Category: Dogs

Guiding your pup through New Homes and New Faces.

… and New Routines.

Busy dog owners juggling moves, new jobs, breakups, new babies, or a new roommate often notice something unsettling: a dog who once seemed “fine” starts acting differently. These life changes affecting pets can quietly reshape household dynamics, disrupting routines that help dogs feel safe and understood. When a familiar schedule shifts, pet emotional well-being can wobble, and routine disruption may show up as clinginess, restlessness, accidents, barking, withdrawal, or other behavioral changes in pets. Knowing that these reactions are often signals, not “bad behavior”, gives dog owners a clearer, kinder way to respond.

Why Routine Keeps Dogs Feeling Secure

Dogs build comfort from repeated patterns like meal times, walks, and who comes and goes. When those patterns change, many dogs feel unsure, and their bodies switch into “alert mode.” That stress can look like pacing, panting, whining, hiding, barking, extra licking, stomach upset, or sudden accidents.

This matters because a disrupted routine can shake a dog’s emotional stability, even if nothing “bad” is happening. When you read these shifts as stress signals, you can respond with support instead of frustration. That protects trust and often prevents small issues from becoming long-term habits.

Think of a dog’s day like a familiar map. If the map suddenly changes, your dog may try different behaviors to find safety again, including sticking close or acting jumpy. With this lens, simple strategies can restore calm during moves, new family members, or schedule changes.

Use These 8 Transition Tactics to Keep Your Dog Calm

Big changes can make even a confident dog feel wobbly, because the predictable patterns they rely on suddenly shift. These tactics keep the message consistent: “You’re safe, and I’ve got you,” even when everything else looks different.

  1. Protect the “non‐negotiables” schedule: Pick 2–3 anchors that stay steady no matter what, usually breakfast, one walk, and bedtime. Cornell’s Riney Canine Health Center recommends you schedule your dog’s meals and other daily needs so your dog can predict what’s coming. If your life is chaotic during a move or a new baby, keep those anchors consistent and let the “flex” stuff (like extra play) vary.
  2. Pack and unpack in “scent-safe” zones: During moving week, choose one room as your dog’s calm base camp. Set up a bed, water, and a worn T‐shirt that smells like you, and keep that room off-limits to loud packing whenever possible. On arrival, unpack your dog’s things first so the new space immediately includes familiar smells and routines.
  3. Teach a comfort cue before you need it: Pick one simple cue such as “mat” or “settle,” then practice for 1–2 minutes a few times a day when things are calm. Reward your dog for lying on a blanket or bed while you sit nearby, then gradually add tiny distractions (standing up, opening a drawer). When life changes, you’ll have a practiced “go relax here” skill instead of trying to invent calm in the moment.
  4. Introduce new people with sideways bodies and short wins: For visitors, roommates, or a new partner, ask the person to ignore your dog at first, no reaching, no hovering, no face-to-face staring. Have them toss treats past your dog so your dog can approach and retreat without pressure. Keep the first few meetings to 5–10 minutes, then take a break before your dog gets overwhelmed.
  5. Run “baby practice” or “new family member” rehearsals: If a baby or new pet is coming, rehearse the sounds and movements now. Play baby noises softly during meals, walk around holding a doll or bundled blanket, and reward calm behavior. This kind of prep matters because how much they must learn during major transitions is easy for humans to underestimate.
  6. Buffer work-schedule changes with a mini routine: If you’re leaving earlier or coming home later, shift by 10–15 minutes every couple of days rather than all at once when you can. Add a predictable “departure ritual” (quick potty, 2 minutes of gentle play, food puzzle) and a predictable “reunion ritual” (calm greeting, then outside). This prevents your comings and goings from feeling random, one of the biggest routine disruptors.
  7. Use environmental enrichment to drain stress, not hype it up: Stress often looks like restlessness, pacing, or clinginess, so give your dog a job that uses their brain and nose. Try scatter-feeding in a snuffle spot, a simple cardboard “find it” game, or a frozen food toy during the loudest parts of the day. Choose calming enrichment over high-arousal games when your dog is already on edge.
  8. Aim for “slightly easier than your dog can handle today”: When your dog is anxious, progress is tiny and steady: one step closer to the new stroller, one extra minute in the new yard, one calmer greeting. If your dog freezes, hides, or won’t take treats, the challenge is too big, back up and make it simpler. That gentle pacing helps your dog rebuild trust in their environment, which makes it much easier to keep a steady week of routines going.
  9. Habits That Build Security During Big Life Shifts
  10. When change is unavoidable, consistency becomes communication. These practices help you read your dog’s behavior with more empathy, reinforce trust through predictable patterns, and build emotional resilience a little at a time.
  11. Three-Pillar Daily Check
  12. ● What it is: Do a 60-second scan of physical wellness, cognitive wellness, and nervous system wellness.
  13. ●  How often: Daily
  14. ●  Why it helps: You catch stress early and meet needs before behavior escalates.Predictable Decompression Walk
  15. ●  What it is: Take a low-key sniff walk with no training goals and lots of choice.
  16. ●  How often: Daily
  17. ●  Why it helps: Sniffing releases tension and helps your dog feel oriented.Two-Minute Connection Rep
  18. ●  What it is: Do two minutes of gentle play, grooming, or hand-feeding with full attention.
  19. ●  How often: Daily
  20. ●  Why it helps: Micro-bonding reduces clinginess and builds confidence in you.One New Thing, Then Easy
  21. ●  What it is: Add one small novelty, then follow with a familiar, simple activity.
  22. ●  How often: 3 times weekly
  23. ●  Why it helps: Your dog learns change predicts safety, not overwhelm.Adjustment Notes Log
  24. ●  What it is: Track sleep, appetite, and triggers during the adjustment period.
  25. ●  How often: Weekly
  26. ●  Why it helps: Patterns guide smarter tweaks to your routine and environment.Common Questions About Dogs and Big Life ChangesQ: How can moving to a new home affect my dog’s emotional well-being and daily routine?
    A:     A move can unsettle your dog’s sense of safety, so you may see whining, pacing, or accidents while they learn the new map of home. Many dogs may adjust within a few weeks, especially with familiar feeding, potty, and walk times. Next steps: track what seems to trigger stress and tighten the routine around those moments.Q: What are effective strategies to help my dog adjust when our household dynamics change, such as welcoming a new baby?
    A:     Your dog may become clingy or reactive because attention, sounds, and scents suddenly change. Keep key rituals steady, add a calm “safe zone,” and reward relaxed behavior near baby related items at a distance your dog can handle. Track triggers like crying or visitors, then adjust the daily plan in tiny, repeatable steps.Q: In what ways do changes in my work schedule impact my dog’s stress levels and behavior?
  27. A: Shifts in your hours can raise uncertainty, which often shows up as barking, restlessness, or door watching. Set predictable alone time practice, use a consistent pre departure cue, and increase enrichment that does not rely on you being home. If problems cluster at certain times, log them and reorganize exercise, potty breaks, and quiet time around that pattern.
  28. Q: What signs indicate that my dog is struggling with transitions, and how can I support them?
  29. A: Look for appetite changes, sleep disruption, increased startle, hiding, sudden accidents, or new shadowing behavior. Support starts with ruling out pain or illness, then simplifying the environment and rewarding calm choices. Your best two moves are to track triggers for a week and revise the routine plan based on what your notes reveal.
  30. Q: If I feel overwhelmed balancing pet care with pursuing a new healthcare career path, what resources can help me manage both effectively?
  31. A: Feeling stretched is common, especially when you are building a new identity and schedule. Create a short, written care checklist for mornings and evenings, then ask a trusted friend, family member, or qualified pet professional to cover specific tasks during peak stress weeks. For your own transition, consider flexible, structured learning options like this resource and time blocking so your dog’s essentials stay steady while you grow.
  32. Make One Gentle Routine Shift to Help Your Dog Adjust
  33. Big life changes can leave dogs confused, clingy, or out of sorts, even when everything looks “fine” on the surface. The steadier path is empathetic pet care: notice what your dog is communicating, keep support predictable, and focus on proactive pet well-being rather than waiting for stress to spiral. Over time, supporting pets through change this way often means fewer meltdowns, faster settling, and a calmer home for everyone. When life shifts, your dog needs clarity and kindness more than perfection. Choose one strategy to start this week, and stick with it long enough to see your dog’s body and behavior soften. That steady care strengthens the human-animal bond and builds resilience for whatever comes next.

