Penny first contacted me towards the end of January, 2022. I was going to publish her post not long after. But Penny didn’t realise that I had changed my email address so there was a resend involved. Then I forgot that I had her guest article waiting to be published. Then last Wednesday, the 9th Feb., I got myself ready to publish it the following Thursday, and discovered that it was in Windows format and I was a Mac user.
So that is why I nominated her as Patient Penny!
Here is her post.
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Must-Have Resources and Tips for Fostering or Adopting a Pup
If you want to relieve some of the tension you’ve been feeling over the last year, now may be the perfect time to add a new pet to your life! Here, Learning From Dogs shares some helpful resources to ensure you’re ready to provide health and happiness for your new buddy.
Should You Foster or Adopt?
This is the first question to ask yourself before you welcome a furry companion into your home. Each has its own perks, so read through these tips to decide whether you would prefer to foster a new pet or add a permanent member to your family.
Fostering or adopting a dog during this time of stress and anxiety can be a perfect way to calm those feelings and keep your home from feeling so lonely. As long as you can provide care, food, a few snuggles, and the essentials mentioned above, you should be able to keep your new friend perfectly safe, sound, and happy. So, what are you waiting for? Consider adopting a pup today!
Rather than copy something from somewhere else I wanted to be original in my thoughts about love.
Jean was happy that this be published.
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February 14th, 2022
In a world where new gizmos are coming onto the scene with what seems like ever increasing rapidity there is one thing that remains constant. It is love.
To my mind, love is a great deal more than the emotional and romantic connection between a man and a woman. Of course, that love, the romantic connection, is the one that is the subject of countless songs, poems, plays, books, and many other forms of communication, and one that goes back to almost the origins of warm-blooded life.
If one opens one’s mind, however, love can cover so much more. Love for the land; love for the distant stars in a dark sky; love for the sea; love for nature; and on and on. Too many times for me to count, and why would I want to count them anyway, each day I look out to the north-east and towards Sexton Mountain. My fondness for that sight is, I think, a form of love.
But this is Valentine’s Day. Despite the history of the day being an ancient Christian feast, as in Saint Valentine, an early Christian martyr, it has long become an important cultural and commercial celebration of romance. I sense you and me wanting to kick back against the commercial imperatives although, as you can see, I offer you a Valentine’s card.
With this card, I celebrate our love.
With this card, I celebrate that you and I found true love back in 2007; the first time this had happened to me.
LRVC is so busy these days that a scheduled appointment would be impossible. So Jean and I waited at the front desk; the staff were fantastic. We were told to bring Sweeny early this morning (Wednesday) and leave him there. Dr Russel Codd is well-known to us and he would try and find time during the day to diagnose Sweeny.
We were back home, minus Sweeny, by 8am. At 9:15am there was a call. It was Dr. Russ! Both Jeannie and I took the call.
Sweeny had advanced diabetes. His liver and kidneys were going and he was in pain. He had lost the will to live.
Very reluctantly Jeannie said that Sweeny should be allowed to die at the clinic. I agreed. Dr. Russ then said that that was the best decision and one that he would have taken if he had Sweeny as his own.
Sweeny kissing Jeannie. The year 2018!
But it was a shock to hear of Sweeny’s issues. We had no idea and, as was said, just two days ago Sweeny appeared happy and content.
First, Ricky Gervais, then Ella Henderson singing her latest release.
There are many videos on YouTube that are worth watching.
These two are well-worth sharing with you.
The first is Ricky Gervais, a well-known atheist, as are we, presenting an eleven-minute debate on religion.
Though it must be said that my old country has God Save The Queen and my new country has In GodWe Trust and I cannot see those changing in what is left of my lifetime!
The second is a fabulous rendition of Brave by Ella Henderson. Ella is a British singer and this performance is when she was invited to the UK TV programme The Graham Norton Show earlier on in the New Year.
Awelcome to a guest Picture Parade for the next five weeks!
I was emailed by Gary Messinetti last Monday with this message:
Dogs. I haven’t gotten out much with the pandemic and my other medical issues, but I did manage to shoot these yesterday!
