Ten Things Pets Can Do Better Than People

By Linda Cole

We humans have a tendency to present our species as being the most sophisticated, smartest and superior. But when it comes down to it, there are many things animals can do a lot better than we can.

1. Gripping Ability 

If you've ever played tug-of-war with your dog, you know how strong his grip is. The average bite force of a dog is 320 pounds per square inch. Humans have an average bite force of 120 psi. The Mastiff has the highest bite force at 552.

2. Speed

A dog running at full stride is beauty in motion. It's almost as if they are racing the wind. The fastest human, Usain Bolt, holds the running record at 28 mph, and has an average running speed of 23 mph. But his speed isn't even close to the fastest dog, the Greyhound, with an average speed of 40 mph and a top running speed of 45 mph. When you add endurance, humans would be gasping for breath long before most canines stopped.

3. Navigate Tight Spaces

As a lifelong cat owner, I'm constantly reminded that no matter how small an opening, never assume a curious cat can't squeeze through it. Ultra-sensitive whiskers help a cat judge the size of an opening, and a free floating collarbone allows her to squeeze through tight openings. If the head fits, the entire body will follow just fine.

4. A Nose That Knows

The ability of dogs to pick up scents in the air is truly amazing. The canine brain is wired to process smells, and gives them a sort of “visual image” that is as vivid to them as a photograph is to us. Almost half of the dog's brain is dedicated to analyzing scents. The average canine nose has between 125 to 300 million scent receptors to our mere 5 million.

5. Purr Therapy

An old veterinary school saying “If you put a cat and a sack of broken bones in the same room, the bones will heal,” may seem farfetched, but researchers have discovered cat purrs do have a healing ability. Cats purr when they're happy, but they also purr when injured, giving birth and even at the end of life. The feline purr is between 25 and 150 Hertz, which is the best frequency range to promote healing in feline bones and muscles, and improve bone density.

6. Radar-like Ears

Dogs track a sound by moving their ears to locate exactly where it's coming from, and can pinpoint the source to 6/100th of a second. An average dog can hear sounds four times farther away than we can, and ten times better. Eighteen muscles in each ear gives dogs radar-like control to follow an interesting sound (like when you are opening up his favorite CANIDAE treats!). We hear sounds at 20,000 cycles per second; dogs hear sounds at 40,000 to 60,000 cycles per second.

7. Sniff Out Trouble

We've come a long way from the first seeing eye dog, Buddy, who made history when he safely guided his blind owner across a busy New York City intersection in 1928. Since then, we have successfully trained dogs to detect seizures, cancer, low blood sugar, peanuts (for those with allergies) and other medical conditions and possible life-threatening situations.

8. Make a Perfect Landing

A cat's flexible spine is what allows her to twist, turn and perform acrobatic acts. Felines are born with the ability to right themselves in mid-air to make a perfect landing on their feet. The first thing a falling cat does is rotate her head, then the spine, and finally the rear legs. To soften the impact, she will arch her back. Many cats have survived falls from heights of seven stories or more. The higher the fall, the more time the cat has to right herself.

9. Super Vision

Feline eyes are designed to see in low light to locate prey. Proportionately larger than our eyes, cat eyes have super reflective cells called tapetum lucidum, which reflects light like a mirror to give rods and cones in the eye a second chance to pick up all available light. Larger eyes and the tapetum make it possible for cats to see in very low light and pick up movement, and is why their eyes glow at night.

10. Predict Earthquakes

The paw pads of dogs and cats are super sensitive, and seismologists believe some pets may be able to detect P-waves before an earthquake hits. P-waves are the fastest moving waves just before an earthquakes occurs.

Top photo by Kathleen Tyler Conklin
Middle photo by Anssi Koskinen
Bottom photo by Mark Watson

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What is Impulse Control in Dogs?

Keikei

By Linda Cole

I didn't really understand what impulse control was until our dog Keikei came to live with us. She was an adorable and happy 8 week old puppy who quickly adjusted to us and the other dogs. But as she grew, she became overly excited to go outside. By the time she was 4 months old, her excitement escalated to a point of no return, and she was easily agitated. She was the perfect example of a dog that needed to learn impulse control.

