Not all wounded deer can be recovered even if you use a tracking dog

Time to get back to the topic of tracking dogs because we really fell behind with our blogging and emails. I apologize to all our contributors and those who are still waiting for our replies.

We received this letter from Judy Catrett on December 10. As you recall Judy lives in Georgia where it is legal to track with a dog off-leash. Mossy (aka Viola von Moosbach-Zuzelek) is an eight-month-old daughter of Tommy and Tuesday. Thank you Judy!

Just a note to let you know how Mossy is progressing.  We have now started doing a fair amount of tracking for hunters other than those that are guests of the plantation which Craig manages.  I had read Johns books, Dead On!  and Tracking Dogs for Wounded Deer prior to tracking season, but have found myself using them as a reference after several tracks recently.  I am always wondering what we (Mossy and I) did not do when we were unable to retrieve a wounded deer--so I dig into the books hoping to obtain a little more knowledge along with rethinking what we did and could have done differently on each track. 

Mossy Brooke continues to be an excellent tracker and her name has become well known around our little town and county as well as into some neighboring counties.  Since I last emailed you, we have been on several tracks that we were unable to find the deer.  One deer had a broken front leg--the hunter shot the deer straight on into the brisket area. Leg bone, a fragment of the bullet, and muscle tissue were found at the site of the shot.  Mossy and I arrived approx. 5 hours after the deer had been shot and after 2 inches of rain.  She immediately picked up the trail and actually jumped the deer within 100 yards of the last blood the hunter had found (this had been washed away by the time we arrived).  She was tracking off leash as she was in an area that was safe for her to do this and the briars were so thick and tall that it was almost impossible for me to keep her on leash.  I was 40 yards behind her when she bayed the deer. The deer immediately ran and she bayed it twice more during her trailing, for only a few seconds each time.   The deer had stopped bleeding and crossed 2 creeks during this tracking.  We trailed this deer for 1 1/2 miles and it was showing no signs of slowing down, so I stopped Mossy as I felt that this was another wound that would not slow the deer enough for us to retrieve it.

We had a similar experience with a buck that I think was shot above the spine and stunned for a few minutes.  This was the second buck that we have tracked this year with this type of injury.  Mossy tracked it on leash for over 1 mile. This track was 11 hours old when we arrived.  On arrival, she immediately picked up on the blood trail which dwindled to no blood within 150 yards.  She continued to pull strong on the leash throughout the entire track.  I finally had to stop her around midnight as this seemed to be a nonfatal injury with no bleeding being noted along the trail past the first 150 yards and I had to work the next day.

We then tracked a deer that was gut shot 24 hours previous to our arrival.  This deer was probably shot in the stomach as acorns and corn were noted at the shot site.  I certainly thought that this buck would be found.  There had been 2 to 3 inches of rain during the 24 hours that had passed since the shot.  She trailed the buck for approx. 1 to 1 1/4 miles total, off leash. She bayed the buck in a very thick pine thicket with terrible briars for a few seconds, but when the buck heard me coming it ran.  Mossy trailed it to a large pond which neither she nor I could cross.  The hunters (age 12) father owned this land and decided that there was no easy way to get to where the buck may have gone if he was able to cross the water and that he would watch for a floating deer or buzzards in the next few days.  This is one track that I am still puzzled over.  I certainly thought that the deer would be in the edge of the water and that the wound would be significant enough that Mossy and I could catch up with the deer.  I am still mulling this over in my head trying to decide what should have been done differently.

Craig took Mossy on a track in which the deer was tracked for 1 1/2 miles.  She was on leash on this track and Craig did not have a gun as the hunter was carrying a rifle and going with them.  After 3/4 mile, Mossy walked into a briar thicket and actually put her nose on the deers hip.  The deer was still alive --shot through the flank areas (gut shot)--and it stood up when Mossy touched it.  The hunter had been unable to keep up with Craig and Mossy in the briars and when Craig had to yell for him to come with the gun, the deer ran another 3/4 of a mile at which time Craig had to stop tracking due to property lines.  Craig has not tracked as much as I have and did not realize the importance of being self sufficient and having his own gun.  A lesson well learned he said after being dragged through 1 1/2 miles of briars by Mossy.

