The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Mostly sunny. High of 72. “A”
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy. High of 76. “A”
MEMORIAL DAY MONDAY: Partly cloudy. High of 80. “A”
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Sunny. High of 69. “A”
SUNDAY: Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. High of 77. “A”
We open this week with a blog from our vault and Jennifer writing back in 2012 (updated):
I have suffered from seasonal & environmental allergies for most of my life. I have never had “allergy testing” because quite frankly I am too chicken to subject myself to the process. Generally I just take OTC antihistamines from first bloom to first frost and deal with it.
I tolerate a range of annoying allergic reactions besides ragweed and pollen. I have a severe reaction to nickel in metal so much to Kevin’s chagrin I can only wear “real” gold. I can’t come within 5 yards of a horse or I will break out in hives and have eyes so swollen I look like, well, I don’t know what. Just the other day, I tried a new brand of dish soap because I thought it smelled nice. “Big mistake,” my rash-covered hands told me.
Kevin, on the other hand, has no issues with things like this. The man can cut grass in a dust storm, pet a dozen dogs at one time, stand in a field of flowers and use any sort of soap/lotion/fragrance. If he sneezes once during the months of June, July and August it’s because he got pool water in his nose.
I truly hope that our daughter Kyla takes after her Daddy and has her own natural ability to fight allergens and not rely on a lifetime supply of Benadryl. I don’t know… with our luck, our poor offspring will sneeze in unison with Mommy from May through October and we’ll open the windows once during the summer season.
(UPDATE FROM FOX6 NEWS MILWAUKEE: “One word: Rough.” That’s how allergist and immunologist Dr. Khaled Girgis of HCA Midwest Health describes the 2023 allergy season we’re in for this spring. Allergies are the gift that keeps on giving. Those who suffer know all too well its impact on sleep, daytime alertness and overall function. Now with rising temperatures and increased pollen in the air, the arrival of spring allergy season is here, and doctors warn we’re in for a bumpy ride. After a mild winter season with less precipitation in most areas across the U.S., Girgis said pollen counts could skyrocket as it starts to warm up – as they did in key regions just a couple of weeks ago. “If spring turns out to be rainy, mold counts will go up,” he said. Girgis said there are three pollination seasons: spring, late May with grass, and mid-August when weed season kicks in).
So where am I going with all this nasal news? Well, if you think the two-legged members of your family are the only ones who can suffer this time of year think again. If you have noticed the family pooch scratching more, or sneezing uncontrollably then chances are he/she is suffering from seasonal allergies. Fortunately there are ways to cope just like there are for humans. Antihistamines are a possible source of relief, as are a short-term dose of steroids.
This year if you are itching & scratching, rubbing your eyes, sneezing and dealing with a raspy voice and scratchy throat; please don’t dismiss your dog may be suffering the same ways you are.
From a fellow allergy sufferer, good luck with summer.
—Jennifer Fischer, 03/17/2012 (revised)
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Mostly cloudy. High of 65. “C”
SUNDAY: A few showers early with overcast skies later in the day. High of 56. “C-”
NATIONAL DOG MOM’S DAY
During the second Saturday in May, National Dog Mom’s Day sends out a chorus of yips, barks, and howls of praise for all the dog mommas!
Our dogs are our family members, whether they came into our lives unexpectedly or as carefully planned additions. We adopt them as puppies, adolescents, or fully mature animals with a bit of baggage, and yet, we find common ground, a connection, and bond like families do. They know our moods, and we know theirs. We care for them, shelter them, and share an immeasurable loyalty with them.
National Dog Mom’s Day recognizes the bond women share with their fur kids. When they humor us, charm us or even when they are naughty, they are like any other child to us.
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
Handling of bomb dog at Michigan airport being investigated after video goes viral.
Scandals that rocked the famed Westminster Dog Show.
WHAT IT TAKES TO BE TOP DOG JUDGE Emily Anthes NY Times, May 7, 2023
On a cold February day more than two decades ago, Ted Eubank, a dog breeder from Texas, stepped into the ring at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for the first time. It was the first year that Cavalier King Charles spaniels — the silky-eared, saucer-eyed dogs that were Mr. Eubank’s specialty — had been allowed to compete in the prestigious dog show, which was then held at Madison Square Garden. The crowd around the ring was 10 people deep, he recalled recently.
