equilibrium between the costs and benefits of learning. His experiments demonstrate that flies have the genetic potential to become significantly smarter in the wild. But only under his lab conditions does evolution actually move in that direction. In nature, any improvement in learning would cost too much.

Do we only evolve to be as smart as we need to be, or — has research focused too finely on the small and easily differentiated bits of behavior that we believe defines smartness?

And what exactly does it mean to be smart?  After all, we been trying unsuccessfully for centuries to define just exactly what intelligence is. Is it the ability to acquire new information and to adjust to new circumstances?  Is it the ability to solve complex problems?  Is it a combination of both — or something else?

Its not a simple answer.  Intelligence involves a complex suite of physiological characteristics, data storage/retrieval capabilities and environmental factors.  And not only is it hard for us to define, but we must also be careful not to assume that the cognitive skills that we value or choose to label as intelligence are those valued or recognized in another species.

Coyotes have become a real nuisance here in Red Wing.  Over the past winter large numbers of them have begun to prey on trash - and small pets in town.  According to WCCO TV:

The coyotes started to bother Craig Kronbeck when one of the snarling predators threatened his beagle puppy only a few feet away from him in his yard.  That got Kronbeck thinking about his children’s safety.  “A 4-year-old isn’t very big,” said Kronbeck, who lives in Red Wing. “The coyotes are so brave now, you flip the light on and still have to go out and chase them away.”

In Red Wing, city officials responded quickly to Kronbeck’s concerns. Earlier this month, the city council voted to trap and kill the neighborhood’s 10 to 20 coyotes.

 According to a recent article in the Science Museum of Minnesota:

Why would coyotes want to live in the city?

Of course, it’s all about shopping and convenience. Coyotes have been very adaptable through their evolution and moving into cities has probably made their lives even easier. Food is plentiful by poking through people’s garbage, eating from pet food containers that are outside and being able to find small animals easier. Golf courses, cemeteries and parks are prime coyote hangouts as small animals thrive in the habits that receive regular watering and nutrients. If the small animals are there, larger predators like coyotes will find them sooner or later.

That’s it in a nutshell.  Life is easier in the city — especially in a small town like Red Wing where garbage is left out overnight, pets are regularly fed outdoors and large, interconnected tracts of wild land exist thoughout the steep bluffs that the city is built on.

Or perhaps they read that Red Wing was voted one of A Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation?

Either way, it looks like they’re here to stay.  As Doug Stewart of the National Wildlife Foundation noted:

Once an urban coyote is trapped, some people believe it should be removed to a nature preserve somewhere, not released into the very neighborhood where it was found. Even if a coyote were to be relocated, it might be capable, like Lassie, of coming back home. (A coyote thinks nothing of trotting 20 miles in a night.) And if it didn’t, another coyote might well take its place. “No matter what anyone might try to do to remove coyotes from cities and suburbs,” says Curtis, “they’re going to be there.”

So what should we do?  First off, let wild coyotes remain wild.  Don’t feed them or try to tame them.  Next, make your yard less attractive to urban invaders by following these steps recommended by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Preventing Coyote Problems
If you are concerned about coyotes on your property or in your neighborhood, follow these tips:

Do not feed coyotes! Problems occur when people begin feeding coyotes, either deliberately or inadvertently.

Garbage should be stored in secure containers. Do not put meat scraps in compost piles.

Remove bird feeders and outside pet food containers.
Coyotes will prey upon small mammals attracted to birdseed and pet food.

Don’t allow pets to run free and keep a watchful eye on them.
Walk dogs on a leash, especially at night.

Provide secure shelters for poultry, rabbits, or other outside pets.

Clear wood piles, brush piles and other potential cover for coyotes.

Don’t leave small children outside unattended.

Reinforce the coyotes’ natural fear of humans by turning on outside lights, making loud noises, throwing rocks and so forth. Be aggressive in your actions! Although the response may not be immediate, eventually the coyotes will flee.

Encourage your neighbors to follow the same advice.