I am realizing that wounded bucks will let Mossy Brooke get fairly close to them and they will have a stand off with her if they still have enough life left in them to possibly survive. This I think occurs because of her small size and bucks detecting her as not being threatening.  If I try to approach a buck with a wound that may not be fatal, it immediately bolts as soon as it detects a larger creature approaching.  It is almost impossible for me to get to the buck without making noise due to the thick vegetation and briars.  I would appreciate any feedback on how to handle these situations.  I think that this is one reason a lot of trackers in the south use larger dogs who actually catch the deer and keep them at bay until the person with a gun can get there.  Dont worry, I would never trade my Mossy Brooke for a larger dog.

Mossy Brooke is an awesome little dog with a love for tracking that cannot be described.  I consider myself very lucky to have her--for tracking and more so as a companion.   She is almost 8 months old and has now found a total of 26 deer (December 10).  

Hope you and John have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Judy

Mossy modeling her camo jacket with Erin prior to going hunting. Mossy stays in the car very quietly with her camo jacket when I take the kids hunting. I am also sending a picture of the buck that Erin killed on our hunt a couple of hours after this picture was taken. Mossy was not in the picture because Erin dropped the deer in its tracks. Mossy still had fun acting like she found it. All of the kids love Mossy as she does them. I take most of these kids turkey hunting in the spring also, so, if Mossy finds a deer for anyone, when they ask what they owe for her services, I request the favor of being able to bring one kid to their property for a turkey hunt next spring.  I am now having to keep a list of the places Mossy has earned us the opportunity to turkey hunt.  When I sit back and look at all Mossy has done here in Georgia--in addition to tracking wounded deer--I am overwhelmed. Introducing kids to hunting, the outdoors, and WHDs is awesome.

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Free Recorded Webinar for Parents Keeping Kids and Dogs Safe Over the Holidays

Thanks to the Pet Professional Guild and Family Paws Parent Education for partnering with Doggone Safe to present this free webinar for parents. If you have a dog and expect visitors or if you will be visiting a family that has a dog, you will get some great tips from this webinar. Even a nice family dog can bite if stressed, and unfortunately many do at family gatherings. The dog owners are inevitably shocked and upset, and say that this "came out of the blue" and that they never would have thought their dog could bite. There are always warnings, although subtle in some cases. Learn to recognize the signs of stress and how to prevent situations in which a dog might feel the need to protect himself with his teeth.

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All Aboard for Dog Friendly Cruises!

By Annie Manning

These days we’re pampering our pooches more than ever. From luxury dog spas to canine country clubs, they’re certainly getting used to living it up. The indulgence isn’t just reserved for home, however. More and more of us are taking our four-legged friends away on vacation with us, with a Pet Travel Survey announcing that 40% of dog owners intended to take their pooches away with them last year. If that wasn’t enough to get tails wagging, 90% of those asked also admitted they’d alter their plans if it would be beneficial to their dog.

From statistics like these, it’s evident that we love Fido as much as Fido loves us. Taking your dog away on vacation with you can be an extremely rewarding experience, especially if you have a family. What’s more, with 80% of vacationers saying they worry about their dogs being in kennels while they’re away, taking them with you can be a more relaxing experience. But where in the world?

If you’ve thought about going away with your dog, you might have considered a camping vacation, or perhaps somewhere by the beach – but have you ever considered a cruise? With the demand for pet-friendly vacations growing, many hotels and resorts have adapted for pet needs, and surprisingly, so have a few well established cruise liners. Although only one pet-friendly transatlantic liner exists thus far, there are many ferries offering smaller trips for both you and your dog to enjoy – all of which are certainly worthy of a visit during your next vacation.

Cunard Cruise Line

The pinnacle of pet-friendly cruises has to be Cunard Cruises’ flagship, the Queen Mary II. On this luxurious ship of dreams, you’ll find every possible amenity to make sure both you and Fido relax in style. The transatlantic liner indulges both of you right from the get-go, with dogs receiving a complimentary gift pack as soon as the ship sets sail. The gift pack includes toys, dog treats, a Cunard bowl, a portrait of both of you, and just in case your dog forgets who he is among all the luxury – a personalized name tag.