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This is a guest post from Penny Martin. It is very comprehensive, especially for dog owners who are very busy people

Are we asking too much of our dogs?

We have never thought of this before but the question is a valid one.

The article, which was presented by The Conversation, raised the question. As you will see the article starts with the sentence “Americans love dogs.” To my mind, it is many more people than Americans who love dogs. Let’s read the article.

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Americans are asking too much of their dogs

Some people appreciate relationships with pets to combat loneliness – but others simply prefer dogs’ company. Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment via Getty Images

Margret Grebowicz, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Americans love dogs.

Nearly half of U.S. households have one, and practically all owners see pets as part of the family – 51% say pets belong “as much as a human member.” The pet industry keeps generating more and more jobs, from vets to trainers, to influencers. Schools cannot keep up with the demand for veterinarians.

It all seems part of what Mark Cushing, a lawyer and lobbyist for veterinary issues, calls “the pet revolution”: the more and more privileged place that pets occupy in American society. In his 2020 book “Pet Nation,” he argues that the internet has caused people to become more lonely, and this has made them focus more intensely on their pets – filling in for human relationships.

I would argue that something different is happening, however, particularly since the COVID-19 lockdown: Loving dogs has become an expression not of loneliness but of how unhappy many Americans are with society and other people.

In my own book, “Rescue Me,” I explore how today’s dog culture is more a symptom of our suffering as a society than a cure for it. Dogs aren’t just being used as a substitute for people. As a philosopher who studies the relationships between animals, humans and the environment, I believe Americans are turning to dogs to alleviate the erosion of social life itself. For some owners, dogs simply offer more satisfying relationships than other people do.

And I am no different. I live with three dogs, and my love for them has driven me to research the culture of dog ownership in an effort to understand myself and other humans better. By nature, dogs are masters of social life who can communicate beyond the boundaries of their species. But I believe many Americans are expecting their pets to address problems that they cannot fix.

Dogs over people

During the pandemic, people often struggled with the monotony of spending too much time cooped up with other humans – children, romantic partners, roommates. Meanwhile, relationships with their dogs seemed to flourish.

