Tag Archives: Dog

For These Homebuyers, a Fenced Yard Isn’t a Bonus—It’s the Starting Point

Posted on May 12, 2026 | Leave a comment

There are two kinds of homebuyers: those with pets and those without. And for pet owners, a home purchase can hinge on whether a listing works as well for their pet as it does for them, according to new data.

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A new survey from Realtor.com® finds that buyers with pets often evaluate homes through an animal-first lens, prioritizing features like a secure outdoor space, durable interiors, and communities where pets are allowed.

It’s not surprising to the agents who regularly see these trade-offs play out in real time.

“I’ve never seen a child influence a house decision no matter what they’ve thought of it,” says Jeff Lichtenstein, a broker with more than 25 years of experience. “A pet, however, has much more influence.”

“I see pet needs influence decisions all the time,” echoes Miltiadis Kastanis, executive director of sales at Compass. “A buyer might really like a home, but if it does not feel right for their pet, whether it is the lack of outdoor space or the overall environment, they will walk away.”

The new research from Realtor.com backs them up. For many buyers, pets were not a side consideration but a real force in the home search—one strong enough to shape decisions and even justify paying more for the right features.

What makes a pet-friendly home?

The survey drew from a mix of first-time homebuyers, repeat buyers, and sellers across the country, with pets that included dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, fish, hamsters, and guinea pigs.

For all that variety, their answers pointed to a strikingly consistent definition of what makes a home truly pet-friendly: secure outdoor space, durable and easy-to-clean interiors, and neighborhoods or developments where pets are clearly allowed.

Outdoor space came up repeatedly, especially when it was enclosed. 

“Pet friendly means having a good-sized backyard that is secured well with a fence or wall,” said Katey, a millennial first-time homebuyer. 

Rhonda, a repeat buyer of the baby boomer generation, emphasized the same priority in pet terms, saying the yard needed to be large enough that her pets could “do zoomies without destroying furniture.”

Inside the home, respondents focused on surfaces and layouts that could hold up to everyday wear and tear.

“We looked for homes with larger yards, scratch resistant floors, and neighbors who embraced pets,” said Kate, a Gen X repeat buyer. Others called out finishes that were easier to clean, safer for animals, or better suited to senior animals.

Some buyers had an even more detailed checklist. 

“A pet friendly home would have scratch resistant flooring, wall finishes that are easy to clean, built in nooks or feeding stations, and a mudroom and bathing station,” said Chi, a Gen X repeat buyer. 

And for some, the issue was not the home itself but the rules around it. “Pet friendly to me means that pets are allowed in the development,” said Brigette, a baby boomer repeat buyer.

Pets actively influenced which home they chose

Their responses suggest that pet-friendly isn’t a throwaway listing term, but a concrete standard that shaped their home search. It’s something that Kastanis says he sees often, especially in the condo market.

“Pet policies are usually the first thing we look at before even setting up a showing, since restrictions can immediately rule out a property,” he says, adding that buyers are increasingly drawn to buildings that combine pet-friendly rules with practical conveniences, especially easy access to outdoor space.

One such example is Vestra, a luxury apartment complex in Las Vegas where developers prioritized communal dog runs, a resort-style dog park, and professional grooming facilities for its four-legged residents. 

All residents at the Vestra complex have access to luxury grooming facilities for their furry friends. Photos courtesy of Matter Real Estate.

“You can walk out the front door and take your dog for a walk and run into neighbors or friends,” Jim Stuart, part of the team behind the project, told Realtor.com last year.

The survey responses suggest those considerations can be decisive features for pet owners.

“I definitely looked for outdoor space where my cat would be able to go outside but be protected by a fence or screen. Also windows he could sit in or see out. I was drawn to open loft space so he could look down,” said Tara, a Gen X first-time homebuyer. 

Stacei, a Gen X repeat buyer, was even more explicit about how much her pets narrowed the field: “My pets had a large impact on the selection of my current home. I honestly wouldn’t have even looked at a place if it didn’t have a decent sized yard and enough space for my pets to run around comfortably.”

Buyers are willing to pay up for their pets

And when buyers find those features, some are willing to pay more for them, the research found—a reality that agents say mirrors what they see in home searches every day.

“Buyers are willing to pay more for homes that already work for their pets,” says Kastanis. “A house with a fenced yard or a layout that does not require changes can make a big difference, especially when inventory is tight and buyers want something that feels move-in ready.”