In our world, impulse control is delayed gratification, resisting an impulse for immediate satisfaction of a desire or temptation. Instead of spending your entire paycheck on an expensive vacation package, you spread the cost out over time to lessen the financial impact on your wallet. Your budget for this month is tight, so you skip the Friday nights out so you can pay the bills. We learn as children that no matter how much we might want something right now, whether it's a new toy, going to a concert or staying overnight with a friend – immediate desires or wants don't always happen. So (hopefully) we learn early on the need for impulse control.

Controlling a puppy's impulse isn't difficult because of their smaller size, and most pups can be picked up to stop an unwanted reaction to something they want. If your terrier puppy finds a chipmunk hole in your prized flower bed, you can pick him up to stop him from digging, and then figure out how to humanely relocate the chipmunk without ruining your flowers. But depending on a pup's age, not all puppies can be picked up to control an impulse. That's one reason why it's important to start puppy training as soon as you bring him home. Unfortunately, as a pup grows up, he becomes more independent and if you didn't teach him at a young age how to control his impulses, his unwanted behavior will remind you of the importance of dog training. A dog that obeys basic commands is easier to control, and that is one way you can keep him safe.

All dogs should know how to sit, come, drop it, leave it and stay/wait. Teaching your pet is something you have to make a commitment to do, and starting when your dog is young helps you ward off bad behavior as he gets older. You might be surprised to discover how quickly dogs can learn. Some canines are free thinkers, some are more stubborn and some are sensitive, but all dogs can learn if you commit to their training. The Border Collie sits at the top of the list of smartest dogs, not because they are the Einsteins of dogs, but because they only need a few repetitions to learn something new. The Bloodhound is close to the bottom because it takes many more repetitions for him to catch on. It's our job to find out what motivates our pet to learn. Dog training is a process that requires patience, as well as understanding who your dog is as an individual.

Teaching a dog to sit and wait is one of the best ways to help him relax and learn impulse control. A dog who grabs a CANIDAE treat from your hand or practically knocks you over trying to get out the door is telling you he doesn't understand how to control himself. His excitement to get what he wants right now causes unintended bad behavior. You can change his behavior by having him sit calmly to get what he wants so he learns to control himself. Sitting patiently has an added advantage and helps him learn to focus on you to find out what's next, which is one way you earn your dog's respect and leadership role.

Start slow, be patient and calm, use positive reinforcement and give your dog plenty of opportunities to be successful. Once he learns a command, practice it daily. Keikei learned her commands very quickly, especially sit and drop it, and she's extremely responsive when learning something new. If she has trouble containing her excitement when going outside, putting her in a sit/stay calms her down and makes it much easier to control her desire to herd the other dogs down the steps and out the door. Working with her to control her excitement also gave me an opportunity to teach her how to wait.

Dogs don't understand what impulse control means. To them, everything they do is natural behavior, and the only consequence is not getting what they want sooner. As responsible dog owners, it's up to us to help our dogs learn to suppress natural desires, like herding anything that moves, digging up a flower bed or chasing a squirrel. Keeping their excitement under control is how you keep your dog safe, and it keeps other pets, property and people safe, too.

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Is There a “Right” Way to Pet a Dog?

By Linda Cole

It may not seem that important, but how you pet a dog does matter… to the dog. Because canines are individuals, the “sweet spot” one dog enjoys may be an area you need to avoid with another, especially if you don't know the dog. It's important to teach children how to touch a dog to keep interactions between them safe and pleasant. Petting seems like a simple concept, but there are some things to keep in mind.

Wait for an invitation

Our first impulse is to reach down to pet a friendly looking dog, but in his eyes that's not a proper greeting. How you greet a dog matters. Ignore him while he takes a few minutes to check you out, and remember to ask the dog's owner for permission to pet him. If the dog doesn't appear interested in you or is holding back and hiding behind his owner, he may not be in the mood to have someone he doesn't know petting him. He'll let you know when he's ready for you to scratch his head.

Our own pets are comfortable with us because of the trust and bond we've built. We can pet them in ways they wouldn't allow someone else to do, and are much more likely to accept things from us they wouldn't from someone they aren't familiar with. Never try to pet an unfamiliar dog who is trying to move away from you, is cornered, eating or lying down.

Use body language to put him at ease

Avoid reaching down towards a dog to pet him. Most canines don't appreciate having a hand swooping down from above. It's a threatening gesture in their eyes. Instead of standing over him, turn your body sideways and don't make direct eye contact, which can be seen as a threatening gesture. Ignore him and allow the dog to make first contact. If he's a shy or timid dog, when he feels you are not a threat he'll approach you if he wants you to pet him.