Rescuing shelter animals grew in popularity, and on social media people celebrated being at home with their pets. Dog content on Instagram and Pinterest now commonly includes hashtags like #DogsAreBetterThanPeople and #IPreferDogsToPeople.

“The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog” appears on merchandise all over e-commerce sites such as Etsy, Amazon and Redbubble.

One 2025 study found that dog owners tend to rate their pets more highly than their human loved ones in several areas, such as companionship and support. They also experienced fewer negative interactions with their dogs than with the closest people in their lives, including children, romantic partners and relatives.

The late primatologist Jane Goodall celebrated her 90th birthday with 90 dogs. She stated in an interview with Stephen Colbert that she preferred dogs to chimps, because chimps were too much like people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3xGvLApNrFQ?wmode=transparent&start=0 Jane Goodall said she appreciates dogs for their “unconditional love.”

Fraying fabric

This passion for dogs seems to be growing as America’s social fabric unravels – which began long before the pandemic.

In 1972, 46% of Americans said “most people can be trusted.” By 2018, that percentage dropped to 34%. Americans report seeing their friends less than they used to, a phenomenon called the “friendship recession,” and avoid having conversations with strangers because they expect the conversation to go badly. People are spending more time at home.

Today, millennials make up the largest percentage of pet owners. Some cultural commentators argue dogs are especially important for this generation because other traditional markers of stability and adulthood – a mortgage, a child – feel out of reach or simply undesirable. According to the Harris Poll, a marketing research firm, 43% of Americans would prefer a pet to a child.

Amid those pressures, many people turn to the comfort of a pet – but the expectations for what dogs can bring to our lives are becoming increasingly unreasonable.

For some people, dogs are a way to feel loved, to relieve pressures to have kids, to fight the drudgery of their job, to reduce the stress of the rat race and to connect with the outdoors. Some expect pet ownership to improve their physical and mental health.

A woman with short brunette hair sits on the floor in front of a sliding door and balcony, as a black dog sits beside her and looks at her.
Even years after the pandemic lockdown, many people are spending more time at home – often with pets. curtoicurto/iStock via Getty Images Plus

And it works, to a degree. Studies have found dog people to be “warmer” and happier than cat people. Interacting with pets can improve your health and may even offer some protection against cognitive decline. Dog-training programs in prisons appear to reduce recidivism rates.

Unreasonable expectations

But expecting that dogs will fill the social and emotional gaps in our lives is actually an obstacle to dogs’ flourishing, and human flourishing as well.

In philosophical terms, we could call this an extractive relationship: Humans are using dogs for their emotional labor, extracting things from them that they cannot get elsewhere or simply no longer wish to. Just like natural resource extraction, extractive relationships eventually become unsustainable.

The late cultural theorist Lauren Berlant argued that the present stage of capitalism creates a dynamic called “slow death,” a cycle in which “life building and the attrition of life are indistinguishable.” Keeping up is so exhausting that, in order to maintain that life, we need to do things that result in our slow degradation: Work becomes drudgery under unsustainable workloads, and the experience of dating suffers under the unhealthy pressure to have a partner.

Similarly, today’s dog culture is leading to unhealthy and unsustainable dynamics. Veterinarians are concerned that the rise of the “fur baby” lifestyle, in which people treat pets like human children, can harm animals, as owners seek unnecessary veterinary care, tests and medications. Pets staying at home alone while owners work suffer from boredom, which can cause chronic psychological distress and health problems. And as the number of pets goes up, many people wind up giving up their animal, overcrowding shelters.

So what should be done? Some philosophers and activists advocate for pet abolition, arguing that treating any animals as property is ethically indefensible.

This is a hard case to make – especially with dog lovers. Dogs were the first animal that humans domesticated. They have evolved beside us for as long as 40,000 years, and are a central piece of the human story. Some scientists argue that dogs made us human, not the other way around.

Perhaps we can reconfigure aspects of home, family and society to be better for dogs and humans alike – more accessible health care and higher-quality food, for example. A world more focused on human thriving would be more focused on pets’ thriving, too. But that would make for a very different America than this one.

Margret Grebowicz, Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Missouri University of Science and Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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I do not recognise the unhealthy culture as mentioned four paragraphs above. But Jeannie and me do understand and believe the alternative: “Some scientists argue that dogs made us human, not the other way around.”

I’ve said it many times before but perhaps some of our newer readers haven’t heard the fact that when I met Jean in 2007 she was looking after twenty-three dogs, and numerous cats, and it was pure magic. In 2008 I went to Mexico, where Jean lived, with Pharaoh. Then in 2010 we came north to Arizona to be married. We had sixteen dogs and seven cats with us.

Picture Parade Five Hundred and Seven

Five photographs of their new dog from my good friend, Dan!

(And the first four don’t show Raven clearly so go to the last photo.)

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Dan’s wife, Hannah, holding Raven.

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Here he is and what a beauty Raven is. Raven is a Black-coated Retriever. I will conclude this Picture Parade by republishing a short extract from that WikiPedia file.

“The Flat-coated Retriever is a gun dog breed originating from England. It was developed as a retriever both on land and in the water.