“Talk about adrenaline, oh, my gosh,” he said.
In the years since, Mr. Eubank has become a seasoned Westminster competitor; his Cavaliers, including one indomitable champion named Rocky, have been named the best of their breed several times.
But on Monday, Mr. Eubank will be a rookie again when he makes his debut as a Westminster judge. He expects to feel a familiar flutter when he steps into the ring. “I will have butterflies,” he said.
More than 2,500 dogs — miniature pinschers, mastiffs and more — will compete in this year’s Westminster Dog Show, the second oldest consistently held sporting event in the United States. Westminster is a show for winners; only dogs who have racked up points at other competitions are eligible.
For a dog show judge, receiving an invitation to assess these canine champions is a prize of its own. “I felt like I won the lottery when the letter came,”said Michael Faulkner, of Center Cross, Va., who first judged at Westminster in 2001. “I actually cried.”
When Sharon Redmer, of Whitmore Lake, Mich., received her invitation, she was so excited that she “almost dropped the envelope,” she recalled. And Betty-Anne Stenmark, a judge in California, was not prepared when she was tapped to judge Best in Show in 2018. “I was sorry there was no champagne in the refrigerator,” she said.
Picking the best of the best is both a science and an art, Westminster judges said. The task requires applying exacting, rigorous (sometimes arbitrary-seeming) standards, but it also, in the end, often comes down to personal taste.
“We all see things differently,” said Cindy Vogels, who will be judging at Westminster for the ninth time this year. “That’s the beauty of it. And that’s what keeps people coming back.”
Purebred preparations
Westminster is what is known as a conformation show, and the job of a conformation judge is to assess how well a purebred dog exemplifies its breed: Is that curl-covered dog the Platonic ideal of a poodle? Does that golden retriever look like it can retrieve?
“You are looking at the dogs and trying to determine which dog gives you the signal that it could have done its original job description,” saidPatricia Craige Trotter, who judged Best in Show in 2021. “What we’re doing is trying to achieve a level of near perfection in creating a working animal.”
Conformation judges must have a deep familiarity with the breed standards, which articulate the ideal version of each breed in exquisite detail, specifying everything including the desired pigmentation of the nose and the preferred facial expression.
In the United States, becoming an approved judge typically requires more than a decade of participating in dog shows, breeding and raising multiple litters of dogs, producing several champions, completing courses in canine anatomy, passing at least two tests and an interview and attending a judging institute, among other requirements.
“It’s harder to become a dog judge than a brain surgeon, to tell you the truth,” Mr. Faulkner said.
Some judges work just a few shows a year; others work more than 40, traveling to Europe, Asia and Australia for assignments. To earn a spot at Westminster, which sends out invitations as far as two years in advance, a judge must be established and experienced, said Donald Sturz, who judged Best in Show in 2022 and now serves as the president of the Westminster Kennel Club. A Best in Show assignment, in particular, is “the pinnacle for a dog show judge,” he said.
Judges might spend months preparing for Westminster. Mr. Eubank, who will judge eight breeds and varieties of toy dogs this year, has been reviewing the official breed standards, watching videos of judging at past shows and reconnecting with some of his mentors, who first helped him master the art of canine assessment.
Being a good judge also requires quick, clear analytical thinking, said Britt Jung, of Houston, who will be judging at Westminster for the first time this year. Ms. Jung, a former soccer player, feels a responsibility to be in top form for the dog owners and handlers who have expended so much effort to get to Westminster, so she is preparing for the event like an athlete.
“How would I prepare to be ready for a big game?” she said. “I eat well. I make sure I get good sleep. I make sure I stick to a routine.”
Canine prime time
When judgment day finally arrives, the occasion can feel momentous. The crowds at Westminster dwarf those at many dog shows. “You could just feel the electricity in the air when you walked out on the carpet to judge,” said Mrs. Vogels, who judged Best in Show in 2012.
A television audience raises the stakes. “You hope you don’t fall on your head or catch your heel on something and become famous for all the wrong reasons,” Mrs. Stenmark said.
But judges said their nerves calmed and the buzz of the crowd faded as soon as they started doing what they had trained for: sizing up dogs.
