When it comes to dogs, owners sometimes have tunnel vision, seeing the world only from the perspective of their own dog or their own dog-training experience. This often leads to owners tossing out sentences that, in an ideal world, would never be uttered. Yet these words are clues to a bigger issue, or a situation that's about to become an issue, including not fully understanding dog behavior, social cues, body language, or simply good manners toward other dogs and dog owners. Training yourself is the the most productive strategy for improving the behavior of your dog -- as well as other dogs that your dog socializes with -- because you are such a big influencer of behavior, even when you don't realize you're influencing your dog's actions. Dr. Patricia McConnell writes in her book "The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs," "Focusing on the behavior at our end of the leash isn't a new concept in dog training. Most professional dog trainers actually spend very little time working with other people's dogs; most of our time is spent training humans. Take it from me, we're not the easiest species on the block to train." But it doesn't have to feel daunting. Training yourself can become easier if you're truly seeing your thought process about your own dog and dogs you pass on the street. Once you recognize how you think about them, you can more easily influence what you think about them. And once you do that, better interactions will follow. To read more on this story, click here: 11 Things Dog Owners Should Never Say
The Perceval family love their pet cat, Tiffany. But she’s not priceless. In fact, she’s worth her weight in Tiffany’s jewelry: $140,000, to be exact. No kitten around. The Percevals auctioned their five-bedroom Glen Iris home of 19 years on Saturday. The property was passed in at $2,060,000. And it was then, as real estate agent Glen Coutinho negotiated to try to close a deal, that a cat clause entered the sales contract. Mr Coutinho, of RT Edgar, said that a child of one of the bidders had fallen in love with Tiffany during the inspections of the home. “Tiffany decided she would sit on the couch,” Fran Perceval told the Herald Sun. “People would come through, and she’d observe them and be patted. “She loved all the attention — she does look a bit ornamental,” she said. Ms Perceval had even jokingly suggested to Mr Coutinho that Tiffany could be included in the sale, because after all “she believes the house is her property”. To read more on this story, click here:Tiffany The Cat Is Worth $140,000. No Kitten Around
We're not really sure, but it must not have been that important because it stopped in the middle of an intersection in San Diego to apparently scratch its back. Officers were called to the intersection of Garrison and Rosecrans streets, about a block and a half from a marina, around 3:30 p.m. to find the seal laying on its back in the roadway blocking traffic. It was in no apparent hurry to clear the intersection despite the row of cars waiting for their right of way. A SeaWorld San Diego crew arrived a short time later and trapped the sea lion in a net and loaded it into a cage. People on the street were heard on video singing Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" as the scene unfolded.. SeaWorld Senior Animal Care Specialist Heather Armentrout said the female sea lion didn't appear to have any injuries but did say it was odd for her to be in the street. She was taken back to SeaWorld where the staff was going to check her out with plans of releasing her to the ocean, Armentrout said. Armentrout said she's taken part in sea lion rescues in city streets before but has never seen one that far inland. No other information was available.
Sphynxes love everyone; while they seem to enjoy human attention, they love the company of other cats, dogs, even little gray aliens. Back in 1974 singer Ray Stevens recorded “The Streak” about well, streakers. For the under 50-crowd, streakers are people who pranked by shedding their clothes and running through crowds. They put it all out there for everyone to see. Stevens could have written his entertaining ditty about the Sphynx, a unique, hairless breed of cat who looks like the product of mating between a domestic cat and an extraterrestrial gray. Almost a decade before Stevens wrote his song, a black and white cat in Toronto had the same idea. In 1966, Elizabeth, a Domestic Shorthair, gave birth to a bald kitten named Prune. While rare, the birth of kittens in the buff have been reported all over the world as early as 1830. A breeding program began around Prune. To increase the depth of the gene pool, breeders of the bare-naked kitties outcrossed their domestic no-hairs with American Shorthairs, Domestic Shorthairs, and Devon Rex. And the rest, as they say, is history. In 2002, Sphynx were accepted by the Cat Fanciers Association for competition in the Championship class. Personality Alien or not, Sphynxes love everyone. They seem to prefer human attention but enjoy the company of other cats, dogs, little gray aliens, everyone. It’s a good thing they have so many friends. These kitties need help staying warm and will get cold easily without blankets or sweaters. Being cold-natured, they enjoy a nice warm lap and burrowing under the covers. These little extroverts will also curl up with up with the dog if they get chilly. As innovative as they are, they’re not a great choice for homes with thermostats that hover at 68 degrees. To read more on this story, click here: Get to Know the Sphynx: The Naked Aliens of the Cat World
Tesla already has a feature to prevent its electric car interiors from overheating. Not everyone knows that, though, and that's a problem when people may call the cops or break into your ride to rescue a pet that's actually quite safe. You might not have to post a please-don't-worry sign on your window for much longer, however. Elon Musk has signaled that he'll implement a "dog mode" in future Tesla software that would tell passers-by not to panic. While he only just agreed to the idea (it's likely a long way off), it could include both a message and the current cabin temperature to assuage jittery humans. To read more on this story, click here: Tesla's Future 'Dog Mode' Would Prevent Humans From Panicking
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Those colorful fish you frequently see in large ponds in Japanese restaurants or shopping areas are becoming increasingly popular as the centerpiece of a backyard garden. The brightly-colored fish are called Koi, and they are the result of selective breeding of German and Asian carp. If you are considering installing a Koi pond, you should first study how to raise Koi. 1 - Select a proper pond. You can purchase a Koi pond made of several different materials from pet stores or Koi specialty retailers. A good rule of thumb is that the Koi pond measurements should be at least 3 feet (0.914 m) deep and contain 300 gallons (1136 liters) per fish. You may want to get a larger pond than you need right away, so that you can add additional fish later. To read more on this story, click here: How to Raise Koi
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Quentin, the dog who came out alive from the St. Louis gas chamber for dogs, has died, according to a tweet from his owner, Randy Grim. Grim, founder of Stray Rescue, on Twitter said he was saying goodbye “to a legend, my best friend, my kid. Love you Quentin forever.” Quentin was the only survivor among eight dogs that were being euthanized at the St. Louis city pound’s gas chamber one day in 2003. An Aug. 10, 2003, story said the owners had dropped Quentin off at the city animal shelter, saying they were moving to an apartment that didn’t allow pets. Eight days later, “Workers tranquilized eight dogs, including Quentin, and placed them in an airtight box. They pumped in carbon monoxide. Fifteen minutes passed. Seven dogs succumbed. Quentin, for reasons that experts can only guess at, survived with no ill effects.” To read more on this story, click here: Quentin,The Dog Who Survived The Gas Chamber At The St. Louis Dog Pound, Dies
A deep-sea swimming sea cucumber has been filmed in the Southern Ocean off East Antarctica for the first time. Real name Enypniastes eximia, commonly known as the "headless chicken sea monster", the creature had previously only been filmed in the Gulf of Mexico. Data from the underwater cameras will be fed back to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the international body managing the Southern Ocean.
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