Another way to show you aren't threatening is to sit on the ground or squat down to the dog's level. If he's unsure, turn your body sideways to him or sit with your back to him and wait for him to come to you. Only do this if you know you aren't dealing with an aggressive or scared dog. This is also a good tactic to use when trying to teach your own dog to come when you call him. It makes him curious, and most dogs will come over see what you're doing. You've put him at ease and he feels more comfortable approaching you. As long as you ask before giving a treat to someone else's dog, tempting a shy dog with some CANIDAE Pure Heaven treats is one way to get his attention.

Non-threatening areas to pet

Stay away from the head, ears, mouth, tail and paws. The chest, shoulders and base of the neck are the more comfortable areas for most dogs. Move in from the side so you aren't threatening. Some dogs like being touched at the base of their tail, but if you have never interacted with the dog before, it's best to stay around the chest and neck regions. When you've developed a positive and trusting relationship, you have more leeway with where you are allowed to touch. You should be able to touch your own dog anywhere on his body.

Be gentle and calm

Use a gentle massaging motion that follows the direction of the fur. The idea is to calm a dog with soft, gentle strokes to help him relax and enjoy being petted. You can tell if he likes what you're doing because he will lean into your hand while you pet him. And he will also let you know if he wants some more when you've stopped petting. Stay away from patting, slapping or rubbing too hard to avoid getting him wound up or scared. Hugging an unfamiliar dog isn't a good idea, because a hug is perceived as being inhibiting and is uncomfortable for many dogs. Stay away from kissing dogs you aren't familiar with.

Your own pet is willing to give you a lot more latitude because of the bond you've built. We need to touch the ears, tail, paws and mouth so we can cut toenails, brush teeth or clean their ears. We know where they like to be touched during play or while sitting on the couch cuddling. When you show a dog respect, he will give you his.

Top photo by Machu.
Bottom photo by USAG-Humphreys

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Top 5 Cat-Friendly Dogs

By Langley Cornwell

In the past, I’ve only shared my home with dogs – and those dogs had little to no interaction with cats. On those unfortunate occasions when they did interact with cats, it usually turned out poorly for me. It would invariably happen when I was walking both dogs at once and a cat would saunter across our path, glancing slyly at us with a gleam in its eye. My big dogs would take off on cue, lunging on the leashes like sled dogs, and it would take every ounce of my might not to do a face plant right on the pavement.

Experiences like these made me marvel at dogs that got along with cats. I thought that “those dogs” were rare and wondrous, that their humans must have worked long and hard to get them comfortable with “the opposite” species. At that time, in my mind dogs and cats were like day and night or black and white – they were opposites. Then I met my husband, a Real Man Who Loves Cats. When we decided it was time to add to our family, we went to the shelter and came back with a dog and a cat.

Our dog and cat have formed a tight interspecies bond; they are good friends. With appropriate socialization, most dogs and cats can live together harmoniously. Some breeds seem to be more accepting of feline friends than others, however. Here are five dog breeds that are recognized as being cat-friendly:

Golden and Labrador Retrievers

Big, happy and athletic, retrievers love everybody. Known for their devoted and obedient nature, retrievers are easy to socialize with other dogs and with cats. Many households that have retrievers also have cats, proving that size doesn’t matter.

Chihuahuas

Chihuahuas are known for their self-reliant, confident personalities. Even though they are fearless, they seem to have a soft spot for felines. In fact, Chihuahuas and cats seem to genuinely enjoy one another, often seeking each other out.

Boston Terriers

The lively Boston Terrier is a cat-friendly dog. Their intellect and determination make them easy to train, so if your cat is the type that likes to have plenty of personal space, this dog breed may be a good addition to the family. They will likely develop a mutual respect, at the very least.

Maltese

Charming and good-looking, Maltese are smart dogs that love to please. Because they’re fast learners, even if your cat can't figure out that running away will cause dogs to chase him, the Maltese can be trained to ignore the cat. These dogs are naturally gentle-natured, so they are excellent companions to cats.

Cocker Spaniels 

Cocker Spaniels catch on to things quickly, and readily obey their human companions. Most will happily cuddle with anything, human or feline, within paw’s length. Good for households with an existing cat, this breed seems to have a penchant for smaller creatures.