The Flat-Coated Retriever breed standard calls for males to be 23–25 in (58–64 cm) tall at the withers, with a recommended weight of 60–80 lb (27–36 kg), and for females to be 22–24 in (56–61 cm), with a recommended weight of 55–75 lb (25–34 kg).

The Flat-Coated Retriever has strong muscular jaws and a relatively long muzzle. Its head is unique to the breed and is described as being “of one piece” with a minimal stop and a backskull of about the same length as the muzzle. It has almond-shaped, dark brown eyes with an intelligent, friendly expression. The ears are pendant, relatively small, and lie close to the head. The occiput (the bone at the back of the skull) is not to be accentuated (as it is in setters, for example) with the head flowing smoothly into a well-arched neck. The topline is strong and straight with a well-feathered tail of moderate length held straight off the back. This breed should be well angulated front and rear, allowing for open, effortless movement.“

Another lucky aspect of living in Oregon

We have not lost our wolves.

Here is a partial list of the wolf situation in Oregon:

  • Return & Recovery: Wolves reappeared in Oregon around 2008, descendants of wolves reintroduced in Idaho, growing to many packs across the state.
  • Management: The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) manages wolves under the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.
  • Zones: Management differs between eastern and western Oregon, with federal listing status changing, affecting management authority.
  • Conservation Efforts: Organizations like Oregon Wild advocate for strong wolf protections, habitat connectivity, and non-lethal conflict deterrence.

However, in eastern North America things are not so good; as this article from The Coversation explains:

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With wolves absent from most of eastern North America, can coyotes replace them?

Coyotes have expanded across the United States. Davis Huber/500px via Getty Images

Alex Jensen, North Carolina State University

Imagine a healthy forest, home to a variety of species: Birds are flitting between tree branches, salamanders are sliding through leaf litter, and wolves are tracking the scent of deer through the understory. Each of these animals has a role in the forest, and most ecologists would argue that losing any one of these species would be bad for the ecosystem as a whole.

Unfortunately – whether due to habitat loss, overhunting or introduced species – humans have made some species disappear. At the same time, other species have adapted to us and spread more widely.

As an ecologist, I’m curious about what these changes mean for ecosystems – can these newly arrived species functionally replace the species that used to be there? I studied this process in eastern North America, where some top predators have disappeared and a new predator has arrived.

A primer on predators

Wolves used to roam across every state east of the Mississippi River. But as the land was developed, many people viewed wolves as threats and wiped most of them out. These days, a mix of gray wolves and eastern wolves persist in Canada and around the Great Lakes, which I collectively refer to as northeastern wolves. There’s also a small population of red wolves – a distinct and smaller species of wolf – on the coast of North Carolina.

The disappearance of wolves may have given coyotes the opportunity they needed. Starting around 1900, coyotes began expanding their range east and have now colonized nearly all of eastern North America.

A map of central to eastern North America. Parts of southern Canada are marked as 'current northeast wolf range,' the northeast US is marked 'current coyote and historical wolf range,' the rest of the southern and eastern US is marked 'red wolf range' and to the west is marked 'coyote range ~1900.'
Coyotes colonized most of eastern North America in the wake of wolf extirpation. Jensen 2025, CC BY

So are coyotes the new wolf? Can they fill the same ecological role that wolves used to? These are the questions I set out to answer in my paper published in August 2025 in the Stacks Journal. I focused on their role as predators – what they eat and how often they kill big herbivores, such as deer and moose.

What’s on the menu?

I started by reviewing every paper I could find on wolf or coyote diets, recording what percent of scat or stomach samples contained common food items such as deer, rabbits, small rodents or fruit. I compared northeastern wolf diets to northeastern coyote diets and red wolf diets to southeastern coyote diets.

I found two striking differences between wolf and coyote diets. First, wolves ate more medium-sized herbivores. In particular, they ate more beavers in the northeast and more nutria in the southeast. Both of these species are large aquatic rodents that influence ecosystems – beaver dam building changes how water moves, sometimes undesirably for land owners, while nutria are non-native and damaging to wetlands.

Second, wolves have narrower diets overall. They eat less fruit and fewer omnivores such as birds, raccoons and foxes, compared to coyotes. This means that coyotes are likely performing some ecological roles that wolves never did, such as dispersing fruit seeds in their poop and suppressing populations of smaller predators.

A diagram showing the diets of wolves and coyotes
Grouping food items by size and trophic level revealed some clear differences between wolf and coyote diets. Percents are the percent of samples containing each level, and stars indicate a statistically significant difference. Alex Jensen, CC BY

Killing deer and moose

But diet studies alone cannot tell the whole story – it’s usually impossible to tell whether coyotes killed or scavenged the deer they ate, for example. So I also reviewed every study I could find on ungulate mortality – these are studies that tag deer or moose, track their survival, and attribute a cause of death if they die.

These studies revealed other important differences between wolves and coyotes. For example, wolves were responsible for a substantial percentage of moose deaths – 19% of adults and 40% of calves – while none of the studies documented coyotes killing moose. This means that all, or nearly all, of moose in coyote diets is scavenged.

Coyotes are adept predators of deer, however. In the northeast, they killed more white-tailed deer fawns than wolves did, 28% compared to 15%, and a similar percentage of adult deer, 18% compared to 22%. In the southeast, coyotes killed 40% of fawns but only 6% of adults.

