Greeks, we salute you...

Loukanikos is an unusual protester.  He is a stray dog living on the streets of Athens and has become famous for joining in on the many protests and riots which have taken place there the past year. Often found at the front lines dodging tear gas and barking at the police, he has become a mascot for the protesters, and a symbol for the ongoing fight.  He has become popular and famous with a large following on Facebook.  He even  has a website dedicated to him with videos and photos:

http://rebeldog.tumblr.com/

This is 2011. Or is it?

A Jewish rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a stray dog it feared was the reincarnation of a lawyer who insulted its judges, reports say.
The dog entered the Jerusalem financial court several weeks ago and would not leave, reports Israeli website Ynet.
It reminded a judge of a curse passed on a now deceased secular lawyer about 20 years ago, when judges bid his spirit to enter the body of a dog.
The animal is said to have escaped before the sentence was carried out.
One of the judges at the court in the city's ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood had reportedly asked local children to carry out the sentence.
An animal welfare organisation filed a complaint with the police against a court official, who denied reports that judges had ordered the dog's stoning but a court manager told Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot the stoning had been ordered as "as an appropriate way to 'get back at' the spirit which entered the poor dog".  according to Ynet.
Dogs are considered impure animals in traditional Judaism.

Dogville

A humane organisation of Brazil has built an entire neighbourhood for around 1,600 stray dogs. Located in the southern city of Caxias do Sul, the pooch favela is probably the only one of its kind in the whole world. Due to lack of funds to build a proper dog shelter, the volunteers of the So Ama organisation were forced to build 1,000 dog houses and chain the dogs next to them. The 1,600 dogs and 200 cats are definitely not easy to take care of, and right now the dog favela is just trying to make ends meet. The $14,000 it receives monthly, from municipal authorities, and the donations are not enough to cover all the costs, which include 13 tons of food and veterinary services.

Who's next?

Which dog school are they attending, I wonder?

Bling for dogs

Border Terrier Smike's owner can't be strapped for cash - she bought him a dog collar with a built in £2,500 Rolex watch as a birthday gift.
Designer Alison Jones, 27, said: "It's the ultimate accessory."

Message to Smike's owner from Merseyside: "Don't leave Smike unattended outside the supermarket."

Dog versus human

Here are some interesting facts:

1. Body Temperature

Canine normal body temperature is between 38° to 39.2° Celsius.  The commonly accepted average body temperature in humans is 36.8° Celsius.

2. Respiratory Rate

Dogs: 10-34 breaths per minute, unless panting.  In human adults over 18:  12-20 breaths per minute.
Normal respiratory rates are assessed when the dog/person is at rest. Pain, heart or respiratory problems, heatstroke will usually increase respiratory rates.

3. Heart Rate

Dogs: beats per minute: 60 – 100 for large breeds, 100 – 140 for small breeds.  In human adults 60-80 bpm.

Larger dogs have slower rates than small dogs, and dogs that are in good physical shape will have lower heart rates than dogs of similar age and size who are not physically fit. Puppies typically have higher heart rates, up to 180 bpm; this is normal up to one year of age.  Normal heart rate in children is variable and depends on the child’s age.

4. Duration of Pregnancy

On average, canine pregnancy lasts 63 days.  In humans: 9 months say 274 days.  Elephants: 624 days.   The larger the animal, the longer the gestation period.   

5. Number of Teeth

Puppies have 28 teeth; adult dogs have 42 teeth.  The loss of baby teeth usually starts at about 3 months and ends by 6 to 9 months.
A child has 20 baby teeth and they start falling out at about age 6.  An adult has 32 teeth including wisdom teeth.
Silly question: do dogs have wisdom teeth?  I must ask our vet.

Shock collars - The Shoking Truth

      

There are now a number of ‘quick fix’ products available to dog owners who wish to modify the behaviour of their pet. One such device is the electric collar. The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors feels that the use of devices that rely on pain or discomfort to modify behaviour are inappropriate as they have the potential to seriously compromise the welfare of dogs, and ruin the relationship with their owners.

Shock Collar Risks

Despite advances in our understanding of dog behaviour and training, and the general move towards reward-based training techniques, some people still continue to recommend the use of punishment as the best method of training or dealing with behaviour problems. While shock collars can work to suppress behaviour, their use comes with unacceptable risks, and inevitably the underlying reasons for the problem behaviour are not dealt with. Even in experienced hands, it can be difficult to deliver shocks at the right moment and to predict the level of discomfort or pain experienced by a dog; in inexperienced hands the use of shock collars can often result in poorly timed intense electric shocks that induce fear and ongoing anxiety in the dog. Owners are often unaware of the high levels of pain that they may be causing their dog.

Aggression and Shock Collars

One of the most common behaviour problems encountered with dogs is that of aggression. In many cases, aggression is motivated by fear. When a dog is nervous or frightened, a natural behavioural strategy is to use aggression to get rid of the “threat”. Placing a shock collar on such a dog to stop it being aggressive can result in the dog becoming even more fearful of the situation, which can make the aggression more likely in the future. The use of a shock collar to try and stop aggressive behaviour can also suppress the warning signs displayed by a dog before it is aggressive, which can make the behaviour of the dog less predictable and more dangerous.

Barking and Shock Collars

The risks of using an electric shock to modify behaviour extend to the treatment of other behaviour problems in dogs such as barking. Dogs learn by association - when using a shock collar there is always a risk that the dog may associate the shock with something other than the behaviour that people are trying to stop. For instance, if a shock is administered for barking, there is a danger that the dog might associate a nearby child with the pain of the shock, rather than its own barking. This could lead to the dog developing distrust or even fear of children. Another significant risk with the use of shock collars is that rather than linking the shock to the wrong thing, a dog may not be able to link the shock to anything at all! This often results in the dog becoming totally confused, anxious and stressed as it repeatedly suffers the pain of the electric shock for no apparent reason.

The APBC feels that behaviour problems can be best addressed through behaviour modification programmes based on an understanding of the motivation for each dog’s behaviour, and the use of humane, reward-based training methods.

Reference: http://www.apbc.org.uk/