For the record, we haven’t had any problems at our place (and we have studiously avoided following most of the WDNR’s excellent advice).  We’re located in a steep, heavily wooded, rural area at the very edge of town.  They sing to us from the woods most nights but we haven’t seen any signs of them in the yard. And we do look.

If you’d like to see an interesting example of an encounter between a coyote and a large dog, check out this site:   Farm Dog vs Wiley Coyote

This just in from Agence France-Presse:

Scientists have found that Man’s best friend is also good for his children too, for young kids who live with a dog may get an immune-system boost against asthma and other allergies.  Joachim Heinrich of the Institute of Epidemiology at the Heimholtz Centre in Munich, Germany, led an investigation into more than 3,000 children, whose health was closely monitored from birth to the age of six.

Blood tests showed that, in households with dogs, children were less at risk from becoming sensitised to pollens and inhaled allergens — the triggers for asthma and wheezing, allergic rhinitis and eczema — than counterparts in dog-less homes.  Heinrich believes that early exposure to germs brought into the house on dog fur could stimulate maturation of the immune system. In other words, the body’s defences do not go into allergic overdrive when they are suddenly exposed to dust house mites, pollens and other triggers.

Oddly, though, the benefit seen in the children’s antibodies did not show through in terms of symptoms, the study found.  Children with a dog were as susceptible to asthma and the other problems as counterparts without the pets.  “It is not crystal clear why this is so,” Heinrich told AFP, saying it could be that the protective benefit may show up when the children in the study are a little older. Further assessments will be made when they reach the age of 10.

Hey, I always suspected that my house-full of dogs and sporadic housekeeping habits were a good thing, now I’ve got proof!  In more from the UK’s Daily Mail:

Children who are licked by dogs may also be protected by early exposure to bugs that live in the dogs’ mouths and on their coats.

Previous generations were exposed to more dirt - and the micro-organisms in it - which helped their immune systems develop resistance.

So, does this explain why when I was a child back in the 1960’s we didn’t have to eliminate all peanuts, dogs, live plants and other potential allergens from class rooms?  Back then we may not all have had dogs, but we were all required to play outside.  In the dirt.  Unsupervised.  And not only did it not kill us, it may have made us grow up to be healthy, confident nature-lovers.

Dirt is Good!

This just in from the United States Sportsmen’s Alliance:

The leadership at Meijer, a Michigan-based regional chain of retail superstores, has responded to the concerns of the sportsman community and ended its partnership with the anti-hunting group, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), in an online pet photo contest.

Meijer initially refused a U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) request to abandon the partnership, which according to information on the Meijer website, called for the company to donate $1 for each person that entered the contest, up to a maximum of $5,000, to the HSUS Foreclosure Pets Fund.

On Friday, April 25, the USSA sent out a call to action for sportsmen to voice their concerns over these donations to the biggest anti-hunting organization in the world.  Sportsmen immediately took action, flooding the retailer with phone calls, faxes and emails. 

Thanks to this action by sportsmen, Meijer has now eliminated the portion of the contest that included a donation to HSUS.

“Our program was an outgrowth of our history of supporting local humane societies.  We were not aware of the concerns that exist among hunters about HSUS.  As you know, we have strongly supported the hunting community over many decades,” said Meijer vice president of corporate communications and public affairs, Stacie Behler.  “We have discontinued our donation program as a result of the feedback.  No new funds will be collected.  The funds that were collected will be used exclusively for their Foreclosure Pets Fund, which is a grants program for animal shelters, non-sheltered rescue/adoption groups and animal care and control agencies to establish, expand, or publicize services or programs that assist families caring for their pets during the current economic crisis.”

Kudos to USSA for their work.  HSUS recently lobbied against dove hunting in my home state of Minnesota.  In a nice bit of editorial work Tori McCormick of my local paper, the Republican Eagle, noted that:

 If I did, I’d have to spend every waking hour trying to set the record straight.

 Our nation was founded on the broad shoulders of free speech, and I strongly believe that everyone has the right to express their opinion, whether I agree with it or not.