But the strongest premium appears to be attached to practical features that reduce friction from day one.

“I would pay more for a property that had a fenced in backyard and decent sized backyard,” said Paul, a Gen X repeat buyer.

In some ways, it echoes what’s long been known about buying and selling a home: Some features fetch you more than others.

Research from the National Association of Realtors® found that homeowners most valued remodeling outcomes tied to improved functionality and livability (28%) and durable, long-lasting materials and appliances (23%)—the same practical qualities many pet-friendly buyers were prioritizing here.

Luxury vinyl plank, or LVP, is one example. Designed to mimic the look of hardwood while holding up better to scratches, messes, and daily wear, it came up repeatedly in the survey as a pet-friendly flooring choice.

“The LVP has been a game changer. So easy to maintain and a nonnegotiable going forward,” said Lori, a Gen X repeat buyer.

And that demand didn’t stop at closing. The survey found that while many buyers didn’t make major pet-related changes after move-in, others invested in upgrades that made the home more durable, convenient, or comfortable for their animals.

“We had the entire home re-floored with scratch resistant flooring to keep our home beautiful and our dog out of trouble,” said Chi. Cory, a millennial first-time buyer said, “I put in a dog door so they can go outside at their convenience.”

Even then, some buyers were still imagining what else a truly pet-centered home could include—touches like a catio (a cat patio), pet-cleaning stations, and other spaces tailored to their animal’s needs. It’s a reminder that for some, a home isn’t only about function—it’s also about creating a little luxury for their pets, too.

Source: Realtor.com

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Health concerns of dog owners

Posted on March 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

NZ-owned pet company Pet Direct released its pet survey recently and this infographic was the one I found most interesting and relevant.

The results align well with what my clients tell me. They seek out my services for support in their dog’s care – so of course general health features.

Arthritis is a major concern (no one likes to see there dog growing old) and there is a lot of confusion about what management options are available and that arthritis is actually a disease of the young dog. I still see too many pet parents who think a supplement is going to be their 100% solution which is the farthest from the truth. A multi-modal management strategy is needed.

And then comes anxiety. Thanks to my Fear Free certification, a lot of the clients I see have dogs with multiple issues and one of those is anxiety. Imagine living your life in a constant state of stress, unable to communicate in people language what is wrong! I really feel for these dogs. Massage, acupressure and lifestyle changes are all part of the picture for these dogs.

A friend of mine said she noticed that many of the posts on my Facebook page mention weight loss. Weight adds stress to the joints – so no surprises that weight management and diet are on my assessment list, too.

It’s certainly worth looking at the Pet Direct survey and thinking of what you can do for your dog and how you fit within the ‘norms’ of pet ownership in NZ. My full assessments include a review of your dog’s veterinary history, an in-home visit with gait analysis, massage and exercise game plan recommendations. Easy, convenient and cost effective.

Kathleen Crisley is Fear-Free certified dog massage therapist and canine fitness trainer. She has a particular passion for working with dogs and their families to ensure injury prevention and quality of life. She specialises in working with anxious and emotionally damaged dogs. Her mobile practice, The Balanced Dog, is based in Christchurch, New Zealand

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Some dogs can learn new words by eavesdropping on their owners

Posted on January 10, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Honey, will you take Luna to the P-A-R-K?” both parents and dog owners know that some words should not be spoken, but only spelled, to prevent small ears from eavesdropping on the conversation. At the age of 1.5 years toddlers can already learn new words by overhearing other people. Now, a groundbreaking study published in Science reveals that a special group of dogs are also able to learn names for objects by overhearing their owners’ interactions.

Bryn, an 11-year-old male Border Collie from the UK, that knows the names of about 100 toys. Photo credit: Helen Morgan

Similarly to 1.5 -year-old toddlers, that are equally good in learning from overheard speech and from direct interactions, these gifted dogs also excel in learning from both situations.

What makes this discovery remarkable

Although dogs excel at learning actions like “sit” or “down”, only a very small group of dogs have shown the ability to learn object names. These Gifted Word Learner (GWL) dogs can quickly learn hundreds of toy names through natural play sessions with their owners. Toddlers can easily learn new words through a variety of different processes. One of these processes is learning from overheard speech, where child learns new words by passively listening to interactions between adults. To do this, children must monitor the speakers’ gaze and attention, detect communicative cues, and extract the target words from a continuous stream of speech. Until now, it was unknown whether GWL dogs could also learn new object labels when not directly addressed.