These are just a few of the many breeds known to connect well with cats. Generally speaking, dog breeds that are said to be intelligent and have a good temperament usually adapt to new experiences more easily and coexist more harmoniously with cats and other animals.

Even so, the relationship between a dog and a cat will vary depending on each animal’s personalities, social skills, past experiences and a variety of other factors. With very few exceptions, almost any dog can learn to be cat-friendly if he’s gradually and lovingly socialized, preferably at a young age. Plenty of patience and CANIDAE Grain Free Pure Heaven Biscuits worked for us.

Do you have interspecies friendships in your home? If so, did it happen immediately, or did the animals take time to warm up to one another?

Top photo by Pete Markham
Middle photo by Aviva West
Bottom photo by CavinB

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Do Dogs Fall in Love Like in the Movies?

By Tamara McRill

Remember that romantic kiss scene in Lady and the Tramp? You know the one…where they are eating a big plate of spaghetti and unknowingly slurping away at the same noodle, until their snouts meet in a smooch. Then Tramp noses the last meatball across the plate to Lady.

Aww. So adorable, right? Not to kill the cuteness factor, but have you ever wondered whether dogs can really fall head-over-paws in love like that?

Doggy love is a hard topic to find solid research on, maybe because it’s hard to qualify the emotion separate from simple affection. A lot of scientists seem to just flat out not believe in it.

Anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Social Lives of Dogs, believes that dogs can fall in love. In her book, she tells the story of Sundog and Bean, two dogs that met each other by chance and only had the pleasure of each other’s company for a brief period of time. Bean’s owner was a builder and they were off as soon as the job was finished.

Sundog would still faithfully wait to hear the sound of the vehicle Bean’s owner drove, but to no avail. He stopped eating and slept more often. Even bringing in another female dog didn’t interest him. As for Bean, her owner believed she was yearning for Sundog, even to the extent that she would run away, looking for him.

Sundog and Bean’s doggie “romance” may not be quite like it is in the movies, since their story lacked a happy ending, but their love seems real enough to me. Even a little reminiscent of Ben and Jade’s touching story, “Ties that Bind: What One Dog Did for Love.” Except that Ben and Jade did have a happy ending where, after trials and tribulations, they found each other again…much like Beethoven and Missy in the movie Beethoven’s 2nd.

I’ve only had two dogs that I ever considered “in a relationship.” Bo and Daisy were malamute and husky mixes that were bonded from birth. They played together and had puppies together.

Daisy passed away first and although Bo was sad, he seemed to recover fairly quickly. I’m sure this had much to do with his incredible bond with my mother. So were Bo and Daisy two dogs in love? It’s not like they were separated long enough to search each other out like Ben and Jade did and dramatically prove their devotion, but who am I to judge? I think it’s entirely possible they were “in love.”

So yes, it seems to me that dogs can fall in love with other dogs, just like Perdita had her Pongo in 101 Dalmatians and Marmaduke had both his Jezebel and, ultimately, his Mazie. Maybe one of these days I’ll get to witness my Wuppy nosing his CANIDAE Pure Heaven treats over to the love of his doggy life. We’re not just talking about fleeting puppy love here, but a long-lasting, deep emotional bond. Surely that’s favorite treat share-worthy!

Has your dog ever fallen in love with another dog?

Top photo by Michael Gil
Bottom photo by Droid Gingerbread

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How to Bring Out the Best in Your Dog

By Langley Cornwell

What? Your dog is perfect? Well then, move along. There’s nothing for you to learn here. But if you’re like me, there are things we could do to make our dogs happier and our lives easier. It’s a simple concept, really. It all starts with determining what “type” of dog you have and then tailoring your activities to suit them.

Dogs generally fall into broad categories like couch potato, exercise nut, curious intellectual and loner. By accommodating their natural tendencies, you will bring out the best in your dog.

Couch Potato

Our newest dog is a complete couch potato; his idea of a good time is snuggling on the sofa all day. Because of this, I don’t expect him to be the outstanding athlete that our (loner) other dog is. Even so, we know it’s important to make sure he gets some sort of daily exercise and mental stimulation, but we don’t push him to run laps around the ball field. When we’re settled in for the evening, if we make sure there’s plenty of space on the couch for him to be near one of us, he’s happy. With regular, low stress walks and loads of personal interaction, we’re bringing out the best in this dog.

