It’s a multi-cat household where all get along, then one day a change and now everything’s wrong. Before they were buddies or at least sort of friends, but now one chases the other to no happy end. While disputes among human family members are often status quo, a sudden feud among felines can leave everyone frazzled. It seems strange that amicable individuals could erupt in a friendship-ending fight. Anyone who watches soap operas though sees it happen all the time with humans. Two college buddies are closer than a sock and a shoe. Then add a big party, alcohol, and

While a dog’s or cat’s breath will never smell like a bed of roses, if it carries a stench that could wilt a dandelion, something’s amiss. That means it’s time for a visit to the vet. The most common cause of bad doggy or kitty breath is a losing battle with the bacteria or tartar in the mouth. In mild cases, the teeth are slightly speckled with tartar, the gums are inconspicuously inflamed and the odor is only faintly foul. In really bad cases, the gums are screaming for help and the teeth, blanketed under a calcified, yellow brown crust

In the last blog I summarized a research study (A comparative approach to dogs’ (Canis familiaris) and human infants’ comprehension of various forms of pointing gestures by Gabriella Lakatos, et. al.) that found dogs can use human pointing cues to infer the location of food. The dogs in the study chose the correct location 80% of the time if the human pointed with a straight arm. In fact, according to the study, dogs could even infer location if the pointing was with the leg or elbow but only somewhat (about 65% of the time). To see whether this could possibly be true,

Have you ever thought you were pretty brilliant, or at least above average at some common skill only to find out, after taking a test, that you were practically incompetent at that task? Well, that’s what I just found out about my three year old Jack Russell Terrier, Jonesy and his foster dog side-kick, Homer, a couple of years ago when I tested them on a two-choice task to see if they could understand pointing. According to a research study by Gabriella Lakatos and her colleagues at Eötvös L. University (Budapest, Hungary), dogs are able to recognize the significance of

Question: We are having a debate in our city regarding our off-leash dog areas.  A person is trying to get the city to create segregated large and small dog areas because of his belief in the premise of “predatory drift”.  For years (ever since it was created), our dog park has had one big area for all dogs to socialize and play.  The owners in our park are very responsible and quick to jump in when play gets out of hand, no matter the size of the dog. Answer: Having different sections to a dog park—a general section, and one

With over 52 million pet dogs in the U.S.alone and a multi-billion dollar pet food and supply industry, it’s clear dogs are part of family life in America. To those who actually own and live near dogs, another fact is also clear—some dogs just talk too much. It’s “Bark! Bark! Let me in” or “Bark! Bark! Feed me” or “Bark, Bark! A leaf just fell.” Dogs can be such champions of conversation that many communities have passed ordinances forcing them to shut their yaps. Anyone who’s experienced these annoying oratories in the dead of night is probably wondering, “What’s the