“Our findings show that the socio-cognitive processes enabling word learning from overheard speech are not uniquely human,” says lead scientist Dr. Shany Dror, from ELTE and VetMedUni universities. “Under the right conditions, some dogs present behaviors strikingly similar to those of young children.”

How the researchers found that Gifted dogs learn toy names by eavesdropping

In the first experiment, the research team tested 10 Gifted dogs in two situations:
1. Addressed condition: Owners introduced two new toys and repeatedly labeled them while interacting directly with the dog.
2. Overheard condition: The dogs passively watched as their owners talked to another person about the toys, without addressing the dog at all.

VIDEO ABSTRACT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvFwYQ2pPSs 

Overall, in each condition, the dogs heard the name of each new toy for a total of only eight minutes, distributed across several brief exposure sessions. To test whether the dogs had learned the new labels, the toys were placed in a different room, and the owners asked the dogs to retrieve each toy by name (e.g., “Can you bring Teddy?”)

The result: In both conditions, seven out of ten dogs learned the new labels

The dog’s performance was very accurate already at the first trials of the test, with 80% correct choices in the addressed condition and 100% in the overhearing condition. Overall, the Gifted dogs performed just as well when learning from overheard speech, as when they were directly taught, mirroring findings from infant studies.

But that’s not all: Gifted dogs overcome one of the key challenges in learning labels

In a second experiment, the researchers introduced a new challenge: owners first showed the dogs the toys and then placed them inside a bucket, naming the toys only when they were out of the dogs’ sight. This created a temporal separation between seeing the object and hearing its name. Despite this discontinuity, most of the Gifted dogs successfully learned the new labels.

“These findings suggest that GWL dogs can flexibly use a variety of different mechanisms to learn new object labels” says senior scientist Dr. Claudia Fugazza, from ELTE University in Budapest.

What we can learn from this study

The study suggests that the ability to learn from overheard speech may rely on general socio- cognitive mechanisms shared across species, rather than being uniquely tied to human language.

However, Gifted Word Learners are extremely rare, and their remarkable abilities likely reflect a combination of individual predispositions and unique life experiences.

“These dogs provide an exceptional model for exploring some of the cognitive abilities that enabled humans to develop language” says Dr. Shany Dror “But we do not suggest that all dogs learn in this way – far from it.”

Is your dog a Gifted Word Learner dog?

This research is part of the Genius Dog Challenge research project which aims to understand the unique talent that Gifted Word Learner dogs have. The researchers encourage dog owners who believe their dogs know multiple toy names, to contact them by email (geniusdogchallenge.official@gmail.com), Facebook or Instagram. 

Source: EurekAlert!

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Dog ownership enhances sense of community

Posted on December 27, 2025 | 1 comment

A new Japanese study of 377 adults suggests that owning a dog quietly strengthens how connected people feel to their neighborhood. 

Residents in a suburb west of Tokyo who lived with dogs reported a richer sense of belonging than neighbors without pets. 

The work was led by social psychologist Itaru Ishiguro, Ph.D., at Rikkyo University near Tokyo. His research focuses on everyday social ties and human-animal interaction, and he collaborated with colleagues at Azabu University in Sagamihara.

In the new study, the team compared dog owners and non-owners on three distinct kinds of neighborly contact. 

They looked at brief chats with strangers, close neighborhood friendships, and anchored personal relationships, recurring ties rooted in specific shared places and activities. 

The main question was whether people with dogs built more of these local ties and, through them, a stronger sense of community. 

People, dogs, and neighborhoods

In practice, anchored personal relationships might be the familiar faces you greet in the park or at the corner shop every afternoon.

These ties feel friendly and predictable, yet people usually do not swap phone numbers or invite one another into their homes.

The study argues that this middle layer of connection sits between quick incidental encounters and deep friendships in terms of intimacy and continuity. 

Because these acquaintances almost always live nearby and share the same streets, the authors expected them to matter most for neighborhood belonging. 

Dogs vs other neighborhood pets

When the team separated dog owners from people who kept cats or other animals, dog ownership alone showed a link with neighborhood relationships. 

One likely reason is simply that dogs need daily walks in shared spaces, while many other pets stay almost entirely indoors.

In the survey data, ownership of cats and other pets did not relate to any relationship type or to sense of community. 

That pattern suggests it is the shared walking routine, not pet ownership in general, that connects dog owners strongly to neighborhood social life. 

What the survey captured

Researchers recruited several hundred adults living in Sagamihara City and nearby areas through posters, flyers, community events, and local government channels. 

