"Dogs Decoded" reveals the science behind the remarkable bond between humans and their dogs and investigates new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dogs—with surprising implications for the evolution of human culture. Other research is proving what dog lovers have suspected all along: Dogs have an uncanny ability to read and respond to human emotions. Humans, in turn, respond to dogs with the same hormone responsible for bonding mothers to their babies. How did this incredible relationship between humans and dogs come to be? And how can dogs, so closely related to fearsome wild wolves, behave so differently?
***
Watching it, I see that it's actually lightly edited version of The Secret Life of the Dog with an American narrator substituted.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
coping with pet loss
For Makiki resident Joyce Tsuji, Toro was a companion and confidant, a reliable morning alarm clock and an occasional "bedtime hat."
The fawn-colored tabby, a stray who hung out under Tsuji's car and eventually worked his way into her heart, was a beloved pet for more than five years.
"Toro became family from the moment he adopted me," Tsuji said.
When her cat was diagnosed with lymphoma about five years ago on top of a bowel syndrome, the animal was too weak for surgery, and Tsuji had to make the heartbreaking decision to euthanize her pet.
Losing Toro left a a void in her life. She said she cried just as hard when she lost Toro as the day her grandparents died.
Five years later Tsuji still misses him.
This kind of grief for pet owners is very real, according to Julie Ann Luiz Adrian, a veterinarian and assistant professor at the University of Hawaii at Hilo who co-authored a study last year on the emotional impacts of the loss of a pet.
The fawn-colored tabby, a stray who hung out under Tsuji's car and eventually worked his way into her heart, was a beloved pet for more than five years.
"Toro became family from the moment he adopted me," Tsuji said.
When her cat was diagnosed with lymphoma about five years ago on top of a bowel syndrome, the animal was too weak for surgery, and Tsuji had to make the heartbreaking decision to euthanize her pet.
Losing Toro left a a void in her life. She said she cried just as hard when she lost Toro as the day her grandparents died.
Five years later Tsuji still misses him.
This kind of grief for pet owners is very real, according to Julie Ann Luiz Adrian, a veterinarian and assistant professor at the University of Hawaii at Hilo who co-authored a study last year on the emotional impacts of the loss of a pet.
Joey walks with Buddha and the gang
RMAS out, Keith barks, take Kimo out a little later
Hershey not home yet. Gerald comes in Doreen's car w/ Hershey (getting a colonoscopy). Kimo acts up. Guess he's not used to the car (or Doreen). Hershey hesitant to come out (can't blame him).
up Aulii, Puna, see Hoku, but go get Joey
then see Betty outside. Buddha leaves the stoop to sniff Joey.
drop off Hershey with Hoku. Jennifer is out with Sonny, chat a little, then go back
go back to see Betty, Joey goes to door
Kaylen agrees to go walking, so we all walk together (one day I'll have to bring my camera). Nicole out w/ Cleo too
pick up Hershey, bring Joey up. Hoku follows Joey around like she wants to play with him. Allen stops Hoku from following and has her lie down.
take Joey home.
***
later that day, big Koa is loose
Kimo wild. Go out to get Koa on leash.
Wander over to Kimo behind fence. This time, Kimo doesn't go wild. And they sort of sniff each other through the fence.
Take Koa home. Somebody taking Mr. Wong home (who I saw at MacDonald's a couple hours earlier). Walk and chat a little w/ Sam and Stanley. Tell them mom in hospital.
[Tue 11/9, posted 11/11]
Hershey not home yet. Gerald comes in Doreen's car w/ Hershey (getting a colonoscopy). Kimo acts up. Guess he's not used to the car (or Doreen). Hershey hesitant to come out (can't blame him).
up Aulii, Puna, see Hoku, but go get Joey
then see Betty outside. Buddha leaves the stoop to sniff Joey.
drop off Hershey with Hoku. Jennifer is out with Sonny, chat a little, then go back
go back to see Betty, Joey goes to door
Kaylen agrees to go walking, so we all walk together (one day I'll have to bring my camera). Nicole out w/ Cleo too
pick up Hershey, bring Joey up. Hoku follows Joey around like she wants to play with him. Allen stops Hoku from following and has her lie down.
take Joey home.