Because the dogs at Westminster are already seasoned champions, a Westminster title can come down to small details: the condition of the coat, the precision of the haircut or the synchrony between the dog and its handler as they move around the ring. “Was it just pure poetry in motion?” Mr. Faulkner said.
Often, it’s the more ineffable qualities that win the day. “It’s that little extra sparkle,” Mrs. Stenmark said. When she judged Best in Show in 2018, she selected the bichon frisé Flynn, a veritable canine cloud, as her winner. “This dog was asking for it,” she said. “Every time I looked at him, he walked out on the end of his lead and wagged his tail at me and cocked his head and said, ‘It will be me, right?’”
When Dr. Sturz judged Best in Show, he knew he’d found a winner when a bloodhound named Trumpet — who commanded the spotlight “in his own way, in a way that was befitting of a bloodhound” — gave him goose bumps, he said.
On another night, a different dog might have risen to the top. “You know how great athletes can have an off night? Well, so can great animals,” Mrs. Trotter said.
Although the breed standards provide blueprints, judges have their own preferences and priorities. For some judges, Mr. Eubank said, judging a Cavalier King Charles spaniel is primarily about finding a pretty face. (The breed standard calls for a “sweet, gentle, melting expression.”)But for Mr. Eubank, who grew up with uber-athletic sporting dogs, a winning Cavalier must also move beautifully around the ring.
The audience, which can be boisterous at Westminster, often has preferences of its own. But if there is wisdom in the crowd, it cannot be trusted by a conformation judge. Audience members “just glom on to something, and they like it,” Mrs. Vogels said. “They don’t have the expertise to know whether it’s great or not.”
Dog show judging has its downsides. The travel can be grueling. Dog bites are an occupational hazard. And where there are winners, there are sometimes sore losers. “You’re brilliant if the dog wins, and you’re an idiot if the dog doesn’t,” Mrs. Stenmark said.
Still, judges said they couldn’t imagine giving up the pursuit, which they are drawn to for a variety of reasons. “I guess it’s my drug of choice,” said Mrs. Stenmark, who said she got “a thrill” when she saw a superlative new dog step into the ring.
For Mr. Faulkner, who is also an artist, judging dogs engages the creative parts of his brain. “I love the whole parts-to-whole gestalt approach to evaluating breeding stock,” he said. “And I love the balance and symmetry.”
And then, of course, there are the dogs. Although Mr. Eubank remains a Cavalier man, he adores all of the breeds he’ll be judging on Monday.
“I love pugs, I love min pins,” he said, referring to miniature pinschers. “I love Pekingese.”
Pomeranians? “They’re the cutest.”
Havanese? “Crazy about them,” he said. “I love them all.”
A petit basset griffon Vendeen named Buddy Holly won best of show on Tuesday in the 147th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, beating out more than 3,000 dogs from 210 breeds and varieties to claim the most prestigious such U.S. prize….
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: UPDATED: Mostly cloudy. High of 62. “C” Tonight: Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Gusty winds and small hail are possible.
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy. High of 77. “A”
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Cloudy. High of 46. “C”
SUNDAY: Cloudy. High of 48. “C”
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. High near 80. “B”
SUNDAY: Rain early…then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. Morning high of 57 with temps falling to near 40. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible. “D”
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
In North Carolina, tensions rising between landowners and deer hunters with dogs…
His company? Hire and manage dogs to hunt geese NY Times
In 1998, Robert Young and his dog, Boomer, were visiting a golf course in New Jersey when a man asked Mr. Young for his business card.
Mr. Young, a physician assistant at the time, handed him a card for orthopedic work, but the man was confused. “He just looked at my card and said, ‘Don’t you hunt geese for a living?’ said Mr. Young.
At this point, Mr. Young looked at Boomer. His Border Collie had chased herds of honkers, shedding Canada geese from the course minutes earlier.
And hence his new company Geese Chasers – one of many goose hunting companies across the country – was born.
The company, which Mr. Young runs with his wife, Deborah Young, now has a presence in 10 states and hundreds of cities, including New York, where a dog can sometimes be spotted cleaning up Central Park. The following interview is an edited and condensed version of a conversation with Mr. Young.
According International Birds, the number of geese has increased by 1,500% in North America over the past 40 years. For what?