Participants completed an online or paper questionnaire about pet ownership, social contact around their homes, and how attached they felt to their area. 

The sense of community questions drew on a standard place attachment scale that measures how strongly people feel rooted in specific locations.

To untangle links between variables, the analysts used generalized structural equation modeling, a statistical technique that handles chains of cause and association. 

How ties strengthen

Dog owners were more likely than non-owners to report having people they regularly recognized in spots and frequent incidental conversations with passersby. 

However, once factors like age, income, education, gender, and housing were taken into account, owning a dog did not predict having neighborhood friends. 

All relationship types related to a stronger sense of community, yet only anchored personal relationships linked dog ownership directly to feeling locally rooted. 

“Anchored personal relationships should be considered alongside incidental interactions and friendships,” wrote Ishiguro. 

Earlier work in Australian cities found that pet owners scored higher than non-owners on neighborhood social capital, trust, and civic engagement.

Those studies also noted that dogs, more than other pets, seemed especially effective at sparking conversations during walks and visits to public spaces.

The Japanese survey adds nuance by showing that chats and friendships are part of the picture, with anchored personal relationships carrying weight. 

Taken together, this growing body of work hints that the social benefits of living with animals extend well beyond companionship inside the home.

Who picks dogs

Because the survey was cross-sectional rather than experimental, the authors cannot rule out the possibility that outgoing people choose to own dogs. 

Personality traits such as extraversion, a tendency to seek stimulation, can predict both the size of someone’s network and their interest in pets.

Japan has relatively low relational mobility, a cultural pattern where new relationships are relatively hard to start. 

In that context, it is not surprising that dog ownership did not translate into more close neighborhood friends, even when casual contact increased. 

What this means for wellbeing

Many studies have explored whether living with pets improves health, with varied results but hints that dogs may support physical and mental wellbeing.

A Swedish cohort that followed more than three million adults found lower overall mortality among dog owners than among people without dogs. 

This community-focused work does not claim that dogs extend life, yet it suggests one social pathway through which health effects might emerge.

Feeling more rooted in a neighborhood might support mental health, reduce loneliness, and make it easier to seek help during stressful times.

Dogs strengthen neighborhood life

For people who already live with dogs, the findings highlight the quiet value of regular routes, familiar faces, and friendly short conversations. 

Stopping briefly to chat while following local rules about leashes and cleanup may be enough to build anchored personal relationships over time. 

Neighbors who do not own dogs can benefit by greeting walkers, since the study suggests those small interactions contribute meaningfully to community feeling. 

Put simply, the research suggests that every small, repeated meeting around a dog walk can add up to a welcoming neighborhood for everyone. 

The study, Dog ownership enhances anchored personal relationships and sense of community: A comparison with incidental interactions and friendships is published in PLOS One.

Source: Earth.com

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Pondering my submission

Posted on December 20, 2025 | Leave a comment

It’s been a big week at The Balanced Dog. I have just finished my last Saturday of consults for 2025 and, earlier this week, Sox turned 8 (his birthday party was a two weeks ago, to accommodate the travel plans of friends).

And there are only 20 days left to make a submission on the Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment Bill. A year ago, the NZ Government made an announcement of its intention to ban greyhound racing in this country; the bill has passed its first reading with wide cross-party support. It’s now time for the public to have their say…

Probably thanks to Sox’s birthday, and the number of greyhounds I work with in my practice, greyhounds, racing and animal welfare have been on my mind a lot recently. I am definitely making a submission.

Here are the points/issues I want to raise:

  • Animals are not statistics. Behind percentages are living, breathing and sentient creatures.
  • What do we mean by animal welfare? In layman’s terms, it’s quality of life for the entire life of the animal.
  • What is the definition of an accident? Depending upon which dictionary you use, this is defined as an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance or an unfortunate event resulting especially from carelessness or ignorance.
  • What is our lifetime responsibility as stewards and ”owners” of dogs?
  • What are the inherent risks of racing?
  • How painful is a broken hock, a fractured skull or other high impact injury?
  • With concerns that greyhounds will become extinct in New Zealand if racing is banned, what protections will there be for breeders who wish to continue their bloodlines and provide the NZ public with a greyhound if they choose to buy one?

I encourage anyone with an interest in the greyhound breed to submit. That’s what public submissions are for. There are many templates circulating to assist you in making a submission. I believe the most powerful submissions are those that share personal experience.