Loner

Our other dog definitely falls into the category of being a loner. When we’re all snuggled on the couch, she’s either at the far end, with plenty of personal space, or she’s on a bed in another room. She’s a happy dog and we interact with her a good bit, but when it’s quiet time, she wants to be left alone. According to Modern Dog Magazine, loner-type dogs do well with activities that reinforce a solid and dependable relationship with you.

These dogs like predictable routines they can rely on. If you have a loner, you’ll bring out the best in her if you establish daily training sessions that include plenty of praise and rewards. To foster a closer bond with a loner, you may try hand feeding her with a nutritious, high quality dog food like CANIDAE Grain Free PURE elements.

Exercise Nut

Some dogs must have an all-out workout every day or they simply cannot relax. If this is the case with your dog, develop some activities that you can do together to make sure he gets adequate physical exercise. Take care, however, that you don’t allow your dog to develop so much that he turns into an exercise junkie who needs more exertion than you can offer.

Just make sure you don’t over train your dog unless you’re interested in agility training or disc training. If you have an exercise nut, you’ll bring out the best in him if you provide adequate workouts, but it’s also very important to teach this type of dog how to relax.  

Curious Intellectual

You’ve heard of the dogs that can open the most intricate latches and pry off the lid of double locked trash cans. If you have an intellectual dog, they need to have a good, regular mental workout or they could turn their smarts into destructive behavior. More complex training exercises like tracking, herding or even the cognitively demanding Treibball will satisfy the intellectual dog. Along with brain-stimulating activities, curious intellectual-type dogs should get proper daily physical exercise as well.

Does your dog fall into any of these categories? Or maybe your dog is a mix of several; our loner has exercise nut tendencies. Tell us about your dog, and what you do to bring out the best in him or her.

Top photo by AnnieCatBlue
Bottom photo by Dan Bennett

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Do Dogs Understand Human Speech?

By Langley Cornwell

Most dog people believe that their pets can understand them; some say their pets are in tune with their moods and emotions, and some even go so far as to say that their pets understand their actual words.

Nonetheless, scientists have yet to conclusively determine how much human speech dogs can truly understand. If you have a dog, you know they are able to link sounds with actions (let’s go for a walk, get in the car, lay down, shake, bow, etc.) but they struggle with concepts. For example, if you say, “Go get a toy” the dog will do just that. But if you have a ball and a rope side by side and you say, “Go get the rope” the dog may have a hard time determining which toy you are asking for.

There are exceptions to this. In fact, my friend’s yellow lab has 5 Frisbees, each a different color. If you tell her to get the pink one, she does. Likewise, if you ask her to bring you the red one, she does. Clearly, my friend’s dog displays a high level of cognition. And all of this is without any training!

Research confirms that dogs can functionally understand and use concepts like larger and different with a good bit of training with high value rewards like Canidae Pure Heaven treats, but my friend’s dog simply has this ability. Most dogs can label objects but have problems with differences like color or size (bring me the red Frisbee, bring me the big ball).

A well-known experiment conducted by German researchers confirmed that a Border Collie named Rico had a vocabulary of over 200 words. The researchers started by validating Rico’s vocabulary in a controlled setting. To do this, they collected 10 items Rico was familiar with. They had Rico’s owner issue a verbal command for the dog to fetch a specific item from another room. Rico performed this task perfectly. Next, the researchers wanted to take the experiment a step further so they placed another item –  one that was unfamiliar to Rico – among the familiar items. The owner requested the new item by name, even though Rico didn’t know the name of the item, and Rico brought the new item back to his owner.

Researchers performed this test multiple times with different new items. Remarkably, Rico brought back the correct item 70 percent of the time. This experiment illustrated that the dog not only understood human speech but also knew how to use the process of elimination.

Stanley Coren, a psychologist who is known for his extensive research on the subject of dog intelligence, believes that the average trained dog knows around 160 words. According to the Discovery’s Animal Planet, Coren believes that some dogs even show a vocabulary as vast as a human toddler's.

Have you ever watched any YouTube videos of a dog called Skidboot? It’s hard to tell if this dog is just really well trained or if he can actually understand human speech. Either way, be careful. I lost more time today than I care to admit; once I started watching this dog, I couldn’t get enough.

What about you? Do you think your dog understands your words?

Top photo by Annheathen
Middle photo by Pippalou
Bottom photo courtesy of David Hartwig

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