Geese migrate south from the Arctic Circle and Canada in winter. Their main source of food is grass, which is covered with snow. They must go south to find areas of barren land that have no snow. The winters haven’t been harsh in much of the United States, so they’ve kind of dug in and called it home now, and they’re really moving from power point to power point locally. The federal government estimates that the Canada goose population in this country is increasing by 15-20% each year.
What type of flight pattern do they follow?
The place where we sit is called the Atlantic Flyway. But you also have the Mississippi Flyway, and I think they call the northwest one the Rocky Mountain Flyway, which is probably less crowded I would say. But we’re getting calls from Scottsdale, San Francisco, Palm Springs, places you never thought you’d have a sissy problem. They are everywhere. They acclimatize very well. If they have a good food source, lots of fresh cut grass and lots of water features, which a lot of these homeowners associations and commercial properties build – you know, the ponds and everything for the runoff and also for the aesthetic – they have the perfect habitat.
Is it just the droppings left by geese that your customers don’t like?
Well, they tear up landscapes. When they eat grass, they pull it out by the roots, and what they leave in their droppings is very acidic, and that changes the pH of the soil. Thus, only hardened weeds grow on the spot. They do a lot of damage quickly.
Describe the ideal habitat for geese. What are the components?
A large open field with freshly cut grass that gives them very good sight lines, so they can see a predator coming. There are usually one or two lookouts sticking their necks out and looking for predators while the others feed. They are really smart animals. They are also looking for a nice body of water in which they can fly, swim or bring their babies.
So that means parks and gated communities. What else?
Oh, damn it – you name it. In New York and Jersey City, we have lots of properties along the Hudson where Sully’s plane crashed. Bird strikes in general occur several times a year and around the world for both commercial and private aircraft. Not only geese but anything with feathers flies.
But the geese must return immediately.
We did a study many years ago where we followed them for 12 weeks. We found that after two chases, they stayed away for two weeks. If you chase them four times, they stay away for four weeks.
Why are dogs, especially border collies, the best for the job?
Grounds for Sculpture welcomed us during the summer. They were happy to have us come because of our humane ways. Sometimes the federal government comes to gas the geese. You can engage the USDA. You just have to fill out an application and get a quote, and one day they will come and round them up and put them in gas chambers and suck the oxygen out of their lungs. It is troubling. If you go to PETA, you will see that they endorse our methods. Highly trained border collies are the best option.
As for the type of dog, I did a lot of trial and error at first. Tried Australian Shepherds, Labs. The geese were not afraid of them. Border collies mimic arctic foxes, which are their only natural predators. An arctic fox looks exactly like a border collie.
It’s something you discovered by accident.
I learned the hard way. I’m really allergic to dogs, but the minute my son opened his eyes, let me tell you, he wanted one. Border collies need daily stimulation. They are working dogs. We had a lake behind our house, and Boomer hunted everything with a feather, ducks, cormorants, anything that moved. When he finally chased away the last duck, he was almost passed out and he was ready to start all over again. I’d say, “You’re crazy, dog.”
Is that when you started taking him to the golf course?
The country club owner once told me that he had read an article about a golf course in the Midwest that used border collies to effectively get rid of geese. He said there were 500 birds on his course and so much poo they couldn’t play golf. Then he asked, “Do you think that dog will chase them away?” On day one, Boomer took off like a bang. He knew exactly where to go. Next thing you know, the whole sky is full of geese. Then he jumped into a gigantic pond like Superdog.
And that’s where you had your first paid concert, with the golfer who asked you for your business card?
Mike. To this day, he is a client. I told him I would never raise the price on him. We still keep his property cleared for $99 a week. Now it would cost him three or four times as much.
It must be expensive to clean up a place like Central Park. Do you need a pack of Border collies to eliminate geese from such a large area?
No no. It’s only one or two dogs. They are independent working dogs. I tell my franchisors that when you put two really good working dogs together, they’re so smart that a dog might think, “Why should I go out when he can do the job without me?” For Central Park, they might arrive at 7:00 a.m., and I think they’re only staying a few hours, and they’re out at 9 or 9:30.
How do people react when you tell them you hunt geese for a living?
My parents thought I was going to be put in a mental institution. But people are really happy when they see the dogs and understand that we give them a good life, where they can run around every day. People saw me sitting in the car with the dog and said, “You have the best job in the world! You work every day with your best friend.”