Be sure to read the legislation so you can align your comments with specific clauses and be sure to tell the Select Committee if you want to be heard (that is, appear in person or by video link).

Make your submission here

Kathleen Crisley is Fear-Free certified dog massage therapist and canine fitness trainer. She has a particular passion for working with dogs and their families to ensure injury prevention and quality of life. She specialises in working with anxious and emotionally damaged dogs. Her mobile practice, The Balanced Dog, is based in Christchurch, New Zealand

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Is your home suitable for an aging dog?

Posted on November 20, 2025 | Leave a comment

In Christchurch, where I live and practice, we’re known for our flat landscape in most parts of the city and suburbs. However, we do have some hilly suburbs which are considered prime real estate for those wanting a view and a different level of privacy.

With those hilly sections come challenges.

Homes in these areas tend to require stairs or steep drives and a walk in the neighbourhood demands hill-walking; much different to the single story traditional housing on the flats. That said, new infill developments are building upwards. Usually, these take the form of multi-unit dwellings that are two or three stories high. All have staircases, most are steep to make the most of the available space.

As a mobile practitioner, I work with dogs in a range of settings. One fact that is universal, however, is that an aging dog is more likely to slip on floors and to have difficulty walking up/down stairs and hills. A dog of any age that has an injury is also going to have the same problems.

Owners of smaller breeds can carry them; for larger breeds, this is not an option.

So, if you are relocating to a new home, please think of your dog before signing on the dotted line. Your dog will age must faster than you do. A bit of planning can help you make a good choice so your dog can enjoy your home and neighbourhood for the rest of their life.

P.S. Not every family has the capacity to build a stair lift like Eddie’s family did. (RIP, Eddie)

Kathleen Crisley is Fear-Free certified dog massage therapist and canine fitness trainer. She has a particular passion for working with dogs and their families to ensure injury prevention and quality of life. She specialises in working with anxious and emotionally damaged dogs. Her mobile practice, The Balanced Dog, is based in Christchurch, New Zealand

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Dogs Can Classify Objects by Function, Not Just Appearance

Posted on September 23, 2025 | 1 comment

A new study demonstrates that some highly gifted dogs can categorize objects not just by appearance, but by how they are used. When taught words like “pull” or “fetch,” these dogs later applied the concepts to brand-new toys through natural play, without training or explicit labeling.

This shows that dogs can form mental representations of objects based on their function rather than physical features. The findings highlight the depth of canine cognition and suggest links to the evolution of human language and memory.

Key Facts

  • Functional Categorization: Dogs grouped toys by use (tugging vs. fetching) instead of looks.
  • No Training Needed: Skills emerged from natural play with owners, not formal instruction.
  • Language Insight: Results hint at shared cognitive roots between dogs and humans in learning words.

As infants, humans naturally learn new words and their associations—like the fact that forks are related to bowls because both are used to consume food.

In a study publishing in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on September 18, a team of animal behavior experts demonstrate that dogs can categorize objects by function, too.

In a series of playful interactions with their owners, a group of Gifted Word Learner (GWL) dogs were able to distinguish between toys used for tugging versus fetching, even when the toys in question didn’t share any obvious physical similarities—and then could remember those categorizations for long periods of time, all with no prior training. 

“We discovered that these Gifted Word Learner dogs can extend labels to items that have the same function or that are used in the same way,” says author Claudia Fugazza of Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.

It’s like a person calling both a traditional hammer and a rock by the same name, says Fugazza. 

“The rock and the hammer look physically different, but they can be used for the same function,” she says. “So now it turns out that these dogs can do the same.” 

The studies took place in the dogs’ natural home environments with their human owners. At the beginning, the dogs spent time getting familiar with verbal labels for two functional groups of objects: pull and fetch. Their owners used these words with specific toys and played with them accordingly even though the toys didn’t share any similar physical features. 

Next, the dogs were tested to see if they had learned to connect the functional labels to the correct group of toys before playing with more novel toys in the two distinct categories. However, this time, their owners didn’t use the “pull” and “fetch” labels for the dogs.  

The team found that the dogs were able to extend the functional labels they’d learned previously to the new toys based on their experience playing with them. In the final test, the dogs showed that they could successfully apply the verbal labels to the toys by either pulling or fetching accordingly, even when their owners hadn’t named them. 

“For these new toys, they’ve never heard the name, but they have played either pull or fetch, and so the dog has to choose which toy was used to play which game,” Fugazza says. “This was done in a natural setup, with no extensive training. It’s just owners playing for a week with the toys. So, it’s a natural type of interaction.” 