Throughout their stay dogs (and cats!) are treated to the very best in bedding and premium pet food, while a full time kennel master is employed to look after your dog’s every whim when you’re busy relaxing. The level of care and attention is unmatched and 100% tailored to your pets needs. If for example your dog is sociable, it can be arranged for him to play with other pets, or he can shun them in favor of snooty solitude. Playtime and walks occur several times of day (though you can specify otherwise) and visiting times for humans come in blocks of two hours. While you relax, you can be sure your pet is receiving the very of best of care; they’re never left unattended, even at night. Make sure to book ahead however; there are only 12 places reserved for pets, making it something of a VIP (very important pooch) occasion.

Smaller Cruises

Many smaller pet-friendly cruises have popped up all around America, making perfect vacation outings for both you and Fido. While dog owners are generally required to clean up after their pets, any dog is allowed so long as they’re well behaved.

Northeastern Cruises

• Acadian Nature Cruises (www.acadiannaturecruises.com): Leaving from Bar Harbor in Maine, Acadian offers a two hour sightseeing cruise along the shoreline. Expect to see historical landmarks and glimpses of seals.
• Downeast Windjammer Cruises (www.downeastwindjammer.com): Offering both sightseeing and fishing trips, Downeast Windjammer Cruises, based in Cherryfield (also in Maine) operates around Belfast Bay and Bangor Harbor.
• Watermark Cruises (www.watermarkcruises.com): Based in Annapolis, Maryland, Watermark offers scenic trips around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
• Hy-Line Cruises (www.hylinecruises.com): Offering both Cape Cod Canal and Hyannisport Harbor cruises, their cruise boats also have a first class lounge (which dogs aren’t welcome in, unfortunately – but the rest of the ship they are).

Southwest, Southeast and South Central Cruises

• Baywatch Dolphin Tours (www.galvestonbaywatch.com): Based in Galveston Texas, Baywatch offers educational hour long dolphin spotting cruises for $10 per person. Best of all, Fido can hop aboard for free!
• Dolly Steamboat (www.dollysteamboat.com): Operating around the Apache Junction in Arizona, the Dolly Steamboat travels along Canyon Lake’s waterways. Offering both nature and astrology cruises, pooches are only allowed if they’re particularly well behaved (so no excessive barkers!).
• Potomac Riverboat Company (www.potomacriverboatco.com): Offering a fantastic pet-friendly sightseeing cruise in Alexandria, Virginia, the Potomac Riverboat Company operates every Thursday with its seasonal Canine Cruise which runs from June until September.

Midwest Cruises

• Sleeping Bear Dunes Boat Cruises (www.sleepingbeardunescruise.com): Based in Frankfurt Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes offers both mid-morning and gorgeous sunset cruises in the Great Lakes district. The scenic trips take two to three hours, so it’s recommended you bring waste bags in case Fido needs to use the “little dog’s room.”
• Mercury Chicagos Skyline Cruise Line (www.mercuryskylinecruiseline.com): The comfortable  Skyline Queen welcomes all canines (even on seats) for its 90 minute trips around Chicago harbor and Lake Michigan. Water bowls are supplied for your dog as he takes in the beautiful views.

Bon voyage!

Photos (top to bottom): Miles Goodhew, Jeremy Keith, Bas Leenders, Tom Bayly

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Dogs and Cats in the Home Happiness for all

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Hi Mia!

Looking forward to hearing more about your upcoming conference, ‘When coping is not enough - Promoting positive welfare states in animals’.

I was recently thinking about positive welfare in animals, sort of by accident. This past Monday, I was part of a Cats In Context conference at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. The conference was put together by ISHAR, the Institute for the Study of Human Animal Relations. Last year’s conference covered The Future of Zoos -- and all those talks are available online -- and this years focus was cats, cats and more cats. Topics included genetics, domestication, cognition, nutrition, behavior problems, vet and health issues, shelter and feral welfare, cats and wildlife and cats and hoarders. 
 
