It's time for a contest! I'm going to be writing a blog on Friday about the results of a Wisdom Panel® (Professional) test that Katie and I had run on her new mystery pup, Leo, adopted from Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha, WI. We thought it would be great to fun to ask what your best guesses of what breeds make up Leo's heritage, and will reinforce the winner with a signed Patricia McConnell DVD of his or her choice. Below you'll find pictures of Leo, as well as some physical characteristics. Guess up to three breeds that you think might be represented in Leo's genetics, in order from greatest to least percentages. Get your guesses in by 11:59pm CST on Thursday, April 11 and we'll let you know who won, along with the full results of Leo's breed profile in Friday's Read More
Archives for 2013
Willie Learns Nouns! Maybe…
There's always a silver lining, and that was true of our endless winter here in Wisconsin. Given the high snow depth and the low temperatures, I couldn't always get myself out for a long walk every day, and so Willie and I played a lot of games indoors and we both ended up learning something interesting. I decided in December that it was time to try, again, to teach Willie the names of some of his toys. If you've been reading the blog awhile you may recall my writing in Feb of 2010 about Willie's inability to understand words as nouns in What do words mean to dogs? and in January of 2011 in Could You Learn 1022 Nouns? As I mentioned in those articles, Willie appeared to see most verbal cues as verbs, with a few exceptions of living things like "sheep" and "Jim." But every time I tried to Read More
Dognition Canine Assessment Tests
Several readers have asked about the new product called "Dognition" that promises (quoting from the website), "You’ll learn your dog’s cognitive style by playing fun, science-based games — an experience that gives you the insight you need to make the most of your relationship with your best friend." I was curious myself, given that the force behind the product is the work of scientist Brian Hare, whose relevant claim to fame is his research on the ability of dogs to inherently understand a person's pointing gesture. I've argued that this claim needs more research, as does his suggestion that the long-standing relationship between dogs and people has resulted in the evolution of special communicatory skills in dogs (especially as regards to pointing). However, I love that his work has Read More
Mounting By Any Other Name…
A long, long time ago I had an intact male Border Collie (my first BC ever, Drift), who appeared to be failing his job as a stud dog. Although his escort, the lovely Tib, could not have been more clear that she was ready to be bred, Drift couldn't seem to get the job done. Tib would prance around Drift all shiny-eyed, literally throw her rump in his face and flag her tail so far over to the side that I wondered if it might break off. Drift behaved as though he got the message loud and clear, and would enthusiastically mount Tib from behind. But then he would make one or two thrusts, and his entire body would appear to deflate (not to mention his equipment) while he slumped off to the side. Tib would respond by again throwing her rump at his head and flagging (the clarity of a female dog's Read More
It’s Who You Know: Breed Stereotypes & Handler Appearance
We all know that different breeds of dogs elicit different perceptions about their personalities from the general public: Border Collies are all "smart," and Golden Retrievers are all "friendly." These perceptions are sometimes based on facts that are generally true. Border Collies are indeed often clever, and many Golden Retrievers are extremely friendly. However, we all also know that, although, breed stereotypes often have some basis of truth in them, they are just as often incorrect. For a number of years, I saw more Golden Retrievers for biting than any other breed, even though other breeds were as well represented in the local pet population. We all know that different breeds of dogs elicit different perceptions about their personalities from the general public: Border Collies are Read More
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