The authors note that the dogs’ ability to connect verbal labels to objects based on their functional classifications and apart from the toys’ physical attributes suggests that they form a mental representation of the objects based on their experience with their functions, which they can later recall.

These findings provide insight into the evolution of basic skills related to language and their relationship to other cognitive abilities, including memory, the researchers say. 

More research is needed to understand the scope and flexibility of dogs’ language categorization abilities. The researchers suggest future studies to explore whether dogs that don’t learn object labels may nevertheless have an ability to classify objects based on their functions. 

“We have shown that dogs learn object labels really fast, and they remember them for a long period, even without rehearsing,” Fugazza says. “And I think the way they extend labels also beyond perceptual similarities gives an idea of the breadth of what these labels could be for dogs.” 

Journal citation: “Dogs extend verbal labels for functional classification of objects” by Claudia Fugazza et al. Current Biology

Source: Neuroscience News

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What the global decline of greyhound racing means for all dogs

Posted on August 31, 2025 | Leave a comment

I’ve just read this piece by Dr Mia Cobb of the University of Melbourne and had to share it. Thankfully, it was published under a Creative Commons license to enable re-publication with citation.

For decades, greyhound racing has appeared resilient to welfare concerns. Despite ongoing media exposés about injury rates, training methods, doping and questions about how racing dogs live when they’re not on the track or where they go when no longer competitive, the industry continued operating in Australia.

But something has changed globally over the last year, and it has big implications for dogs worldwide.

This rapid cascade of bans signals something much bigger. Picture: Getty Images

But what does this mean for the other dogs in our lives? The detection dogs in our airports, the dogs assisting people with disabilities, those supporting students in our schools or even the dog asleep on your couch?

The ripple effect beyond the racetrack

My research shows that over 95 per cent of people say dog welfare is very important to them. Yet most of us rarely think about the lives of dogs in our communities beyond our beloved four-legged companions at home.

We may donate to assistance dog charities, watch border detection programs on TV and admire search-and-rescue teams helping in disaster zones without considering what daily life looks like for these canine workers.

As people become increasingly conscious about animal treatment, from farm animals to those in entertainment, this awareness is expanding to include all the ways we ‘use’ dogs.

Our expanding awareness of animal treatment now includes all the ways we ‘use’ dogs. Picture: Getty Images

The recent greyhound racing collapse demonstrates how quickly public support can evaporate when welfare concerns aren’t adequately addressed.

Consider the contrast between those who embrace scrutiny versus those that resist it.

Some organisations or operators working with dogs proactively demonstrate their welfare standards, welcome independent oversight and engage openly with concerns. Others operate behind closed doors or respond defensively when questions arise about how their animals are bred, reared, housed, trained and rehomed.

Those thriving under increased public attention share common approaches: they treat welfare as a core priority rather than a compliance exercise, even when it means making major changes to the way in which they operate (for example, their training methods or the equipment used).

They also understand that genuine transparency builds public trust in ways that defensive responses never can.

But there’s an important distinction between real change and ‘welfare washing’ surface-level improvements designed more for public relations than to genuinely assure animal wellbeing.

The public is becoming increasingly sophisticated at spotting the difference.

The speed of recent racing bans – three jurisdictions in around 18 months – shows how rapidly momentum can build once public opinion shifts.

What earning trust looks like

The organisations embracing increased welfare scrutiny share common characteristics.

They proactively demonstrate care standards rather than waiting for pressure. They welcome independent monitoring and engage genuinely with concerns rather than dismissing them.

There’s a reframing from dogs as tools we use to co-workers we partner with. Picture: Getty Images

Most importantly, they recognise that working with dogs comes with profound responsibilities.

This reframing, from dogs as tools we use to co-workers we partner with, means ensuring dogs have agency in their daily lives – the ability to make choices about when to rest, opportunities to be dogs rather than just workers and environments that offer them positive social and physical experiences.

It means transparency about career length, retirement plans, injury rates and living conditions. It means treating welfare as a core business priority, not a public relations exercise.

The dogs supporting our lives

International Dog Day provides an annual opportunity to shine a spotlight on all the dogs we rely on in our lives, not just our pets at home.

t’s a chance to ask: are we caring for these animals as well as we can?

The greyhound racing industry’s decline shows what happens when the answer is unclear or unconvincing.