Rarely killing adult deer in the southeast could have implications for other members of the ecological community. For example, after killing an adult ungulate, many large predators leave some of the carcass behind, which can be an important source of food for scavengers. Although there is no data on how often red wolves kill adult deer, it is likely that coyotes are not supplying food to scavengers to the same extent that red wolves do.

Two wolves walking through the grass. One is sniffing a dead deer on the ground.
Wolves and coyotes both kill a substantial proportion of deer, but they focus on different age classes. imageBROKER/Raimund Linke via Getty Images

Are coyotes the new wolves?

So what does this all mean? It means that although coyotes eat some of the same foods, they cannot fully replace wolves. Differences between wolves and coyotes were particularly pronounced in the northeast, where coyotes rarely killed moose or beavers. Coyotes in the southeast were more similar to red wolves, but coyotes likely killed fewer nutria and adult deer.

The return of wolves could be a natural solution for regions where wildlife managers desire a reduction in moose, beaver, nutria or deer populations.

Yet even with the aid of reintroductions, wolves will likely never fully recover their former range in eastern North America – there are too many people. Coyotes, on the other hand, do quite well around people. So even if wolves never fully recover, at least coyotes will be in those places partially filling the role that wolves once had.

Indeed, humans have changed the world so much that it may be impossible to return to the way things were before people substantially changed the planet. While some restoration will certainly be possible, researchers can continue to evaluate the extent to which new species can functionally replace missing species.

Alex Jensen, Postdoctoral Associate – Wildlife Ecology, North Carolina State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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So there is a big difference between the Eastern seaboard and the Western States of the USA. We live in the forested part of Southern Oregon but I have never seen a wolf despite Alex Jensen writing that they inhabit this area.

The wolf is a magnificent animal, the forerunner of the dog. I would love to see a wolf!

Picture Parade Five Hundred and One

Once more pictures from UnSplash.

Photo by Harshal on Unsplash

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Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash

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Photo by Elin Wahlqvist on Unsplash

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Photo by Tatiana Mokhova on Unsplash

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Photo by amin rezvan on Unsplash

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Photo by Liz Morgan on Unsplash

Makes me feel sleepy just looking at these gorgeous dogs!

Emergency event.

It may not be so rare as one thinks.

Last Sunday the BBC (Radio 4) broadcast a programme entitled Are You Ready. The programme was presented by Lucy Easthope: “Lucy Easthope is on a mission to find out how we can become better prepared as individuals and as a society.”

It was thirty-minutes long and contained very useful information. I wanted to share further information found online.

Firstly on YouTube.


Be prepared for a blackout with this emergency kit! Don’t get caught in the dark – watch this video to see what essentials you need to have on hand. In this video I want to help you be prepared for when the power goes OUT. Your emergency kit can be a lifeline when the lights go out. With these preps, you can help keep you and your loved one’s safe. Don’t wait until it’s too late – start preparing now for peace of mind in 2024 and beyond. Watch till the end and I’ll share with you 3 ADDITIONAL items that are non-nucket items but can be a HUGE blessing in a power outage.

LIST OF GEAR IN THIS VIDEO: 5 gallon buckets: https://amzn.to/3L6crXS (If you want one, here’s a label maker I use: https://amzn.to/3VYnqca)

BUCKET #1:

Freeze-dried food: https://amzn.to/4bnFPUu

Canned food – get this at your local grocery store

Pepperoni sticks: https://amzn.to/3VWAAqi

Clif Bars: https://amzn.to/45G25aG

Powerade: https://amzn.to/45YtPI5

Gatorade: https://amzn.to/45YtPI5

Mentos: https://amzn.to/3xziLEl

Starburst: https://amzn.to/3zvkuLi

BUCKET #2:

Toilet paper: https://amzn.to/3XIFOXU

Exotac 16 Hour Candle: https://amzn.to/4bgaxyM

Bag of rice: https://amzn.to/4ckwwFW

Bottled Water: https://amzn.to/3XHaSY6

BUCKET #3:

3M Duct Tape: https://amzn.to/4bBN1MZ

Anker battery: https://amzn.to/3L0Qf1r

Batteries: https://amzn.to/3xLvZxI

Bleach: https://amzn.to/4eCJ659

Soap: https://amzn.to/3znY3rK

MyMedic First Aid Kit: https://tinyurl.com/3nfbz9bs

Plugs, instructions for electronics, and cash

Lantern – a batter one from UCO: https://amzn.to/4ciik06

Hybridlight Lantern: https://amzn.to/3L2x5Z0

Candles: https://amzn.to/4bkuynR

Energizer headlamps: https://amzn.to/4ciUHor

Huge flashlight: https://amzn.to/4eFB3o4

Emergency radio: https://amzn.to/3XFCrBd

Meat thermometer: https://amzn.to/3xwj7M1

BONUS RECOMMENDATIONS: Blankets and a fan

+ Power Bank from Anker: https://amzn.to/3zlFcgV

Solar panels for power bank: https://amzn.to/3znYTVq

Secondly, from The Guardian newspaper.