Apparently, all talks and discussions from Cats in Context will be posted on the ISAHR website so you can see how much coffee and grapes I consumed over the course of 7 hours.

Lucky for me, the conference came with a side of dogs! My talk covered Dogs and Cats in the Home. While approximately 15.3% of pet-owning households own a combination of cats and dogs, cats and dogs, as a unit, havent receive that much attention from researchers.

Here’s a 100% made-up graph comparing the amount attention given to “Dog”, “Cat” and “Dog and Cat” behavior and cognition research. The point Im making is that dogs get the bulk of the attention, cats seem to get much less and dogs and cats as a unit are way down at the bottom.

I think many people picture this when they hear Dogs and Cats in the Home:

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But when I took a look at the limited literature, it suggested that many of the dogs and cats living together were more like this:

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One study used a questionnaire and in-home observations to explore the nature of the relationship between dogs and cats already living in the same household. The overarching finding was that many relationships showed signs of “mutual amicability.” For example, the researchers found that many dogs and cats displayed, “a motivation to initiate mutual play.”

Additionally, 75% of dog and cat pairs displayed nose-to-nose contact which is characteristic of friendly and affiliative relationships, specifically between cats. So, it’s pretty awesome that the researchers found this behavior between dogs and cats.

(Nose-to-Nose behavior between a cat and a dog -- Source)

(Typical Nose-to-Nose behavior between cats -- Source)

One of the major factors contributing to successful relationships between dogs and cats seemed to be age of first encounter, suggesting that early introductions promote subsequent amicable relationships. 

Of course, not all dogs and cats living in the home have amicable relationships, but what this does remind us is that amicable relationships can and do exist, they are not just the "stuff of movies!"

What’s your experience with dogs and cats in the home?? And do tell more about your upcoming talk at the conference, ‘When coping is not enough - Promoting positive welfare states in animals.’

Bye for now!

Julie

Reference
Feuerstein N. & Terkel J. (2008). Interrelationships of dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus L.) living under the same roof, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 113 (1-3) 150-165. DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2007.10.010

© Julie Hecht 2013

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Dogs Are Like Porn All Over the Internet and Waiting For You

Hi Mia,

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I’m coming to you hopped up on 3 cups of coffee, a chocolate chip cookie and a barrel of excitement. This weekend, I’m participating at Science Hack Day: Science in the City, an event in its second year running. The host is Francois Grey (Twitter:@FrancoisGrey) a physicist and the head of Citizen Science at NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress.

This two-day event is built on a simple premise:

Life in the city is complicated, and sometimes the only way to solve an urban problem is with a hack–a science hack, that is.

Science hacks are low-cost, elegant workarounds that create useful scientific projects. Science Hack Day is a two-day event that brings together scientists, designers, developers and innovators who will invent, build and test their projects.

On Saturday morning, thirteen hacks were pitched, and anyone who is interested can drop by to participate in Downtown Brooklyn. I’m surrounded by people either tinkering away on computers or other robotic-looking structures. Others took to the streets to record the sounds of the city or set-up hi-tech trash cans. Tomorrow I have the pleasure of sitting on a panel that will give out awards for the best Science Hacks.

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You know exactly what Im talking about because you were all jazzed after attending  Science Rewired (and covered the experience here), and a while back, I listed some of my favorite #citsci projects, including projects involving laughing babies, otters and clouds. 

For those less familiar with public participation science projects, here’s a short, quick and dirty video describing the wide range of projects that anyone can join. Being involved is not only about participating in research and helping researchers, its also about learning more about local communities, collecting relevant data (say on air quality in your neighborhood), and in some cases, making new discoveries:



But what about dogs? Much of the canine research in recent years is conducted in academic lab spaces or owner homes, but over the last few years, we’ve seen immense growth in virtual, online projects that require active participation from anyone in the world. As examples, weve previously blogged about Project: Play With Your Dog as well as Poo Power!

Here are online, public participation dog science projects that anyone in the world can join:

C-BARQ (Free)
A questionnaire designed to provide dog owners and professionals with standardized evaluations of canine temperament and behavior. 