***
later that day, big Koa is loose
Kimo wild. Go out to get Koa on leash.
Wander over to Kimo behind fence. This time, Kimo doesn't go wild. And they sort of sniff each other through the fence.
Take Koa home. Somebody taking Mr. Wong home (who I saw at MacDonald's a couple hours earlier). Walk and chat a little w/ Sam and Stanley. Tell them mom in hospital.
[Tue 11/9, posted 11/11]
Monday, November 8, 2010
Joey with Kimo and Hershey
Keith barking excitedly in the morning, it's RMAS. Kimo joins in.
Take Kimo out to Hershey's garage. Reina says Kimo looks a little disturbed (or something). Then he goes wild as they pass. I hold his collar as he's in his wild state and ask him if he's a little disturbed? (or something)
Follow. Seems OK after that.
Then we see the man walking his pitbull down Lolena. Though we're a distance away, Kimo starts to get excited. I remark that Kimo doesn't like that dog. Amy remarks he doesn't like a lot of dogs. I say he has to get used to them. Reina remarks what about their dogs, it's been three years. I reply he's used to them in the wrong way.
Up Aulii.
See Fred being walked on Aulii. Follow him. Turn around and let Fred follow us. [At least I think this was before I retrieved Joey]
To Puna, Joey's house, retrieve Joey. Doesn't bark. No problems.
Take them down. Hoku comes to gate. Let them sniff.
Back to Joey's house. Let them loose in yard. Hershey wanders around. Kimo likes to go inside Joey's room downstairs and sniff around. Have to watch him so he doesn't pee. Joey follows me around as I go looking to see where Hershey and Kimo ran off to.
[Mon 11/8, posted 11/9]
Take Kimo out to Hershey's garage. Reina says Kimo looks a little disturbed (or something). Then he goes wild as they pass. I hold his collar as he's in his wild state and ask him if he's a little disturbed? (or something)
Follow. Seems OK after that.
Then we see the man walking his pitbull down Lolena. Though we're a distance away, Kimo starts to get excited. I remark that Kimo doesn't like that dog. Amy remarks he doesn't like a lot of dogs. I say he has to get used to them. Reina remarks what about their dogs, it's been three years. I reply he's used to them in the wrong way.
Up Aulii.
See Fred being walked on Aulii. Follow him. Turn around and let Fred follow us. [At least I think this was before I retrieved Joey]
To Puna, Joey's house, retrieve Joey. Doesn't bark. No problems.
Take them down. Hoku comes to gate. Let them sniff.
Back to Joey's house. Let them loose in yard. Hershey wanders around. Kimo likes to go inside Joey's room downstairs and sniff around. Have to watch him so he doesn't pee. Joey follows me around as I go looking to see where Hershey and Kimo ran off to.
[Mon 11/8, posted 11/9]
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Joey walks with Kimo for the first time
take out Kimo, up Puna, decide to go to Joey's house
knock on door, ask permission from Cheryl's mom to take Joey
unlike the previous day, see no problems between them
take them out for walk, I had the slip leash on Joey and he struggled a little wanting to wander off, but mostly seemed accepting of it.
pass Dottie's house, gate closed, Hoku tied up. Dottie is up with Allen and Lani. They're moving something today.
back to Joey's house. Then see Nicole come out w/ Cleo. So go back down.
let Joey sniff Cleo and vice-versa.
Driveway door open, so go up and let Joey sniff Hoku and vice-versa. Joey seems a little intimidated by the size of Hoku. So turn him around and let Hoku sniff his butt. In the meantime, Kimo stands on the side.
Sun 11/7, posted 11/9
knock on door, ask permission from Cheryl's mom to take Joey
unlike the previous day, see no problems between them
take them out for walk, I had the slip leash on Joey and he struggled a little wanting to wander off, but mostly seemed accepting of it.
pass Dottie's house, gate closed, Hoku tied up. Dottie is up with Allen and Lani. They're moving something today.
back to Joey's house. Then see Nicole come out w/ Cleo. So go back down.
let Joey sniff Cleo and vice-versa.