Here are 13 waterfront patios in Milwaukee to enjoy when the weather allows, and several are dog friendly
And finally, for many years I’ve been the butt of some jokes since we don’t have a dog in our home. One of Jennifer’s friends referred to me as her “dog-hating husband.” Of course she was kidding. I think. No need to explain why we have been and are still dog-less. I will say that I’m nowhere near as bad as Joe Queenan, columnist for the Wall Street Journal in a piece he did this week…
The Many Reasons Not to Own a Dog
For as long as I can remember, friends and family members have been encouraging me to get a dog. Their motives are deeply suspect. I think they want me to get a dog mostly so that I will have mastered the arcane skills needed to walk their dogs while they are on vacation. But I was not put on this planet to walk dogs, and this is a situation that is never going to change.
“I visit my son twice a year, and he has two very nice dogs. The couple of weeks I spend frolicking with them is more than enough to satisfy my annual cynophilic needs,” I explain. “I don’t need a dog 52 weeks out of the year. Four weeks is plenty.”
“But you seem to like dogs!” they insist. “You seem to enjoy throwing balls into bottomless ravines and swirling riptides and watching them fetch them!”
“I like giraffes and snow leopards too,” I reply. “But I don’t want them in my house either.” Dog lovers are nothing if not persistent. They view my lack of passion for dogs as a sign of moral callousness. I am willing to admit that not being interested in dogs probably is a character defect. But it is a character defect I am glad to have.
“Dog lovers retain a jaw-dropping ability to ignore unimpeachable evidence that dogs do not, in fact, improve your quality of life. ”
“Oh, come on, dogs cheer you up and make even the gloomiest day seem bright!” they bellow in one last, sadly misguided effort to change my way of thinking. “I just got my rotator cuff repaired,” I remind them. “If a dog on a leash should go lunging after a squirrel or the Door Dash driver it’s going to wreck my shoulder for good.”
My logic is clearly irrefutable. Yet dog lovers retain a jaw-dropping ability to ignore unimpeachable evidence that dogs do not, in fact, improve your quality of life. Exhibit A: One of my friends recently tripped over her new puppy and ended up in the hospital with a badly gashed leg. Exhibit B: I twisted my knee when I made a lunge for that very same puppy as it was scurrying out the back door, presumably making a break for the Canadian border.
Also: Dogs are expensive. They constantly need tendon surgery or exotic medications or reprogramming for personality orders such as lunging at strangers or snacking on $1,795 Christian Louboutins (or any other shoes—they don’t appear to have any fashion sense whatsoever). They tear up flower beds and gnaw on furniture and growl at toddlers and howl for hours on end while their owners are attending a five-hour performance of Wagner’s “Lohengrin.”
Dog lovers refuse to recognize that a large segment of the non-dog loving population would prefer that they kept pythons or California condors as pets. Dogs cause bad blood with neighbors, make life miserable for mail carriers and don’t seem to understand that most of us actually like robin redbreasts and do not want to see them torn to pieces in the sort of recreational avicide dogs specialize in.
Thankfully, in an unexpected development, I recently stumbled upon the perfect excuse to never get a dog. Trailblazing computer scientists at Newcastle University and the University of London have determined that popular pet-related apps may be exposing dog lovers to dire financial risk. It turns out that the apps used to keep track of a dog’s whereabouts or monitor its heartbeat can easily be hacked, exposing pertinent login information and even revealing the pet owner’s current whereabouts. As a result I might go out for a walk and come back to find my house ransacked or my bank accounts plundered or my priceless Martin D-28 guitar heisted by app-hacking thieves.
In short, the danger inherent in operating any sort of digital doggy device provides me with the ultimate reason to never get a dog of my own or to take charge of anyone else’s dog. The same goes for cats, ferrets and geckos.
A parakeet, I might consider.
—Joe Queenan, the Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2023
That’s it for this week. Thanks for stopping by.
We’d really appreciate it if you forward this on to other dog lovers you know. Let them have some fun!
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High of 59. “B”
SUNDAY: Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High of 66. “A”
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
A new bill in Massachusetts would create a fund to pay for the expenses of retired police dogs, some of whom have injuries they suffered while working…
The fatal mauling of 4-year-old forces India to grapple with stray dog problem.
