The story of Peggy, a nine-year-old border collie is warming and highlights once again the intelligence of dogs. She had to be retired after becoming deaf but is now working again after learning sign language. Her handler couldn’t work with … Continue reading →
Dachshunds are particularly popular at the moment, during coronavirus lockdowns. But they’ve always been popular. The second reason is layered over the first. The short legs of the Dachshund have been created through selective breeding with tunnelling duties in mind. … Continue reading →
NEWS AND COMMENT: Dan McClelland was the sheriff in Geauga County, Ohio, USA for 13 years and in the police force for 44 years. He loved his job and he was the owner of the world’s smallest police dog a … Continue reading →
Sniffer dogs have proved to be more accurate than Covid-19 tests devised by scientists, which is why they are being deployed at places where normal testing is difficult such as at airports. They are being used already in some EU … Continue reading →
Scientists at Porton Down, the UK government’s top secret defence laboratory near Salisbury, are training specialist sniffer dogs to detect new variants of the zombie drug Spice. The dogs are to be deployed in prisons across the country to sniff … Continue reading →
NEWS AND COMMENT: News media is currently bombarding readers with news about dog theft in the UK. It appears to be an epidemic brought about by inflated prices for pedigree dogs because of demand and the increased demand has in … Continue reading →
A recent study from Washington State University concluded that three factors influenced the success of the domestication of the dog. These are: The relationship between domestic dogs and women was beneficial to the dog-human relationship as it encouraged humans to … Continue reading →
There is an increased demand for “lockdown pets”. These are companion animals designed to keep people company during these frequent lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. There’s been a surge in demand for puppies and fancy-looking toy dogs such as … Continue reading →
Digital device detection dogs have protected people from sexual abuse by a man, Nicky Paul Mitchell, thirty-eight, who was under a sexual harm prevention order. He was obliged, under the order, to declare any Internet-enabled devices in his possession to … Continue reading →
Kruger National Park is about the size of Wales in the UK. They have a problem with poachers which is unsurprising considering the vastness of the park. Since 2010 more than 8,000 rhinos have been killed by poachers for their … Continue reading →
The best scientists in the world don’t know for sure when dogs were first domesticated (or where). I think the question is incorrectly formulated. It should be when were gray wolves first domesticated? But I’m being pedantic. The bigger issue … Continue reading →
Dexter, a black labrador, was in training to be a drug sniffer dog but he was considered to be too gregarious, too sociable and lacking insufficient focus and concentration to be good enough in the role. However, his gregariousness has … Continue reading →
Background NEWS AND VIEWS: John Gaunt, 45, is a gamekeeper and he owns five dogs. They are kept in kennels. The coronavirus pandemic has not only created a surge in the purchase of dogs but also encouraged the illegal importation … Continue reading →
Dogs at Helsinki airport that have been trained to detect Covid-19 are picking up infections in people at a very early stage and before the disease can be detected by the official laboratory tests. This is a remarkable finding. There … Continue reading →
Indy is being trained to detect bushmeat which is informally slaughtered wild animals eaten by people. It’s a major cause of wildlife loss in Africa including primates, incidentally. Indy is a 14-week-old springer spaniel and she is in the early … Continue reading →
The primary reason for the existence of dogs and cats nowadays is that they are companions to humans. They entertain us, make us happier and more relaxed. However, Rhys Blakely, The Times’ science correspondence writes today that there was a … Continue reading →
Time is running out for the UK government to reach an agreement over pet passports which on 1st January will become a major issue for blind people travelling with their guide dogs. Currently they can jump on a plane and … Continue reading →
I have recently written about the training of dogs to detect the coronavirus. Some dogs have been supplied by the organisation Blind Dogs because they failed in that project but were obviously highly suitable to be retrained as coronavirus sniffer … Continue reading →
The charity Guide Dogs kindly donated three dogs to another charity, Medical Detection Dogs, for them to be trained to detect the virus Covid-19. The three dogs did not quite come up to standard as blind dogs but of course … Continue reading →
Uber Australia conducted research which found that almost two thirds of Australians believe that having your companion animal in the workplace helps to boost mental health. I’m going to presume that they’re referring to dogs primarily because there are different … Continue reading →
