News

Last week, another review report (it's #3) into the greyhound racing industry in NZ was released. In this post, I highlight some of the key findings and conclusions. If you are interested in animal welfare in this country, please read!

This month's quote comes from author Steven Rowley.

This column from the website money.co.uk uses statistics gained from social media to rank dog breeds that are the most destructive. Studies like this use skewed statistics - because if the Labrador is the most popular breed of dog, chances are they are more likely to have a greater number of insurance claims.

Researchers call it "reciprocal altruism" but from this particular study, it doesn't look like dogs will return favours. I'm sure Lassie would disagree.

A day off is precious - to get things done and for spending quality time with Izzy

It may be the depths of winter now, but it is time to start planning for spring and the gardening season. This month's column in NZ Dog World provides dog-friendly gardening tips.

Those of us who have worked with shelter dogs will find this as no surprise - but now there's scientific data to show that dogs are stressed and restless when housed in the shelter environment.

The quote for the month of August is from Charles Darwin

Our dogs' ability to understand human gestures is a complex cognitive ability that is rare in the animal kingdom. Our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, can’t do it. And the dogs’ closest relative, the wolf, can’t either. Read about this new research from Duke University in my latest blog.

The book Buddhism for Pet Lovers uses the principles of Tibetan Buddhism to explain our relationship with companion animals and what we can do to enhance our bond. The chapter on end of life has been particularly useful since I have lost several dogs in my practice over the last 7 weeks.