Author Archives: DoggyMom.com

Spa weekends

Posted on September 22, 2013 | 1 comment

In my opinion, part of owning an older dog means ensuring you devote time to them for bonding, love, attention and care.

Daisy and I are just finishing a Spa Weekend.

Daisy’s spa weekend started on Friday with a regular acupuncture session. Daisy gets acupuncture every 5 weeks:

Daisy is happy to lay still while Dr Susanne Anderson places her acupuncture needles

On Saturday, it was then time for Daisy’s hydrotherapy session. Daisy swims every fortnight (2 weeks) to keep her muscles strong and to keep range of motion in her hind legs:

And today (Sunday), it was time for Daisy to enjoy a massage and laser treatment – lovingly delivered by me – her personal massage therapist and DoggyMom:

The only thing that was missing from Daisy’s spa weekend was a bath. But that’s because she had a bath last weekend!

How do you spend quality time with your elderly dog?

1 Comment

Posted in dog care

Tagged acupuncture, animals, bath, Dr Susanne Anderson, health, hydrotherapy, laser therapy, massage

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Subwoofers

3 Comments

Posted on September 21, 2013 in Dogs, Humor/humour

Tagged backpack, Dog, puppies, subwoofers, woofers

Patience

Posted on September 19, 2013 | 6 comments

I love it when dogs are used in advertising. Some ads are better than others. My current favorite is from appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel.

I love the use of black & white and the dog theme. What do you think?

6 Comments

Posted in dogs in advertising

Tagged advertising, appliance manufacturer, black and white, Fisher & Paykel, patience

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Wordless Wednesday, part 2

5 Comments

Posted on September 18, 2013 in Uncategorized

Tagged Dog, frisbee

A dog-designed robot?

Posted on September 16, 2013 | Leave a comment

A very different type of research article has been published in the journal Animal Cognition. This study found that dogs react sociably to robots that behave socially towards them, even if the devices look nothing like a human.

What? Yes – that’s right. A research team led by Gabriella Lakatos of the Hungarian Academy of Science and Eötvös Loránd University tested the reactions of 41 dogs with a PeopleBot robot. The robot had two arms and four-fingered hands, resembling a piece of gym equipment with a white gloved hand attached to it.

One set of dogs in the ‘asocial group’ first observed an interaction between two humans (the owner and the human experimenter) and then observed an ‘asocial’ interaction between the owner and the robot. Another set of dogs watched an interaction between the owner and the human experimenter followed by observing a ‘social’ interaction between the owner and the robot.

A dog and the PeopleBot robot

These interactions were followed by sessions in which either the human experimenter or the robot pointed out the location of hidden food.

The dogs spent more time near the robot or gazing at its head when the PeopleBot behaved socially.

“Roboticists who design interactive robots should look into the sociality and behavior of their designs, even if they do not embody human-like characteristics,” Lakatos advises.

Source: Springer media release

The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill

Posted on September 14, 2013 | Leave a comment

New Zealand’s Animal Welfare Amendment Bill is now before a Parliamentary select committee. Submissions from the public are being accepted from now until 4 October.

Here’s why I’m making a submission:

I want to make a difference for animals and having good animal welfare laws is essential to achieving this
Silence is acquiescence. Too many New Zealanders do not engage and this allows poor legislation to pass. MPs like to say that they voted in favor of the ‘silent majority’
The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill is lacking in many areas and now is our chance to improve it

The Bill doesn’t ban testing of party bills on animals, nor does it ban the use of animal testing in the cosmetic industry. As far as animal welfare issues go, these are ‘no brainers.’

I’d also like to see an independent Commissioner for Animals because I don’t think the Ministry of Primary Industries, with its focus on economy and production, can make good choices.

Click here to read the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill

Making a submission online is easy – just click here and follow the instructions for uploading your submission.

Dog and pony show?

Posted on September 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

Today, in conversation, I used the term ‘dog and pony show’ as in ‘David and Larry are going to do a dog and pony show on xxx.’ And then I got a question I didn’t expect – ‘what does that mean?’

The term dates back to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when there were many traveling circuses to entertain. It was often the dog and pony show that was promoted as a headline act.

Quite literally, this was when dogs and ponies/horses would perform together – often wearing costumes and decorations.

As time has gone on, ‘to do a dog and pony show’ means to publicize a presentation that is designed to impress or sell a product. It’s debatable about whether the saying is one of scorn – some dog and pony shows could be well-researched and professional as well as glitzy, others not.

Wordless Wednesday

1 Comment

Posted on September 11, 2013 in Dogs

Tagged wordless wednesday

Going postal

Posted on September 10, 2013 | 1 comment

A mailman meets a boy and a huge dog. ‘Does your dog bite?’ asks the mailman. ‘No,’ replies the boy. And the dog bites the mailman’s leg. ‘You said he doesn’t bite!’ yells the mailman. ‘That’s not my dog,’ replies the boy.

Letter carriers and other delivery personnel regularly face a hazard when delivering to properties with untrained or unrestrained dogs. Although there are many cartoons and jokes about dogs and postal workers, the issue is no laughing matter.

In the United States last year, nearly 5,900 letter carriers were bitten by dogs. Letter carriers are encouraged to report homes with dogs that appear menacing and they may choose not to deliver to a property or even a neighbourhood if dogs are running loose.

Ken Snavely, Acting Postmaster of Los Angeles, says, ‘Working with animal behavior experts, the Postal Service has developed tips to avoid dog attacks, and for dog owners, tips for practicing responsible pet ownership.’

These tips include:

How to be a Responsible Dog Owner

Obedience training can teach dogs proper behavior and help owners control their dogs in any situation.
Dogs can be protective of their territory and may interpret the actions of a letter carrier as a threat. Please take precautions when accepting mail in the presence of your pet.
When a letter carrier comes to your home, keep your dog inside, away from the door, in another room or on a leash.
Dogs that haven’t been properly socialized, receive little attention or handling, or are left tied up for long periods of time frequently turn into biters.

The US Postal Service also keeps statistics on dog bites, with the City of Los Angeles topping the list of incidents.

Fiscal Year 2012 U.S. Postal Service Dog Attack City Ranking

Ranking	City, State	Attacks
1	Los Angeles, CA	69
2	San Antonio, TX and Seattle, WA	42
3	Chicago, IL	41
4	San Francisco, CA	38
5	Philadelphia, PA	34
6	Detroit, MI	33
7	St. Louis, MO	32
8	Baltimore, MD and Sacramento, CA	29
9	Houston, TX and Minneapolis, MN	27
10	Cleveland and Dayton, OH	26
11	Buffalo and Brooklyn, NY	24
12	Denver, CO	23
13	Dallas, TX and Tacoma, WA	21
14	Wichita, KS	20