As a former Red Cross emergency volunteer in London, I have experienced that events such as blackouts, gas leaks and floods aren’t as uncommon as we would like to think. I have a camping bag as a “go bag” containing:
 * toilet roll
 * soap
 * toothbrush and toothpaste
 * a change of clothes, walking shoes and a raincoat
 * a blanket
 * a first-aid kit with added blister plasters and water filtration tablets
 * 2 large bottles of water
 * four days’ worth of non-perishable snacks (cereal bars, crackers, flapjack type things)
 * a battery and solar-powered radio
 * a battery and solar-powered torch
 * a map and compass
 * a small address book containing my loved ones’ home addresses.

There you are.

I thought we had a ‘go bag’ prepared but it must have been me thinking of it and nothing more.

Time to turn ideas into actions! Plus we have two dogs plus two caged birds that would not be left behind.

P.S. I have found the two large boxes we had purchased a while ago plus a list of the items to be taken in the event of an emergency. However these were in the garage and had been forgotten. So now they are in the home and will be prepared for use in that emergency.

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Ninety-Nine

More fabulous photos.

Again, these are taken from Unsplash.

Photo by Kieran White on Unsplash

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Photo by Angel Luciano on Unsplash

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Photo by Victor G on Unsplash

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Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

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Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

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Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

The DNA of dogs.

What is revealed in most dogs’ genes.

On November 24th this year, The Conversation published an article that spoke of the ancient closeness, as in genetically, of wolves and dogs.

I share it with you. It is a fascinating read.

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Thousands of genomes reveal the wild wolf genes in most dogs’ DNA.

Modern wolves and dogs both descend from an ancient wolf population that lived alongside woolly mammoths and cave bears. Iza Lyson/500px Prime via Getty Images

Audrey T. Lin, Smithsonian Institution and Logan Kistler, Smithsonian Institution

Dogs were the first of any species that people domesticated, and they have been a constant part of human life for millennia. Domesticated species are the plants and animals that have evolved to live alongside humans, providing nearly all of our food and numerous other benefits. Dogs provide protection, hunting assistance, companionship, transportation and even wool for weaving blankets.

Dogs evolved from gray wolves, but scientists debate exactly where, when and how many times dogs were domesticated. Ancient DNA evidence suggests that domestication happened twice, in eastern and western Eurasia, before the groups eventually mixed. That blended population was the ancestor of all dogs living today.

Molecular clock analysis of the DNA from hundreds of modern and ancient dogs suggests they were domesticated between around 20,000 and 22,000 years ago, when large ice sheets covered much of Eurasia and North America. The first dog identified in the archaeological record is a 14,000-year-old pup found in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, but it can be difficult to tell based on bones whether an animal was an early domestic dog or a wild wolf.

Despite the shared history of dogs and wolves, scientists have long thought these two species rarely mated and gave birth to hybrid offspring. As an evolutionary biologist and a molecular anthropologist who study domestic plants and animals, we wanted to take a new look at whether dog-wolf hybridization has really been all that uncommon.

Little interbreeding in the wild

Dogs are not exactly descended from modern wolves. Rather, dogs and wolves living today both derive from a shared ancient wolf population that lived alongside woolly mammoths and cave bears.

In most domesticated species, there are often clear, documented patterns of gene flow between the animals that live alongside humans and their wild counterparts. Where wild and domesticated animals’ habitats overlap, they can breed with each other to produce hybrid offspring. In these cases, the genes from wild animals are folded into the genetic variation of the domesticated population.

For example, pigs were domesticated in the Near East over 10,000 years ago. But when early farmers brought them to Europe, they hybridized so frequently with local wild boar that almost all of their Near Eastern DNA was replaced. Similar patterns can be seen in the endangered wild Anatolian and Cypriot mouflon that researchers have found to have high proportions of domestic sheep DNA in their genomes. It’s more common than not to find evidence of wild and domesticated animals interbreeding through time and sharing genetic material.

That wolves and dogs wouldn’t show that typical pattern is surprising, since they live in overlapping ranges and can freely interbreed.

Dog and wolf behavior are completely different, though, with wolves generally organized around a family pack structure and dogs reliant on humans. When hybridization does occur, it tends to be when human activities – such as habitat encroachment and hunting – disrupt pack dynamics, leading female wolves to strike out on their own and breed with male dogs. People intentionally bred a few “wolf dog” hybrid types in the 20th century, but these are considered the exception.

a wolfish looking dog lies on the ground behind a metal fence
Luna Belle, a resident of the Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania, which is home to both wolves and wolf dogs. Audrey Lin.

Tiny but detectable wolf ancestry

To investigate how much gene flow there really has been between dogs and wolves after domestication, we analyzed 2,693 previously published genomes, making use of massive publicly available datasets.

These included 146 ancient dogs and wolves covering about 100,000 years. We also looked at 1,872 modern dogs, including golden retrievers, Chihuahuas, malamutes, basenjis and other well-known breeds, plus more unusual breeds from around the world such as the Caucasian ovcharka and Swedish vallhund.

Finally, we included genomes from about 300 “village dogs.” These are not pets but are free-living animals that are dependent on their close association with human environments.

We traced the evolutionary histories of all of these canids by looking at maternal lineages via their mitochondrial genomes and paternal lineages via their Y chromosomes. We used highly sensitive computational methods to dive into the dogs’ and wolves’ nuclear genomes – that is, the genetic material contained in their cells’ nuclei.