Dognition 
A variety of science-based games that Dognition members can sign up for and play with their pup.

Emotional Content of Vocalizations (Free)
What is the emotional content of dog and human vocalizations? Listen and submit your answer (I covered this study on Scientific American, dedicating a lot of words to making fun of Bret Michaels, as is appropriate).

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Howl Coder (Free)
The Canid Howl Project is the work of a large number of scientists, trying to understand the range of different vocal behaviours of canids, primarily wolves, dogs, and coyotes. Participants listen to vocalizations and analyze the recordings.

Woof! (Free)
The Woof! experiment explores how people respond to dog barks. The study is trying to better understand how we respond to everyday sounds.

Risk factors for low-appeal shelter dogs (Free) 
This online study investigates how descriptors and physical appearance affect shelter dog length of stay and adoption success. Participants help by tagging images of dogs.

Factors contributing to aggressive impulsivity in the dogs (Free)
This is a serious welfare problem for both humans and dogs. PhD student Fernanda Fadel is trying to identify genetic risk factors in dogs which may allow researchers to develop a simple test to identify at-risk individuals. These dogs may need specific management measures to help them live happy and fulfilling lives, at minimal risk to others. Participate by completing a short questionnaire. 

Canine Researchers! Do you have an online, public participation project that we havent listed here? Email us, and let us know! doyoubelieveindog@gmail.com
~~

Projects often revolve around researchers and participants, and each group can have slightly different needs. 

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RESEARCHERS! I imagine that many of our colleagues are looking for study participants. Hooking up with citizen science project aggregators, like those listed below, is a great way to find interested participants. Researchers spend months and months on project design and methods, but recruiting and engaging participants is an entirely different bag of worms. Some of the below websites focus on participant recruitment and engagement. For example, SciStarter has many tools and resources for citizen science projects seeking participants.

PARTICIPANTS! Its not just about dogs, although dogs are very excellent. Many public science projects need help collecting and analyzing data on a wide range of topics. Interested in plants? Interested in birds? Interested in whale vocalizations? Theres something for everyone. Take a look below:

SciStarter

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“SciStarter is the place to find, join, and contribute to science through recreational activities and citizen science research projects. Our database of citizen science projects enable discovery, organization, and greater participation in citizen science.”

CitSci.org
“CitSci.org supports your research by providing tools and resources that allow you to customize your scientific procedure - all in one location on the internet."

Cornell Lab of Ornithology
"Anyone who watches birds, from backyards to city streets to remote forests, can help researchers better understand birds and their habits."

Zooniverse
"Zooniverse contains projects produced, maintained and developed by the Citizen Science Alliance. The member institutions of the CSA work with many academic and other partners around the world to produce projects that use the efforts and ability of volunteers to help scientists and researchers."

Scientific American
An aggregator of many public engagement projects.

Your Wild Life 
Many projects that "explore the biodiversity in our daily lives." I’m pretty psyched about the new Cat Tracker project. 

These are just a sampling of non-canine projects flying around the Internet. If anyone has contributed to public participation projects, wed love to hear about your experience.

See you in T minus 2 weeks!!!!

Julie

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Dogs in Review May 2013

Canine Science! Everywhere! AHHH! (source)

Hey Mia!

Didn’t May come and go in a flash? Is it possible to ask for an extension? The world of canine science was bopping last month, so here’s a review of things I would have liked to cover in more detail, if I were granted a two-week extension:

--> Dogs in Research

Dogs rocked peer-reviewed journals last month! As you mentioned, the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab published an article in a recent issue of Learning and Motivation. We looked at the olfactory experience of companion dogs, and Im sure Ill talk more about our paper later. The issue will include a number of dog-centric, peer-reviewed articles covering a variety of canine cognition topics such as olfaction, memory, physical cognition, and the influence of humans on dog behavior. Here’s a brief overview of a few of the studies:

MAGIC BONES

Pattison et al. The case of the magic bones: Dogs’ memory of the physical properties of objects.

