Doggy Appetites

Earlier this week I spoke with my parents who told me a story about our dog, Cooper. Apparently, he got into a pan of brownies left out on the counter. He was completely fine and didn't get sick (chocolate is poisonous to dogs), but the story got me thinking about doggy appetites. 

It seems that all the dogs my family's had are chow hounds. They are always looking for little snacks to steal whether it be from our kitchen or where they're dog kibble is kept. Just reading the ingredients on dog food, I can see why they would be so hungry. Iams dog food's ingredients read like a gourmet selection: with beef, lamb, fish, even sweet potatoes and rice! That's more than my mom cooks when I come home from school!

I have to be honest, when I was a little girl I was tempted to eat dog food, and in fact, I did. Well, I only had a small piece of kibble and I thought it was disgusting, but with ingredients like those, it's no wonder dogs are always wanting to eat more. And with such adorable faces it's even easier to give into temptation and feed them treats all day.

But a note of caution, while most dog breeds are active and have metabolisms that keep them in relatively good shape, it's very easy to overfeed your dog and cause it serious harm.

Cooper, my dog I mentioned earlier, had an accident when he was a puppy. We noticed that his belly looked distended and he seemed lethargic and a little out of it. So we rushed him to an emergency vet clinic, anxious to find out what was wrong with him. Well it turned out his bloated belly was fully of kibble. Five times more than what he should have eaten. We figured that he got into our ferret's food. 

Although we were obviously relieved he wasn't seriously injured, the vet ended up pumping his stomach because she said that stretching out the stomach too far could tear it or push into other organs. 

But an even bigger concern with giving in to your pooch's tummy growls is the weight concern. Dogs may whine and act like they aren't hungry, but they will be absolutely fine. If you're not sure how much is too much, ask your vet what is the appropriate amount of food given your dog's breed and weight.

For example, we feed Cooper twice a day. However, our previous dog, we gave him a larger portion of food in the morning and he would nibble on it throughout the day. Each dog is different but it's best to stick with a regiment so you have a healthy and happy companion!

Caption: This picture was taken at the Furry Skurry in Dayton, Ohio. You can read more about it from my previous post!

Q&A with Professor Virginia Hall

The following is part of an interview with Ohio University professor Virginia Hall. She teaches a society and animals course that explores the relationship between humans and animals.

So, in your own words, what is your definition of anthropomorphism?

Well anthropomorphism was developed as one way to characterize how people describe animals. If you are accused of 'anthropomorphizing,' this means you've given human traits or characteristics to an animal. For example, if I said 'Gosh my dog is so bored today' that would be an example of anthropomorphizing because being bored is a human emotion.

So you can describe any animal without anthropomorphizing?

It can be a fine line. But saying something like "my dog is hot" may not be anthropomorphizing because it's been proven that when dogs pant, it's a way for them to cool down. But again, people who take a very strict or narrow definition of it would still say that's anthropomorphizing. 

We seem to be talking about dogs a lot. Is that usually the animal that is anthropomorphized?

Not necessarily, anybody can describe any animal as having human emotions, but pets, especially dogs seem to be anthropomorphized the most.

Why is that?

Well, they are our campions. Dogs, or wolves, have been with us for hundreds of year. It's easy to describe an animal like a human if it's been a companion for that long.

What are other ways dogs can be anthropomorphized? Like dressing them up?

That's one example. Anthropomorphism goes beyond just describing a dog like a human. You can also treat it like a human by dressing it up in human outfits, feeding it people food, and overall treating it like a little furry person.

This seems like a new trend. I mean, I don't remember things like doggy daycares or crazy pet outfits until the last few years.

Well yes, doggy daycares are a new thing, but people, ladies especially, have been dressing dogs up way back in the 1800s. Their dogs had their own handkerchiefs and even little boots to wear.

What was the point of all that?

It was another status symbol of the aristocracy. It showed you had so much money to spare that you could even afford fashionable outfits for your dog.

The rest of professor Hall's comments about the consequences of anthropomorphism are in an earlier post. Check it out!

Photo Caption: Bo, the Obama's family dog is seen playing with a ball outside the white house. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Puppy mills

The above video is a clip from The Oprah Winfrey Show, when Lisa Ling did an expose about the problems with puppy mills.

Here in Athens, Petland is rumored to get its puppies from mills, although its Web site claims all their puppies are healthy.

Rumors or not, the horrors of puppy mills are something most people are either unaware of or ignore. Puppy mills, or puppy farms, are large commerical dog breeding facilities. On the surface, this may seem legitamate. Puppies are always in demand and this is a way to monitor breeding of those puppies. But it's how the operators go maintain these facilities and treat the dogs that draws criticism.

Dogs are cramped into tiny cages, with little to no chance of exercise, socialization, a decent diet, and certainly no love and affection from humans. As the Oprah Winfrey video showed, these female dogs are used only for breeding and usely are discarded once they can no longer produce puppies.

These puppy mills stay in business because thousands of pet store purchase their puppies from them.

But some groups are trying to help.
The Humane Society has an entire Web page devoted to education and elimination of puppy mills. First and foremost, people need to be informed that this is a real problem across the country. Also, boycott pet stores that sell puppies. Here in Athens, that can be difficult because in a rural area, there are fewer options for pet supplies, but you can at least try to limit your purchases. Although every pet store denies they use pet stores, ones that sell puppies are obviously the only ones that would purchase puppies from pet mills. You can also contact your local congressperson or senator.

An interesting suggestion the Humane Society reccommend to pet stores is rather that selling commercial puppies, bring in dogs or puppies from local animal shelters or rescues.

The trend seems to be that puppy mills will continue until there is drastic legislation to change such policies, but as with any change, people can help out by starting where they are.