After that insightful little volley where she acknowledges their right to free speech (but not to spew volumes of inane propaganda) she follows up with:

Fact is, hunters waste too much energy worrying about the antis when we should be firing back in their face a simple question: What have you done for wildlife and wildlife habitat? Nothing, that’s what. At least nothing meaningful.

When’s the last time they’ve fought for wetlands protections, healthy forests, farm bill conservation programs, sustainable fisheries and other land and water stewardship initiatives?

The anti-hunting movement has been AWOL, while hunters and anglers, historically and today, have been on the front lines slugging it out.

But when an anti-hunting group wages an anti-hunting campaign based on misinformation, lies and propaganda, a campaign whose ends would comprise conservation and science-based wildlife management, I believe the public record must be corrected.

Amen sister.  While the whiney losers at HSUS and PeTA sit around on their fat, donation-supported asses accomplishing nothing more than spewing lies and promoting bad laws; groups like Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, the National Wild Turkey Foundation, Quail Unlimited, the Ruffed Grouse Society, Trout Unlimited, the Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America, and the Sierra Club support hunting AND work actively to conserve wild lands.

So, if habitat conservation and the preservation of wildlife are really important to you…. where should YOU donate?

This just in from Newsweek:

“Since 1998 PETA has killed more than 17,000 animals, nearly 85 percent of all those it has rescued.”

Yup.  It’s true.  PeTA kills animals.  Pay no attention to the photos of sweet, sad abandoned pets hyped in their print and media ads.  PeTA is NOT in the business of saving animals — at least not pet animals.  In fact, one of their goals is the extinction of domestic cats and dogs.

“Instead of zero kills, PETA claims to be shooting for zero births.”

 To control pet populations, the folks at PeTA and their allies at the Humane Society for the United States (not to be confused with the folks who run your local humane society) have chosen to focus on increasing deaths and decreasing births.  And its not enough for them to recommend the spaying/neutering of all pets and measures that encourage shelters to kill very high percentages of the animals taken in – both groups are also actively lobbying to have these kinds of measures legislated in cities and states across the country.

The sad truth is that these measures are not needed to control pet populations.

According to Nathan Winograd, author of “Redemption” as quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Based on data from the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, the Pet Food Manufacturers Association, and the latest census, there are more than enough homes for every dog and cat being killed in shelters every year. In fact, when I spoke to him for this article, he told me that there aren’t just enough homes for the dogs and cats being killed in shelters. There are more homes for cats and dogs opening each year than there are cats and dogs even entering shelters.”

More homes than pets?  Whassup with that?  If it’s true, why are we being bombarded with print and media ads publicizing the plight of MILLIONS of homeless dogs and cats doomed to languish and then die in shelters across the country?

In “Redemption,” Winograd lays the lion’s share of the blame for shelter deaths not on pet owners and communities, but on the management, staff, and boards of directors of the shelters themselves.
Redemption makes the case that bad shelter management leads to overcrowding, which is then confused with pet overpopulation. Instead of warehousing and killing animals, shelters, he says, should be using proven, innovative programs to find those homes he says are out there. They should wholeheartedly adopt the movement known as No Kill, and stop using killing as a form of population control.

In fact, in many urban areas there are now not enough shelter dogs (especially small, young dogs) to fill existing demand.  According to the National Animal Interest Alliance:

In many US cities today, campaigns to end ‘pet overpopulation’ have been so successful that the demand for dogs far outstrips supply. In fact, shelters in many of these cities would have a significant percentage of empty dog runs were it not for the mushrooming practice of moving dogs around from one region to another and from one shelter to another within regions, an activity known somewhat euphemistically as humane relocation.  Humane relocation began as a common sense method for helping animals to get adopted through cooperative efforts among city shelters. It made no sense for the humane society to euthanize dogs for lack of room while the local animal control agency had the space and resources to help get them adopted. Over time, as the number of surplus dogs in some cities continued to drop, they began taking in animals from greater distances.