We found the presence of wild wolf genes in most dog genomes and the presence of dog genes in about half of wild wolf genomes. The sign of the wolf was small but it was there, in the form of tiny, almost imperceptible chunks of continuous wolf DNA in dogs’ chromosomes. About two-thirds of breed dogs in our sample had wolf genes from crossbreeding that took place roughly 800 generations ago, on average.

While our results showed that larger, working dogs – such as sled dogs and large guardian dogs that protect livestock – generally have more wolf ancestry, the patterns aren’t universal. Some massive breeds such as the St. Bernard completely lack wolf DNA, but the tiny Chihuahua retains detectable wolf ancestry at 0.2% of its genome. Terriers and scent hounds typically fall at the low end of the spectrum for wolf genes.

a dog curled up on the sidewalk in a town
A street – or free-ranging – dog in Tbilisi, Georgia. Alexkom000/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

We were surprised that every single village dog we tested had pieces of wolf DNA in their genomes. Why would this be the case? Village dogs are free-living animals that make up about half the world’s dogs. Their lives can be tough, with short life expectancy and high infant mortality. Village dogs are also associated with pathogenic diseases, including rabies and canine distemper, making them a public health concern.

More often than predicted by chance, the stretches of wolf DNA we found in village dog genomes contained genes related to olfactory receptors. We imagine that olfactory abilities influenced by wolf genes may have helped these free-living dogs survive in harsh, volatile environments.

The intertwining of dogs and wolves

Because dogs evolved from wolves, all of dogs’ DNA is originally wolf DNA. So when we’re talking about the small pieces of wolf DNA in dog genomes, we’re not referring to that original wolf gene pool that’s been kicking around over the past 20,000 years, but rather evidence for dogs and wolves continuing to interbreed much later in time.

A wolf-dog hybrid with one of each kind of parent would carry 50% dog and 50% wolf DNA. If that hybrid then lived and mated with dogs, its offspring would be 25% wolf, and so on, until we see only small snippets of wolf DNA present.

The situation is similar to one in human genomes: Neanderthals and humans share a common ancestor around half a million years ago. However, Neanderthals and our species, Homo sapiens, also overlapped and interbred in Eurasia as recently as a few thousand generations ago, shortly before Neanderthals disappeared. Scientists can spot the small pieces of Neanderthal DNA in most living humans in the same way we can see wolf genes within most dogs.

two small tan dogs walking on pavement on a double lead leash
Even tiny Chihuahuas contain a little wolf within their doggy DNA. Westend61 via Getty Images

Our study updates the previously held belief that hybridization between dogs and wolves is rare; interactions between these two species do have visible genetic traces. Hybridization with free-roaming dogs is considered a threat to conservation efforts of endangered wolves, including Iberian, Italian and Himalayan wolves. However, there also is evidence that dog-wolf mixing might confer genetic advantages to wolves as they adapt to environments that are increasingly shaped by humans.

Though dogs evolved as human companions, wolves have served as their genetic lifeline. When dogs encountered evolutionary challenges such as how to survive harsh climates, scavenge for food in the streets or guard livestock, it appears they’ve been able to tap into wolf ancestry as part of their evolutionary survival kit.

Audrey T. Lin, Research Associate in Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution and Logan Kistler, Curator of Archaeobotany and Archaeogenomics, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

ooOOoo

Well thanks to Audrey Lin and Logan Kistler for this very interesting study. So even modern dogs have visible traces of wolf in their DNA. It is yet another example of the ability of modern science to discover facts that were unknown a few decades ago.

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Ninety-Eight

Today, I am publishing a video.

That is a wonderful video!

“Rejected by his mother, Richard found love and security with the most unlikely of friends — a guard dog who adopted him as one of his own.”

Richard’s social media:   / richardandtheguardians  

About Bark & Bond: At Bark & Bond, we believe that there is nothing more powerful — and simple — than the way a dog changes our routine. Whether it’s with a look full of expectation, an unexpected lick or just by being there, silent, sharing the same space.

Connections across the miles

This world of blogging opens up incredible connections!

Recently I had a ‘Like’ from someone that I hadn’t come across before. As is my response to such events, I went across to their blog site to thank them by adding a ‘Like’ to their blog site. Then I found it was about street dogs and I started reading their posts. I was blown away by the integrity of the author and he was blogging from Kabul!

I am only going to republish three of the stories today but will be coming back with more.

Panagah Amn

A humanitarian project in Kabul dedicated to building a safe shelter for stray and injured animals.

The shelter is in its early stages, and with your support, we can bring it to life. 

Our goal is to provide food, medical care, and protection.

Panagah Amn is a small but passionate initiative dedicated to helping stray and injured animals in Kabul, Afghanistan. Our shelter was born from a deep sense of compassion and responsibility toward the many dogs and cats suffering in the streets without food, medical care, or shelter.

We welcome support from individuals and organizations who share our vision. Together, we can build a safer world for all living beings.

Staying with their website, I want to share these pictures with you.