Consider other methods of purchasing puppies, like a shelter or rescue, and pick locally owned pet stores to shop for supplies.

Pet places around Athens

The following map has a list of places to take your dog or other pets for that matter. Some of them include parks, pet stores, kennels, and shelters.


View Pet places in Athens, Ohio in a larger map

When "man's best friend" goes too far

Man’s best friend has gotten an upgrade: trade in that nylon collar for a diamond-studded necklace and do not forget to put a coat on Fiddo before dropping him off at daycare

Society has found new ways to treat their pooch like their child, friend, or even spouse. But tendency to humanize these dogs puts them and humans at risk.

What's anthropomorphism?

More than 63 percent of households own a pet, which equates to 7.1 billion homes, according to the American Pet Products Association’s 2007-2008 national pet owner’s survey.

Pet owners spent more than $2.9 billion on pet services such as spas and daycares in 2007-a growing trend, according to a report from the American Pet Products Association

A 2008 study by the University of Chicago shed some light on this humanization phenomenon called anthropomorphism--when objects are given human attributions or characteristics.

The study found that more and more people are creating human relationships with their pets and other objects.

The researchers concluded that non-human-human relationships provide the same psychological and emotional benefits as human relationships.

So what's the problem?

Although this study found several benefits from humanizing pets, Ohio University professor Virginia Hall said she has some doubts.

"The problem is that owners start to think of their dogs as little people with fur rather than what they are: animals," she said.

Hall, who teaches a society and animals course, said that while dogs have had a strong relationship with humans for hundreds of years, it wasn't until society used dogs as companions and show pieces that both humans and dogs began to suffer from humanization rather than benefit from it.

“Dogs do want to satisfy humans, but will never be able to when we set such high expectations for them,” Hall said, adding that these expectations include making a pet a best friend, child or partner.

When dogs can't meet those human expectations they begin to feel anxious, which can lead to chewing on furniture or losing their appetite, she said.

Hall acknowledged that while there is some evidence to suggest dogs feel human emotions like pain, joy, and sadness, but these emotions are on a more basic level.

The problem occurs when humans begin to exaggerate these emotions.

“Owners come to rely on their pets as more than their animal and when pets can’t commit we get upset with them,” Hall said.

But dogs also physically suffer. When owners begin to think of their dog as a person they forget what their dog needs as an animal like exercise and socialization with other dogs.

“We have to love and care for our animals, but not expect more than they can give,” Hall said.

What can be done?

To the credit of humans, Hall said society is appreciating pets more and taking better care of their needs, yet she remains convinced no good can from humanizing pets.

Dogs or any other pet can never be a substitute for human relationships no matter how much you dress them like a person or think they understand what you’re feeling,” Hall said.

So while Fiddo may be the best-dressed pooch on the block with his suede collar and leather boots, he still lifts his leg to go the bathroom and greets others with a sniff of their behind.

And that behavior has yet to be accepted in human society.

What do you think? Anything wrong with treating your pooch like your best friend?

Photo caption: Softbank Corp. TV commercial model Kai the Hokkaido dog, wearing Japan's third biggest mobile carrier's baseball team the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks' cap and uniform, poses next to a new handset held by U.S. actor Dante Carver, unseen, during a press event in Tokyo Tuesday, May 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

Web site Review: i-love-dogs.com

I wanted to critique a Web site that wasn't associated with a company or strictly a listing of different dog breeds, so I found i-love-dogs.com, which as the name states, is all about the creator's love of dogs.

I first noticed the top banner, which had cute cartoon like drawings of dogs and owners. I also noticed the homepage had a lot of ads, mostly for dog food or other dog supplies. I like all the color, but it might need to be a little bit better organized. My eye tends to wander all over the place rather than following some sort of order.

I do like all the different linked sections to the Web site on the left side of the screen. This user really created a one stop shop type of Web site for all different information about dogs from breeds, food, toys, training, even dog software.

Also, the creator has tons of links to other Web sites that this one doesn't cover. That's a great way to network and helps users out if and may keep them coming back because they know this site will direct them to other resources. The creator has really thought of a lot of stuff and some of the topics and links gave me ideas for my own blog posts.

One thing I would suggest is to have a central photo or slide show below the banner that helps grab the reader in and gives them a starting point. Right now the dominant photo is an ad for Walmart, but it would be nice if it were just a standard photo.

Overall though, I think the Web site content is great, it just needs a little more work on the lay out and design.

Furry Scurry 5K Walk

My previous blog post was a slide show of photos about the Furry Scurry 5K Walk to benefit the Humane Society of Greater Dayton held May 9.

Although I didn't walk, I stopped at one of the watering stations to take photos of the dogs and look for my mom and dog, Cooper, who managed to get through the whole walk without stopping!

The Furry Scurry is an annual event held all over Dayton and attracts hundreds of people and dogs. Dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds turned up from Irish Wolfhounds to Chihuahuas. Some other animals turned up to support the Humane Society including a cat in a stroller, a goat on a leash and even a Macaw!

But not every doggy was cut out for 3.1 miles; some decided to plop down in the grass and wait for volunteers to drive them and their owner to the finish line.

Volunteers were also on hand to be dog holders, so if any owner needed to stop and use the bathroom, someone was around to take care of their dog while the owner uses the bathroom.

However, not all dogs participating in the walk had owners. Dogs from both the Humane Society and SICSA, a dog and cat shelter, were in the walk wearing "adopt me" vests. Hopefully some of these dogs were adopted.

I saw a lot of really different dogs and an incredible amount of support from dog owners and sponsors for the Humane Society. I definitely want to participate next year and recommend anyone else in the Dayton area coming out as well!

Note: My camera batteries died before I could get more photos but check out this slideshow from the Dayton Daily News.