News

This month's quote is by the late Tom Hayden, a California politician who drafted the Hayden Act, which amended state law to expand impounding times for homeless animals and required many to be handed to adoption agencies.

In this post, I share guidance on the ''right" amount of dry dog food to buy and how to store and use it. Buying the largest bag you can get your hands on might sound economical, but may not be the healthy choice for your dog.

My Canine Corner column for February features ‘A dog is a man’s best friend’ 'Let sleeping dogs lie' and other sayings you will probably recognise.

At an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, there is a miniature bulldog made by Fabergé, who is best known as the maker of Easter eggs for the Russian royal family.

Researchers at Seoul National University are looking at ways that probiotics can help portly pets. In this post, I share their provisional results which show that two probiotics help to reduce inflammation and improve metabolism.

In her diary, Queen Victoria spoke about Eos, Prince Albert's greyhound

“Among all possible animal behavior that humans experience in everyday life, domestic dog tail wagging is one of the most common,” says Leonetti, who is now at the University of Turin in Italy. “But a lot of dog behavior remains a scientific enigma.” The research team poured through previous studies to figure out what elements of tail wagging are understood and which remain mysterious.

A team at the University of Wisconsin Madison aims to develop more sensitive ways to assess canine vision. “The method we currently use to assess vision in dogs is a very low bar. In humans, it would be equivalent to saying yes or no if a person was blind. We need more sensitive ways to assess vision in dogs, using a dog eye chart equivalent. We speculate that videos have the potential for sustaining a dog’s attention long enough to assess visual function, but we didn’t know what type of content is most engaging and appealing to dogs.”

Some dogs bought or adopted during the coronavirus pandemic have high levels of problem behaviours, a new study from the Royal Veterinary College suggests. As the cost of living situation puts pressure on families, it's possible that these dogs will be surrendered. Training and behaviour adjustment have never been more important!

Way back in 2013, I wrote a column for NZ Dog World about toxic algae. I've updated that article here to assist dog owners in understanding the conditions in which algae grows and why it is important that your dog avoid contaminated waters.