Search Results for: blog female dogs might think differently from male dogs

The Harmful “Him” vs. “Her”

I know that men and women think differently. My first impulse is to examine how much of that is natural and how much is a result of cultural conditioning, but that’s a study for another time, and really another blog. What I want to focus on today is the sort of “us” vs. “them” mentality that arises sometimes, and how that might affect marriages. I had to read “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” for a high school health class. I found it abhorrent, and said as much in my paper on the book. I understand as much … Continue reading →

Animals Can Feel Empathy

2011 was the year of animal empathy. Two studies released this year, one at the beginning, the other at the end, have taken steps to prove that animals can feel sorry both for humans and for each other. The first report, covered by Discovery News, explains why some scientists now think dogs feel empathy for humans. Karine Silva and Liliana Sousa of the Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute studied how dogs react to humans in distress. Dog owners will agree that their canines certainly respond to their owners when the latter are in distress. But is that true empathy, or … Continue reading →

Canine Aggression Linked to Leash Walking

Dog aggression is both dangerous and frustrating. It can sometimes be hard to determine why a dog suddenly starts being aggressive, and what to do to curb that behavior. MSN Today has an intriguing story on a new report that suggests one possible cause behind dog-on-dog aggression: dog walking. At first I’m sure that assertion made as little sense to you as it did to me: in my experience dogs that never get exercise are much more likely to be aggressive, because all of that energy has to go somewhere. How can dog walking possibly be a cause for aggression? … Continue reading →

Managing Smart Dogs

Smart is often a selling point for dogs. There are certain breeds, especially those known for herding, that are generally considered the cream of the clever canine crop. Thus if you want an intelligent dog it might not be too hard to seek one out, but there are some things you need to know before adopting a brainy companion. Pet site ZooToo has some tips. The most important thing to consider first is that smart doesn’t necessarily mean easy. We think that it will; we think how nice it will be to have a dog that can fetch slippers and … Continue reading →

A Dog Sitting Tale

My pets seethed at me this weekend. Snarls issued from the depth of my cat’s chest, before he retreated to the guest room and hid under the bed, refusing to emerge despite my cajoling. My dog paced around the house and seemed especially desperate for attention. What was the cause of such dramatics? Two basset hounds. A co-worker of my husband’s needed a dog sitter for the weekend, and my husband, knowing of my love for dogs, volunteered. Thus early on Saturday morning our friend arrived with his four-year-old hounds in tow. We introduced the dogs outside, in an attempt … Continue reading →

Aggression in Multiple Dog Households

Here at the pets blog we’ve published many articles on dog aggression. It seems like one can never have too much advice on how to handle it; anyone who’s seen dogs fighting, and not in the playful way, knows how upsetting it can be. Today I’m going to focus on how to handle aggression between dogs in a multiple canine living situation. If you’ve already one dog and you want more, you need to be ready for the possibility of the rare or occasional spat between them. If at all possible, introduce the dogs before adopting your second, to make … Continue reading →

Find Your Doggelganger

Is there any resemblance? My husband and I were matched with our dog. The shelter we used to find her required us to fill out a complicated adoption form. In it were not only questions about our living situation (own vs. rent, fenced-in yard, etc.) but also queries pertaining to what we wanted from a dog. Did we have any breed preferences, did we care if we had a male vs. female dog, and were there any deal-breakers in behavior from the dog? Even though I didn’t have much to say on any of these questions, the rescue still managed … Continue reading →

Animal Relocation Initiative

My dog Chihiro was born in Arkansas. It might have been a bit of a head-scratcher how a young puppy made it across several states in order to be adopted from a shelter in the Washington, DC area before she turned four months old. I wasn’t perplexed, however, because before I even found my dog I was already familiar with the concept of rescue transport. When I lived in Baltimore I roomed for a while with a friend who loves Dachshunds. She adores the breed so much that she’s very active with the Coast to Coast Dachshund rescue group. One … Continue reading →

Female Dogs Might Think Differently from Male Dogs

Maybe I’ll learn by osmosis A recent article on MSNBC posited that perhaps female dogs are more intelligent than male dogs. Or at least, that’s what the sensationalist headline might lead readers to think. What’s really going on is that a study from the University of Vienna may have found evidence that male and female dogs think in slightly different ways. The study, led by cognitive biologist Corsin Muller, tested domesticated dogs for their comprehension of “object permanence.” Object permanence is a physical law stating that when an object disappears from view, that doesn’t mean that it’s ceased to exist … Continue reading →