How can I not mention a paper talking about magic bones? “Using a procedure popular with preverbal infant researchers, [the researchers] allowed dogs to initially observe a bone and then to subsequently view the bone changed in either size or color. Dogs gazed longer at a bone changed in either way, compared to a control presentation of an unchanged bone. Dogs apparently encoded and remembered both the size and color of the bone.” *

OLFACTION

Hall et al. Training domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) on a novel discrete trials odor-detection task.

“[Domestic] dogs can be trained to detect a distinct odor (anise) buried in pine shavings. However, it took dogs about 60 trials to reach an average performance level of 80% correct choices, and dogs learned much better when a human experimenter delivered food reward than when the reward was buried with the odor cue.” *

SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Pongrácz et al. “We will work for you” – Social influence may suppress individual food preferences in a communicative situation in dogs.

“[Dogs] would repeatedly choose a bowl containing a carrot over a bowl containing preferred sausage if a human pointed to the carrot bowl. In a delayed response test, dogs regularly search at the location where they last saw food disappear.” *

DOGS AND WORDS

Pilley. Border collie comprehends sentences containing a prepositional object, verb, and direct object.

Chaser knows words (source)

A border collie named Chaser initially captured headlines in 2011 as “the smartest dog in the world” when research published in Behavioral Processes reported that she knew the names of over 1,000 different objects.

Pilley’s current article investigated Chaser’s attention to the syntactical relationships between words, like differentiating “to ball take Frisbee” from “to Frisbee take ball.”

What’s going on with “wordy dogs” like Chaser? How did they get this way? And how can we test whether the dogs in our homes understand our words as we intend them?

• Do Dogs Understand Our Words? The Dogs Weigh In. Scientific American

• Do Dogs Understand Our Words? The Bark Magazine 

PUPPY PROBLEMS?

In other canine science news, I was happy to see that the blog Companion Animal Psychology (twitter: @CompAnimalPsych) covered a recent publication by Frank McMillan et al investigating behavioral problems in puppies from pet stores vs puppies from non-commercial breeders. According to the study: What were the behavioral differences between pet store and breeder-obtained dogs? Read on!

YAWNING IN DOGS MEANS...

Over at Not bad science on Scientific American Blogs, @Felicity__M discusses a study of yawning behavior in dogs. Check out her coverage of the recent paper, Buttner et al. Contagious yawning, social cognition, and arousal: an investigation of the processes underlying shelter dogs’ responses to human yawns.

--> Dog Bite Prevention Week 2013
Apparently, the third full week of May is dog bite prevention week, but in my mind, every day is (or should be) dog bite prevention day. I don’t want to be bitten by a dog, and also I don’t want to give a dog the experience of biting me. So how do we prevent dog bites?

• My primary strategy to avoid being bitten is to not be a child. Yes, that is cheeky, but children are more likely than others to be bitten by dogs, which we’ve discussed in earlier posts, Dogs and babies: Not always cute and The Science Surrounding Children & Dogs: Part 3 (The Ugly).

• I also avoid bites by not interacting with dogs like this: 

Watch Sophia Yin Dog Bite Prevention Video

• Instead, I ask dogs whether they want to interact, as recommended in a great post by Khris Erickson, the Humane Educator at HAWS, Humane Animal Welfare Society in Wisconsin. 
  
  
• If dogs indicate that they are not into interacting, then we dont interact. Its that simple. What I sometimes find is that owners of "so friendly" dogs want to push an interaction even if the dog is giving "not right now" indications. A dog can still be "uber-friendly" without wanting to interact all the time with everyone. Ive been thinking about this a lot recently as NYC enters summer and dogs are looking hotter and hotter, and potentially experiencing some physical discomfort.
  
  
• I also think about context, practicing interventions and what a leash can (and can’t) prevent. Patricia McConnell, CAAB, offers in-depth insights into this topic over at her blog, The Other End of the Leash, in the post Dog Bite Prevention 2013.
  
  
• When it comes to preventing dog bites, I frequently check out The Blue Dog, a website aimed at educating children about dogs. I first learned about The Blue Dog at the 2nd Canine Science Forum. The website houses resources and research on children and dog bites, in addition to providing general dog information:
• Research on dog bites

• Research on dog bite prevention

--> Up next: Some of the leading canine science researchers will be presenting at a Canine Science Conference, SPARCS, June 28-30, 2013. The best part is, anyone in the world can join, either in a conference hall in Redmond, WA, or streaming live to your living room. 