Public trust, once lost, is extraordinarily difficult to rebuild, especially when alternatives exist that don’t rely on the use of real animals.

Everyone relying on dogs should be asking themselves: if public attention suddenly focused on our operation tomorrow, would we welcome that scrutiny? Can we demonstrate genuine care for our animals’ wellbeing, not just their productivity?

The dogs supporting our lives – whether working at airports, guiding people safely across roads or living as companions in our homes – deserve nothing less than our full consideration of their wellbeing.

Are we caring for these animals as well as we can? Picture: Getty Images

And as the racing industry is discovering, the public increasingly expects to see proof of that care, not just promises.

Those who can show genuinely wagging tails and happy dogs will thrive.

They’ll be part of building a sustainable future where our partnerships with dogs are genuinely rewarding for both species. Those who can’t may find themselves wondering how something that seemed so permanent could disappear so quickly.

The choice is theirs to make – but the window for making it may be narrower than they think.

Dr Cobb delivered invited, plenary and keynote international addresses on canine welfare at the Joint Symposium for Working K9s, International Working Dog Conference, International Guide Dog Federation Conference and the Canine Science Forum in 2025. 

Source: This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article.

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Research reveals sharing pet pics is among the best ways to connect with others

Posted on July 8, 2025 | Leave a comment

A re-post by Jessica Stillman from Inc…

I exercise each week with the help of a nifty fitness app (Ladder—it’s great) that offers workout plans from a personal trainer and encouragement from other users. The instructors are knowledgeable and the community encouraging. But neither is my favorite thing about the app. 

My favorite thing is when other users share pictures of their pets. 

Photo: Getty Images

Now, seeing a border collie doing downward dog right along with their owner is, of course, super-adorable. And I am not going to lie. I am a pet lover through and through. Animal pictures make me irrationally happy. 

But my giddiness at seeing someone’s golden retriever running buddy isn’t just about the universal appeal of cute animals or my over-the-top animal obsession. According to recent research, it reveals a useful truth that can help you build relationships not just at the gym, but at work too. 

If you want to connect with people more deeply, the Wharton School at the University of Pennyslyvania study indicates, sharing a picture of your pet is an ideal way to do it. 

Sharing personal information at work is a minefield

The study was born out of a common modern conundrum. Should you connect with colleagues on social media, and if so, what should you share? 

Like the rest of us, the research team realized that social media offered both promise and peril for workers. It can help you feel closer to teammates, which just might make you happier and more successful.  

“One of the things that we found in the study is that people will be much more comfortable connecting to other people who disclose personal information,” Wharton’s Nancy Rothbard, who was involved in the research, explained in one podcast interview. 

But then again, seeing your boss downing a beer with his bros or joking about her colonoscopy (or your boss seeing you doing the same) blurs boundaries that make a lot of us uncomfortable. 

As another Wharton professor, Adam Grant, once observed: “Authenticity without empathy is selfish. Of course we should be true to our values, but one of those values should probably be caring about others.” Your sharing shouldn’t cause others discomfort. 

How are office workers navigating this charged landscape? To find out, the researchers conducted a series of in-depth interviews and also reviewed data on actual social media use. 

Different people, different dangers 

To no one’s surprise, the interviews confirmed that the question of social media use and how much personal information to disclose at work is fraught.

As Rothbard memorially puts it, interviewees “would equate connecting with a boss on Facebook or Instagram as equivalent to connecting with their mother. It was sort of the same horror.”

The team also found that the calculation of what kind of personal information to share was different for different types of people. Women who disclosed more personal information were generally assessed more positively, for instance. This is likely because of stereotypes that suggest women should be warm and friendly. Male bosses who shared a lot, on the other hand, were quickly seen as creepy. 

To reap the benefits and avoid the potential pitfalls of social media at the office, workers employed various strategies, from being an open book to carefully curating their audience or content. (You can read more about these strategies here if you’re interested). 

But whatever strategy they employed, nearly everyone was attempting to hit the same target. They wanted to come across as warm and human so they could connect on a deeper human level. But they didn’t want to embarrass themselves or anyone else by oversharing or prying. 

A pet strategy for connection that works for everyone 

Handily, Rothbard and her colleagues uncovered a secret weapon that anyone can use to hit that elusive sweet spot — your dog. 

“Cute dog pics are a very, very hot commodity,” Rothbard correctly observes.