He Died Waiting for Kindness

He had no name…
Perhaps because no one had ever paused for even a moment to ask him:
“What is your name, silent little angel?”
The cold of the night had settled over the road, and the car lights passed one after another beside his blood‑stained body…
No one slowed down.
No one turned their head to see his pain.
As if he were invisible — like a dry leaf pushed aside by the wind.
But he was not invisible…
He felt the pain, he felt the fear, and with every fading breath, he swallowed the loneliness.
His body lay on the gravel, his eyes half‑open, as if he was still waiting…
Waiting for someone who, just once, would look at him with kindness.
When I arrived, the blood was still fresh…
If I had reached just 20 minutes earlier, maybe…
Maybe I could have saved him.
Maybe I could have whispered:
“You are not alone… I am here.”
But it was too late.
He had already chosen to leave the pain of this earth and return to the sky…
To the arms of the angels — where no cars would ever drive past his heart again.
No one was even willing to lift his tiny body from the road…
As if he had no worth.
As if a life filled with silence and waiting meant nothing.
But to me, he mattered.
I lifted him from the road…
Not as a stray dog, but as a soul who deserved to be farewelled with dignity.
I buried him…
With shaking hands, yet with a heart that wanted — at least once — for someone to be kind to him.
In that moment, he taught me something…
Despite his wounds, despite his pain, his eyes were still full of kindness.
His gaze seemed to say:
“I wish everyone were like you…”
But the truth is:
I wish everyone were like him non‑judgmental, gentle, with a heart that remained free of hatred, even in the final breath.

 If this story touched your heart… please don’t stay silent.
For him, it’s already too late…
But there are still hundreds of “him” breathing on our streets,
and each one needs just one kind human for their life to change.
Please…

 Be the voice of these silent angels.

oooo

I wish everyone was like you.

 It was Friday… As every week, I set out with an 8-kilogram bag of food to visit those whom the world has forgotten, yet I have never been able to forget them…
From afar, the scene I saw made my heart tremble. Little puppies ran toward me with excitement and hope, so happy as if the entire world had become kind to them with just this one meal. Some were so hungry they could barely run, yet with shining eyes, they looked at me, as if saying: “You came… today we are saved.”
Amid all the sounds, joy, and excitement, my eyes fell on one—a gaze silent yet screaming a thousand cries…
A dog, thin, wounded, and trembling… standing in the middle of the road, afraid, yet hopeful. Fear kept him from approaching… as if he had come close to kindness many times before, only to be met with stones, kicks, and cruelty. And he had every right to be afraid… truly.
As I stepped closer, I saw something no animal lover ever forgets: his ears were gone… both torn off. The scars on his head were still visible… and his leg was injured, probably struck by stones multiple times. Yet… despite all this pain, despite all the suffering… he was still calm. He didn’t bark, growl, or attack… he just looked.
He had been hurt by humans… yet he still had hope in them.
I gently placed the food on the ground. He took a step back… fearful, hesitant. Then, with utmost caution, he came forward, took a bite, and stepped back again, as if saying: “Forgive me… I’m not used to someone treating me kindly.”
I wished I could approach, clean his wounds, and show him that not all humans are cruel. But he ran away… not from me, but from memories that resembled “me.”
But that gaze… that final look that still lingers in my heart like a dagger… eyes full of tears, untold words, gratitude, and fear… as if saying: “Thank you… for a meal. Maybe today is not my last day.”
As he walked away, his legs trembled… not only from hunger, but from life… from loneliness… from being forgotten.
On my way back, this question kept turning in my mind like a painful melody:
Until when? Until when must voiceless animals suffer from human cruelty? Until when will every meal be their only hope for survival? Until when will we just watch?
In Kabul, there are hundreds of animals like him. Some die from hunger, some from stones thrown by children and adults, and some like him… with wounds never healed, yet when they see a morsel of food, gratitude shines in their eyes.
I am alone… but my dream is big.
I want to build a shelter: a place where no animal dies from hunger, cold, disease, or violence. A place where they can learn once more that humans can be kind.
But this is impossible without your support. We need a sponsor, a foreign donor, or a compassionate organization to take the first step. Perhaps you know someone… perhaps your introduction could save a life.
If you can help, collaborate, or want to get in touch with us, please contact us via the email on our website. You can be the hope for an animal’s tomorrow… with a subscription, a referral, or a small step of support.
Sometimes, saving the world is impossible… but saving “a world” for one animal is possible. And perhaps today, it is our turn to change the world for one of them.

oooo

 ooOOoo

Dogs are so precious. What some humans do is beyond Jean and me, and, thankfully many thousands of other people.

But that doesn’t alter the fact that stray street dogs exist.

I won’t pontificate but the message is clear.

Thank you, Dr. Mateullah Abrahemi.

Let me copy some more text about the founder:

Dr. Mateullah Abrahemi, the founder of Panagai Amn in Kabul, is a committed and compassionate advocate for stray animals, especially street dogs. With a deep belief in the right to life and welfare of these vulnerable beings, he strives to provide them with a safe shelter, food, medical care, and kindness.

His efforts are not limited to dreams and ideas; rather, he takes practical, well-planned steps to improve the living conditions of these animals. With valuable experience in animal care, Dr. Abrahemi has now launched the Panagai Amn project, aiming to expand his efforts into a comprehensive support center.

He meticulously handles financial and logistical planning, designs a multilingual website via WordPress, manages resources, produces video content, and builds international communication bridges to attract more support for the cause.

Throughout this challenging journey, when many of his requests for assistance from organizations remained unanswered or were met with rejection,

As previously mentioned, I am going to share these images on, I hope, a weekly basis.

Thank you, Mateullah.