Faced with fewer small dogs and puppies to offer the public, a handful of shelters and organizations have swapped their traditional mission for a new bottom line strategy aimed at filling consumer demands. Simply stated, they have become pet stores. Some are importing stray dogs across state lines and from foreign countries to maintain an inventory of adoptable dogs.

Despite all this, PeTA and HSUS still want to take your pet (and working) dogs away from you.  By force if necessary.  Here it is in their own words:

“In the end, I think it would be lovely if we stopped this whole notion of pets altogether.” Ingrid Newkirk, national Director, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA), Newsday, 2/21/88

“I don’t have a hands-on fondness for animals…To this day I don’t feel bonded to any non-human animal. I like them and I pet them and I’m kind to them, but there’s no special bond between me and other animals.” Wayne Pacelle, of the Humane Society of the United States, quoted in Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, 1993, p. 251

So, if you really want to help homeless dogs in a meaningful way, donate to your local humane society or a no kill shelter.  Adopt a dog from a local shelter and make sure that that dog was NOT imported from Puerto Rico, Mexico or from another state. Do NOT donate money to PeTA, HSUS or other animal rights organizations. 

(added 4/29/08 at 9:30 am Central)
This comment from Audie’s Gramma is so important that I’ve taken the liberty of posting it here so that no one misses it:

FOSTER a dog for a shelter or rescue. Turn him around, help him get adopted, take a break, and then FOSTER another one.

Every animal being cared for in a foster home is one more space free at the shelter.

An aggressive foster program, where animals are socialized, evaluated, rehabbed and trained by the foster humans, is one of the cornerstones of a good shelter program.

It’s one more way we can fight the reflexive use of the term “euthanasia” for a practice that is really “convenience killing.”

 
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”

The most difficult thing about dog ownership is deciding when to send the animal you love so deeply on that unrenegable journey to the afterlife.

There’s often no avoiding it. And it can be a gut-wrenching decision even in the most clear-cut of situations.

With advances in science, there is now a small ray of hope to be gained in some of these heart-breaking situations.  Canine DNA is now being studied by many institutions in experiments that are providing insights on new modes of detection and treatment for numerous diseases.

If your dog has cancer or suffers from a chronic disorder, consider donating blood, saliva or biopsy samples to a program that is studying the disorder.  Saliva samples are simple and absolutely painless to collect.  Blood samples can be collected in conjuction with regular screening tests (such as those used to test for lyme disease, heartworm or to screen for metabolic disorders).  Biopsy samples can be collected during scheduled surgery — or post mortem.

If your dog has been diagnosed with cancer or another chronic disease check with your breed club, the Canine Health Information Center, the Broad Institute, UC Davis, vetGen, Cornell University and do a web search to find out which groups are studying the specific health problem your dog has.  Then please consider donating blood and tissue samples from your beloved companion to help diagnose, prevent and cure disease.

We eased the pain of Zorro’s passing by donating samples and diagnostic information to the Broad Institute for their osteosarcoma study, to UC Davis for research on Leonberger Polyneuropathy and the University of Minnesota to study canine epilespy.

My life became less complicated today.

I don’t need to take extra time to make sure that I’ve place non-skid rugs in strategic locations around the house.

I don’t need to make daily checks of four or more medications to ensure that the proper types and dosages are given.  I don’t need to make sure that I have syringes on hand and I don’t have to carefully monitor everything my dogs eat to prevent allergic reactions.

I don’t have to be hypervigilant in looking for early symptoms of seizures, allergic reactions and other health crises.

We don’t need a ramp at the front door anymore.

An awful lot of the responsibilities (and expenses) that have weighed me down for the last six months vanished in just a single afternoon.

And my heart is broken.

Zorro, who’s been my friend and working partner of the last nine years, was released today from the pain of one too many health problems.  He cheerfully survived epilipsy, Addison’s disease, laryngeal paralysis and Leonberger polyneuropathy only to be taken down by osteosarcoma.  Bone cancer.  The evil scourge of giant breed dogs. 