Driveway door open, so go up and let Joey sniff Hoku and vice-versa. Joey seems a little intimidated by the size of Hoku. So turn him around and let Hoku sniff his butt. In the meantime, Kimo stands on the side.
Sun 11/7, posted 11/9
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
dogs rise in status in China
BEIJING — Xiangzi — meaning ‘Lucky’ in English — is aptly named. A trim Siberian husky, his owner, a sports marketer named Qiu Hong, pampers him with two daily walks, a brace of imported American toys and grooming tools, $300 worth of monthly food and treats and his own sofa in her high-rise apartment.
When city life becomes too blase, Qiu loads Xiangzi in the car and takes him out for a run — on the trackless steppes of Inner Mongolia, seven hours north.
Twenty years ago, there were hardly any dogs in Beijing, and the few that were here stood a chance of landing on a dinner plate. It remains possible even today to find dog-meat dishes here. But it is far easier to find dog-treat stores, dog websites, dog social networks, dog swimming pools — even, for a time recently, a bring-your-dog cinema and a bring-your-dog bar on Beijing’s downtown nightclub row.
How this came to be is, in some ways, the story of modern China as well. Centuries ago, China’s elite kept dogs as pets; the Pekingese is said to date to the 700s, when Chinese emperors made it the palace dog — and executed anyone who stole one.
But in the Communist era, dogs were more likely to be guards, herders or meals than companions. Both ideological dogma and necessity during China’s many lean years rendered pets a bourgeois luxury. Indeed, after dogs first began to appear in Beijing households, the government decreed in 1983 that they and seven other animals, including pigs and ducks, were banned from the city.
China’s economic renaissance changed all that, at least in the prosperous cities. “People used to be focused on improving their own lives, and they weren’t really acquainted with raising dogs,” Qiu said. “But with the improvement in the economy, people’s outlooks have changed. There’s a lot of stress in people’s lives, and having a dog is a way to relieve it.”
Mostly, though, it appears that Beijing dogs have, as in the West, become objects of affection — even devotion — by their owners. On a given weekend, hundreds of dog owners flock to Pet Park, a 29-acre canine spa east of Beijing that includes a dog-and-owner restaurant, a dog show ring, a dog agility course, a dog cemetery and chapel, a dog-owner motel, an immaculate 600-bay kennel (where visitors must step in a disinfectant vat before entering) and two bone-shaped swimming pools.
When city life becomes too blase, Qiu loads Xiangzi in the car and takes him out for a run — on the trackless steppes of Inner Mongolia, seven hours north.
Twenty years ago, there were hardly any dogs in Beijing, and the few that were here stood a chance of landing on a dinner plate. It remains possible even today to find dog-meat dishes here. But it is far easier to find dog-treat stores, dog websites, dog social networks, dog swimming pools — even, for a time recently, a bring-your-dog cinema and a bring-your-dog bar on Beijing’s downtown nightclub row.
How this came to be is, in some ways, the story of modern China as well. Centuries ago, China’s elite kept dogs as pets; the Pekingese is said to date to the 700s, when Chinese emperors made it the palace dog — and executed anyone who stole one.
But in the Communist era, dogs were more likely to be guards, herders or meals than companions. Both ideological dogma and necessity during China’s many lean years rendered pets a bourgeois luxury. Indeed, after dogs first began to appear in Beijing households, the government decreed in 1983 that they and seven other animals, including pigs and ducks, were banned from the city.
China’s economic renaissance changed all that, at least in the prosperous cities. “People used to be focused on improving their own lives, and they weren’t really acquainted with raising dogs,” Qiu said. “But with the improvement in the economy, people’s outlooks have changed. There’s a lot of stress in people’s lives, and having a dog is a way to relieve it.”
Mostly, though, it appears that Beijing dogs have, as in the West, become objects of affection — even devotion — by their owners. On a given weekend, hundreds of dog owners flock to Pet Park, a 29-acre canine spa east of Beijing that includes a dog-and-owner restaurant, a dog show ring, a dog agility course, a dog cemetery and chapel, a dog-owner motel, an immaculate 600-bay kennel (where visitors must step in a disinfectant vat before entering) and two bone-shaped swimming pools.
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