Bradley Arrowood is a dog trainer for CBS lead national correspondent David Begnaud, but before his career took off, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Watch…
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Windy with snow showers in the morning. Temps nearly steady in the upper 30s. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. “D-”
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy skies. High around 55. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.“B-”
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
Researchers from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the University of Veterinary Medicine in Austria examined the conditions in which cats produce stress hormones. One of their findings published in the journal Physiology & Behavior suggests that cats typically stress out when humans pet them.
The stress can be somewhat abated in a multi-cat household, where the felines that most dislike human touch can avoid it when there are other cats present that at least tolerate it.
“Also,” said Daniel Mills, professor at the University of Lincoln, in a news release, “and I think very intriguingly, our data suggests that cats who tolerate, rather than enjoy or dislike being petted, seem to be the most stressed.”
Some cat lovers flat out disagreed with the findings.
“I have never encountered a cat that didn’t like to be petted or cuddled or held,” said Valerie Cautrell, who has worked as a pet sitter and a volunteer at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.
Cheri Brichetto, a volunteer at Furry Friends Refuge, a West Des Moines animal shelter, said she has encountered a diversity of responses among cats.
“If you go into the shelter in any of the rooms,” Brichetto said, “there will be a cat that will run up to you and want to be petted, and there will be cats that sit on their perches, like, ‘Yeah, whatev’.”
Dana Danks, a doctor of veterinary medicine and animal behavior consultant in Slater, cited the relative lack of research on cats.
That raises the question: Are cats are just misunderstood?
Danks said researchers have studied dogs for some time, but knowledge about cats has begun to emerge only in the last 10 to 20 years.
One important finding, Danks said, is that cats have only a short window within the first two to three weeks of life in which they can be socialized to enjoy touch.
“Cats also tend to be very capable of living on their own,” Danks said.
Dogs, in contrast, have had a lot more practice getting used to humans.
“We have been manipulating dogs for at least 14,000 years,” said Stanley Coren, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia who has written extensively on dogs and psychology. “We have been systematically creating an animal which responds to our communication.”
Dogs became workers, hunting buddies and general companions over time. But cats, said Coren, “came on the scene much later.” Rodent hunters employed them to keep droppings out of grain with the rise of organized agriculture some 7,000 years ago, he said.
“Human beings formed some kind of a bond with them, but what we’re dealing with is the fact that the cat was never meant to have that empathy, to have that desire to have that contact with us,” Coren said.
Dogs also have the equivalent capacity of a 2- to 3-year-old child, Coren said, while most cats understand about as much as an 18-month-old child, “so there’s a huge difference in terms of their ability,” which leads people to prefer one over the other.
Coren admitted his own preference: “Cats are not my cup of fur,” he said.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for stopping by.
You’ve noticed it’s 04/01. NO, this will NOT be a new regular feature. That’s because I concur with Stanley Coren. Cats are not my cup of fur.
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM. Wet snow expected. An additional 5-8 inches of snow. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph. WHERE…Portions of south central and southeast Wisconsin. IMPACTS…Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS… Slow down and use caution while traveling.
Cloudy. High of 32. “F”
SUNDAY: UPDATED. Rain showers in the morning, changing to mixed rain and snow during the afternoon hours. High of 41. Chance of rain 70%. “C” in the morning, “D” in the afternoon.
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
Before we get to this week’s news a note about a story posted two weeks ago.
Some readers were taken aback by an article about abused bogs at an illegal cannabis cultivation site in California. Readers were not upset with yours truly. They were angered by the substance of the article, and rightfully so.
Should I not have posted, even though it came from a very reliable news source?
Many times in the past I have written that unfortunately the “news isn’t always good.” Needless to say the inhumane treatment of dogs in California was an outrage. I posted for reasons I covered news on the radio or selected topics when I hosted talk radio. The story was controversial and emotional And I wanted to make a statement, a point about these illegal sites.
Every week I am inundated with possible news stories about dogs I could include on The Barking Lot. Here are some headlines from stories this week:
Parents charged after boy found in locked dog cage inside Philadelphia home
3-year-old Louisiana girl can no longer smile after foster dog bites face
Man beats dog to death, hide it under sink: Police
My guess is dog lovers and people checking out this blog have no interest in reading that junk. So it’s not getting published here. There are rare exceptions. If you missed the story and want to read it, it’s in this edition.
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This Just In... From Franklin, WI 