“If you have a cute dog and you want to post pictures of them, that’s a very good strategy, because people always love them, and they feel like they know you, and they feel connected to you. It gives them a sense of warmth that you’re displaying and a feeling that they know something about you that’s important, and that’s not fake or surface level. So, that personal disclosure really helps to create a bond between you and your fellow co-workers,” she goes on to explain. 

This tallies with a large body of social science research that shows people tend to evaluate others on two basic qualities, warmth and competence. When we meet someone our first instinct is to ask: are they nice? Do they wish me harm? And, are they any good at their job? Can they do the things they say they can do? 

Sharing pics of your weekend keg stand might get you tagged as warm, but it’s not going to do anything for perceptions of your competence. On the other hand, nailing every assignment but never saying a peep about your personal life is great for competence but lousy for warmth. Research suggests those that go furthest project both qualities. 

You know what also allows you to project warmth without undermining your air of professional competence? Your dog doing yoga with you. 

The bottom line here for everyone is a research-backed permission slip to let loose and pepper your team’s Slack channel with your cat’s wacky antics or dog’s doofy smile. You always knew your pets were super cute. Now you have data to prove they are also a secret weapon for connecting with others. 

But there’s also another takeaway here for entrepreneurs and other business leaders, illustrated by my love of my fitness app’s pet picture days. If you want your team or your users to bond without crossing boundaries that make anyone uncomfortable, pets are a go-to move. 

Create that dedicated chat for sharing animal pics. Show off your pooch at the beginning of the Zoom call. Organize a cutest pet pic contest among your team or your customers.

Getting people to talk about their animals is a science-backed way to help them truly connect without oversharing or awkwardness. 

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

Source: Inc.com

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Growing concerns about Librela/Beransa

Posted on May 12, 2025 | Leave a comment

Librela, known as Beransa in New Zealand, came onto the market in 2023 in both the USA and New Zealand (it has been introduced earlier in the UK and Europe, in 2021). In late 2023, I shared this post from Dr Darryl Millis about things to consider before choosing to use it with your dog.

Librela/Beransa is an injectable treatment for canine osteoarthritis manufactured by Zoetis.

The drug works by targeting and blocking the action of nerve growth factor, NGF, with a monoclonal antibody called bedinvetmab. NGF is a protein that plays a role in the pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis. By binding to NGF, bedinvetmab prevents NGF from activating its receptors on nerve cells, thus blocking the pain signal.

In December 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an open letter to veterinarians with an update on its evaluation of adverse effects. That report concluded:

Based on the evaluation and analysis of the reports and signs seen for Librela, the
recommendation is to add a Post Approval Experience (PAE) section to the current label:

Post Approval Experience Section (2024)
The following adverse events are based on post-approval adverse drug experience reporting
for LIBRELA. Not all adverse events are reported to FDA/CVM. It is not always possible to
reliably estimate the adverse event frequency or establish a causal relationship to product
exposure using these data.

The following adverse events in dogs are categorized in order of decreasing reporting
frequency by body system and in decreasing order of reporting frequency within each body
system:

Neurologic: ataxia, seizures, paresis, proprioceptive deficits, paralysis
General: anorexia, lethargy, recumbency
Renal/Urinary: polydipsia, polyuria/pollakiuria, urinary incontinence
Gastrointestinal: vomiting, diarrhea
Musculoskeletal: muscle weakness, muscle tremors, lameness
In some cases, death (including euthanasia) has been reported as an outcome of the
adverse events listed above.

In addition, we suggest that owners be advised of the adverse reactions that may occur
following administration of Librela.

In the USA, a lawsuit has been filed alleging that Zoetis acted in a negligent manner in promoting its product.

In Australia, a class action lawsuit is being prepared by pet owners who state that their veterinarians described Beransa as a safe and effective drug without known side effects.

Why am I writing this post? To educate and to inform. I’m mindful that many of the commercials for human medications these days remind consumers “All medications have risks and benefits. Talk to your doctor to see if this product is right for you.”

There are veterinarians and dog owners who are reporting good results with this medication, particularly for those dogs who are elderly and for whom other arthritis medications have not worked. If your vet has recommended Beransa, be sure they have explained the possible risks to you and that you are happy to accept those risks on behalf of your dog.

Kathleen Crisley is Fear-Free certified dog massage therapist and canine fitness trainer. She has a particular passion for working with dogs and their families to ensure injury prevention and quality of life. She specialises in working with anxious and emotionally damaged dogs. Her mobile practice, The Balanced Dog, is based in Christchurch, New Zealand

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