Zorro had an utterly indomitable will.  He was the most joyful — and the most driven dog I have ever known.  This made him both the most difficult and the most entertaining dog I’ve ever owned.  When he really wanted something, nothing would hold him back.  His fire burned white hot.

Even though I’ve known for a while that this was coming, it still feels like a sudden shock.  He had such an enormous presence….  the house just echoes with emptiness.

Its going to take a while to get used to these simpler, and much less colorful, times without my old friend.

Finding diseases, injuries and parasites early is the best way to keep your dog healthy and happy.  When you discover these problems early, you can avoid an expensive visit to the vet or reduce your dog’s pain and suffering by getting him necessary veterinary treatment as quickly as possible.

Going over your dog’s body on a regular basis also gets him used to being handled and will make visits to the vet and the groomer easier and less stressful for him and for you.  Knowing what your dog’s normal condition is also makes it much easier to recognize something that isn’t normal. 

Start at your dog’s head.  Make sure his eyes are bright, clear and don’t have any unusual discharge.  Every dog’s eyes are different.  Get to know what’s normal for your dog.  Look at his nose.  It’s a myth that a dog’s nose is always supposed to be cold and wet – get familiar with what your dog’s nose looks like on a day to day basis and you’ll notice any unusual discharge or coloring much sooner.  

Feel around the ears and neck.  Get deep into the fur and search for ticks, foxtails or other parasites or foreign materials.  Check your dog’s ears for excess gunk, parasites or foreign materials.  Sniff them too.  One of the first signs of an ear infection is often a bad odor in the ear.  Remember, your dog’s ear is L-shaped instead of straight like ours.  An infection can begin deep in the ear where it’s out of sight – but not out of scent.

Check the mouth carefully, especially if your dog is not used to be handled here.  It may take you a few weeks to get him used to this, so take it one step at a time.  Get to know what color your dog’s gums are when they’re healthy, look for signs of periodontal disease or chipped teeth.

Feel all over your dog’s body.  It is usually easiest to start at his shoulders and work outward.  If he is uncomfortable with being touched, don’t push it and turn the exam into a wrestling match or a stressful event.  If he starts to act nervous or aggressive, move back and touch the dog in a place that he is comfortable with and end the exam there on a positive note.

As you examine the body, feel for ticks, lumps, bumps, foxtails, thorns, mats, cuts, scrapes and tender spots.  Pay close attention to areas where his fur is longer or thinner as these are favorite places for parasites to attach.  If you find a cut, scrape or bump pull the hair aside and examine it closely.  If it’s not serious, make a mental note to check it regularly until it heals.  If you think it might be serious, call your vet.

Examine the dog’s paws carefully.  Most dogs spend their entire lives going barefoot on all kinds of terrain.  Look at the pads first and see if there area any cuts, thorns, cracked skin or other problems.  Check the areas between pads carefully.  These sensitive spots are a common problem area.  Look at his toenails and see if they are split, cracked, chipped or need to be cut.

Check the tail, belly, anal and genital areas too.  Look for any unusual redness, swelling, discharge, lumps, bumps, mats or other problems.

Check your dog’s pulse and respiration.  Heart rate and respiration rate vary widely in healthy dogs.  If you become familiar with your dog’s normal pulse and respiration you’ll be much more likely to notice when they are not normal.

Keep track of your dog’s appetite and his elimination habits.  One of the best things about picking up your dog’s poop in a timely manner is that it keeps you aware of loose stools, constipation, foreign matter and other potential problems.  Keep track of your dog’s weight and consider his current weight and level of activity when you feed him each day.

If your dog has a chronic health issue like epilepsy or diabetes, consider keeping a health diary.  Use the diary to keep track of symptoms, diet, supplements, vet visits, information on the medications he takes, and other information that may help you and your vet treat your dog more effectively.

If you’d like to get detailed instructions on how to complete a “Snout to Tail Assessment” consider ordering this great little book from our friends at PetTech.  The booklet also includes tips on emergency preparedness, poisoning, pet insurance and detailed information on assessing your pet’s vital signs.