They are so good! They are fabulous! Apart from reducing the file size a little to suit WordPress, they are unchanged.
I intend to present these photographs for the next five Picture Parades!
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Just wonderful!
We wish Gary all the best regarding his medical issues and, once again, thank him for sending me the wonderful photographs. Until the next Picture Parade!
When you’re traveling in the winter, it’s always important to take some extra precautions. If you live in a location that experiences a lot of snow, ice, or cold temperatures, keeping yourself safe should be your top priority.
But, when you’re traveling with your four-legged friend, making sure you’re even more prepared is crucial. Extra considerations should always be taken when you’re on the road with your dog. While no one wants to think about getting stranded or getting into an accident, things like that can (and do) happen. Being prepared, even if you’re only taking a short trip, will make all the difference when it comes to your own health and wellness as well as your pup’s well-being.
Winter travel can be dangerous depending on weather and road conditions. Planning should always be the first thing you do before heading out with your dog. Check your local forecast as well as what the weather is like where you’ll be traveling. If possible, avoid going anywhere when the road conditions are icy or snowy.
If you have to travel or you pick a clear day, it’s still important to make sure your drive is as safe as possible. Always adapt to the conditions you’re going through, and remember to drive slowly and cautiously on icy roads.
You should always have a few extra supplies in your car for your pup, but in the winter it’s even more crucial for their safety – as well as yours. Some of the basic items you should have packed include:
A first aid kit
An extra blanket
Extra clothes/gloves
Handwarmers
Extra food/water
A compact snow shovel
For your canine companion, having an additional blanket, plenty of water for them, and a toy or treat to keep them occupied will make a big difference.
If you get “stranded” anywhere for a while, don’t leave your dog in the car while you go look for help. While most pet owners understand the risks of leaving a dog in a hot car, leaving them in a cold vehicle can cause frostbite or hypothermia in a very short time. Stay with them until help arrives. Having your car stocked with the right items will keep you both safe and warm.
Make the Most of Your Travels
Traveling with your pup is a great way to break away from the potential “winter blues” that many people face. Whether you want to head somewhere warm or just embrace the season as is, getting out can actually improve your overall health and well-being. Spending time outdoors can reduce your stress levels, give you more energy, improve your mood, and even boost your testosterone levels. You don’t even have to chop down a tree to get that last benefit, so it’s really a win-win.
No matter where you’re going, make the most of your travels by sticking to your health and wellness goals. Dogs need exercise just as much as people, so bring your furry friend with you on snowy hikes, or take them cold-weather camping to enjoy nights beneath the stars together. Just make sure to stay hydrated, dress appropriately, and moisturize your skin if you’re spending a lot of time outdoors. Dry, cracked skin can be painful and unsightly. Don’t forget your pup’s paw pads, too!
With a bit of planning, preparing, and packing, you and your dog can enjoy plenty of travels together this winter. They’ll love being able to spend that extra time with you, and you’ll both be able to get as much out of the season as possible.
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I hope some of you are experiencing decent snowfalls. Here in Southern Oregon we had some snow but as soon as it was on the ground the next day it had gone. The outlook for the next ten days is cold and dry!
Among the many dog-related blogs that I read is Treehugger. It covers a wide range of sustainable actions and habits and not infrequently writes about dogs. That is the main reason I follow the blog.
Kun-kun the border collie listens to language in an MRI machine. EnikÅ Kubinyi
You talk to your dog, and of course, you’re convinced your pup understands you. But what if a dog is plopped down in a place where suddenly everyone is speaking a different language?
In a new study, researchers have used brain imaging techniques to find that dogs can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar languages. Researchers say the findings, from the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, are the first evidence that shows a non-human brain can distinguish between languages.1
A few years ago, first author Laura V. Cuaya moved from Mexico to Hungary for her postdoctoral research. Before the move, Cuaya’s border collie Kun-kun had only heard Spanish. She was curious whether he would notice that people in Budapest spoke a different language, Hungarian.2
“Like many dogs, Kun-kun tends to pay attention to humans, trying to predict their social environment,” Cuaya tells Treehugger.