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I recently covered the SPARCS conference on #SciAmBlogs, who will be there & what to expect, at You’re invited to a canine science conference. Take a look!

I know your life is currently heavily focused on The Big W, and I’m not talking about the best movie ever, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Hoping for an update on working dog welfare!

Cheers!

Julie

* summary by Macpherson K. & Roberts W.A. (2013). Exploring the canine mind: Studies of dog cognition, Learning and Motivation, DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2013.04.006

© 2013 Julie Hecht

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Tis the season to be Doggy fa la la la laaaa

Hey Julie,

I absolutely LOVE Project: Play with your Dog study and how the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab are crowd sourcing using citizen science! I dont think a better way of contributing to scientific understanding can possibly exist! I look forward to hearing updates about how the research goes. I will certainly participate - next time we head to the river to play, well take our camera to get some video!

So you might have noticed the silly season of festivity has landed upon us... Assuming we live past Friday (and I really hope we do, because Friday is my birthday and I selfishly want the fun of a full birthday!) I thought Id look at some ideas that might inspire gifts for the two- and four-legged doggy friends and family members in our life.

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1. Read about a Dog

I have been re-reading Inside of a Dog recently and thoroughly enjoying it (again). 

This book would make a fantastic gift for anyone who would like to understand more about dogs, the science looking at dogs, how it all fits together and is relevant to our shared encounters with dogs.

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2. Give a Dog

After all those posts about the science of children and dogs I do think every child should have a dog. 

But make sure its an appropriate dog. 

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Not every household or child is suited to owning a real dog, but that cant stop you giving that special little person in your life a gorgeous handmade pooch! 


Here are some I fell in love with on Etsy.

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3. Holiday with a dog

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Its Summertime in Australia right now and my dogs love nothing more than coming away on holiday/vacation with us to the beach. What better way to show your dog youve enjoyed their company than to include them on your trip away?

Winter escapes can be fun for dogs too!

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Its easier than you might think to find pet-friendly accommodation in your favourite holiday destination. 

Just head to favourite online search engine and enter pet friendly accommodation *insert district name here*. 


Alternatively just ask normal rental options if theyll allow you to bring a 4-legged friend. You might be surprised how many places will say yes if you just enquire and give them some reassurance that your dog will respect the house rules!

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4. Save a Dog


You can impress your dog loving friends or family members by donating money to your local welfare, shelter or dog rescue group in lieu of a gift. Who really needs another recipe book when the same amount of money could help pay for care to help save a 4-legged life?

 I do love Giddy and Twinkles words of wisdom! (source)

If you really need a gift to wrap, most of these non-profit, volunteer-driven organisations have calendars they sell to help raise funds.





5. Spend time with a Dog

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At the end of the day, most of our dogs just want to spend time with us. 

So take time this festive season to go for that extra walk, give that extra pat, groom or game of fetch (depending on what your dog likes and if it is a game, be sure to take a video and submit it to help science!). 

If you dont have a dog, consider volunteering at your local shelter or welfare group. The festive season is an insanely busy period for these places and they are often overrun with dogs who have strayed while their owners are away, who are scared of fireworks or who have been dumped. 

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Just volunteering your time to help clean, feed, walk and care for half a day or three could make a huge difference to the dedicated staff. These people tend to miss out on Christmas lunch with their families or New Years Eve partying year after year because they nobly spend it looking after our 4-legged friends.



So there you have it - my top 5 gift ideas for two- and four-legged friends this silly season. Whats on your gift list?

Wishing you and yours a safe and fun festive season this year Julie.
Heres hoping we all make it past Friday and if we do, Im sure 2013 is going to be a cracker!

Fa la la la laaaa, la la la laa!

x Mia 


Further reading:

Sitler R.K. (2006). The 2012 Phenomenon New Age Appropriation of an Ancient Mayan Calendar, Nova Religio, 9 (3) 24-38. DOI: 10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.024

© Mia Cobb 2012

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