“When we moved to Hungary, it was a whole new world for everyone. In Budapest, people are very friendly with dogs. When people talked to Kun-kun, I wondered if he picked up the language difference. And happily, this question fitted with the goals of the Neuroethology of Communication Lab.”
For their study, researchers recruited Kun-kun and 17 other dogs, who had been previously trained to lie still in a brain scanner for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).1
The dogs were played speech excerpts from “The Little Prince” in Spanish and Hungarian. Each of the dogs had heard only one of the two languages: Hungarian was the familiar language of 16 dogs, Spanish of the other two dogs. That allowed them to compare a very familiar language with a completely unfamiliar one.1
Researchers also played scrambled versions of the excerpts to the dogs. These were nonsensical and completely unnatural. This was to test whether they could tell the difference between speech and nonspeech.1
They compared the brain responses to the two different languages and to speech and nonspeech.
“We found distinct cerebral regions for both processes: for speech detection (speech vs. non-speech), the primary auditory cortex, and for language recognition (familiar language vs. unfamiliar language), the secondary auditory cortex,” Cuaya says.
“Our results may suggest a hierarchy processing in the dog’s brain to process speech. In the first stage, their brain would detect whether a sound is speech or not. Then, in the second stage, their brain would identify whether the speech is a familiar language or not.”
The results were published in the journal NeuroImage.
Exposure and Age
Researchers found that no matter which language the dogs were listening to, the primary auditory cortex of the dogs’ brains could distinguish between speech and scrambled, nonspeech.1
“Dog brains, like human brains, can distinguish between speech and nonspeech. But the mechanism underlying this speech detection ability may be different from speech sensitivity in humans: whereas human brains are specially tuned to speech, dog brains may simply detect the naturalness of the sound,” says Raúl Hernández-Pérez, coauthor of the study.
They also determined that dog brains could differentiate between Spanish and Hungarian. Those patterns were found in a different region of the brain called the secondary auditory cortex.1
Researchers found that the older the dog was, the better their brain was able to tell the difference between a familiar and unfamiliar language. That suggests that the longer dogs live with their people and are exposed to a language, the more they understand how their language sounds.1
“As we could not control the amount of exposure to language in our study, we used the dog age as an indirect measure of the time dogs have been exposed to a given language,” Cuaya says. “I hypothesize that dogs with a closer relationship with humans will better distinguish languages. It could be great if future studies test puppies to control the exposure to a language better.”
Dogs as Models
Researchers are curious whether this language differentiation is unique to dogs or whether other non-human animals may also be able to distinguish between languages.2
“A variety of auditory regularities characterizes each language. For example, sometimes, we cannot identify what language we are listening to. However, we can likely recognize its general origin (e.g., an Asian or Romance language) because of its auditory regularities,” Cuaya explains.
“Detecting regularities is something that brains do very well, not only humans or dogs’ brains. It is highly likely that other species can be trained to differentiate between languages successfully.”
But Cuaya points out that in their study, dogs weren’t “trained.”
“Their brains detected the difference spontaneously, perhaps due to the domestication process,” she says. “While it is likely that other species can differentiate between complex sounds, it is possible that just a few species are interested in the human language.”
Researchers believe the findings are important because by studying dogs, they can have a broader picture of the evolution of speech perception.2
“Dogs are an excellent model because they have been living—and cooperating—with humans for thousands of years. When we wonder if another species cares about what humans do, it is inevitable to think of dogs. In the case of language perception, we can learn, for example, that different brains—with different evolutive paths—can carry out a similar process,” Cuaya says.
“Also, as someone with dogs in my family, it is lovely to know that dogs are picking up subtle cues of their social environment all the time.”
2. first author Laura V. Cuaya from the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary
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Time after time I learn new things about dogs. This is another example of the mystery of a dog’s brain. Thank goodness there is scientific study into our lovely animals.
Learning from Dogs 