The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

What happened to the Neanderthals?

One of the great puzzles among scientists (they are called paleoanthropologists) who puzzle over things like this is why the Neanderthals became extinct while the ancestor of modern humans thrived and survived in the same habitat at the same time.

There are a number of theories, but a recent one that is gaining notice is that modern humans domesticated dogs and the Neanderthals didn’t.

The dogs helped the humans hunt more efficiently by locating quarry and boxing it in until the hunters could make the kill. Finding the game is often the most difficult part of hunting. Using dogs would have allowed the hunters to ensure a more plentiful food supply as they refined their skills and their weapons.

There is also evidence that dogs were used to carry the meat from the kill back to the place where the group was living. Even after feeding the dogs, the hunters would have been able to transport heavier loads and save more energy than they would have without the dogs.

Additional food generally has marked effects on the health of a group. Better-fed females can have more babies, can provide them with more milk and can have babies at shorter intervals. Before long, using pack dogs could have caused the human population to increase. American Scientist

Pre-historic dogs may have saved our whole species by domesticating us while we domesticated them.

As time went on dogs were used to guard the homesteads, shepherd the livestock, destroy vermin, and generally allow humans the freedom to build a civilization.

Dog chases raccoon 30 feet up a tree and can’t get down

No one believed the call that came to a San Mateo county, CA, emergency center that a dog had climbed 30 feet up a tree and couldn’t get down.

But it was true.

Guinness, a 40-pound Wheaten Terrier, had chased a raccoon into the branches of an oak tree and then froze when he realized where he was. His owner climbed into the tree but couldn’t reach him.

Firefighters improvised a harness, a rope system and a 36-foot ladder to reach him. Firefighter Tony Eggimann climbed the ladder, put Guinness in the harness and gave him a treat, before handing him down to his grateful owner.

Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said that in his 32 years he has rescued a lot of cats and pet birds but never a dog. He has had decades of experience working with highly trained search-and-rescue dogs, but has never seen a dog scale a tree like Guinness did.

Raccoon invaders can be quite motivating for little house dogs. Dogs in pursuit have no idea of where they are or where they are going.

The owners have now put a fence around the tree.

Source

A missing Poodle, a porn star, a wrong number, and the power of Twitter

Harley Collins from Marina Del Rey was suddenly bombarded with over 100 phone calls and texts that were something like this:

“Give Chyna her dog back please, she really loves this dog and it’s not very nice for you to have stolen it…. That’s not healthy, give her her dog back now!”

His question was “Who is China and why would I have her dog?”

It turns our that Chyna is a former professional wrestler turned porn star who tweeted:

“My toy poodle was stole by a “friend” . . . was to babysit for one night and never returned. not gonna let this happen anymore”

She gave the phone number and asked her 25,000 followers on Twitter to call the woman and demand that the dog be returned. The problem was it was the wrong number.

Collins has been forced to change his number and to explain to his family,  friends and fellow workers why the abrupt change. Apparently she has put several numbers on Twitter and hasn’t taken any of them down. She doesn't seem to be concerned about the inconvenience she is causing.

Hachie the Poodle, valued by Chyna at $3000, is still missing.

Chyna has also been on “Celebrity Rehab.”

Sadly after watching the video, we suggest she might... like… put in another stint on the show.

Disabled war veteran fights to save his dog from death at city pound

I understand that animal control has to have protocols. But doesn’t it seem that compassion and common sense might be more important when  dealing with a disabled person and the life of a dog he loves?

Jimmy Howie of North Augusta, South Carolina (population 21,348) served 10 years in the military, but now he is severely disabled and largely confined to his bed. One of the only pleasures he has left is Shottie, his Husky.

"He would sit at the foot of my bed right beside my feet and i'd feed him every morning, that was the first deal of the day. He was a gorgeous little husky. He's really a lovely dog," Howie says.

Huskies are famous, or infamous, for occasionally hearing the Call of the Wild and going on little doggie adventures. Recently Shottie got out the back door, and Howie found a ransom note on his door.

The ransom note, actually a long typewritten document, was from the city demanding "cash within three days" for the dog’s shots, microchipping, and fees from the pound or the dog “would be disposed of.”

On Howie’s fixed income he didn’t have the money until his social security check arrived.

Some parts of the story are not clear, but what is clear is that since the ACO knew where Shottie lived, if he (or she) had just returned the dog and tried to work with Howie, it shouldn’t have been a story at all.

Instead of the expense of typing and delivering the letter, impounding, housing and killing a dog that had a loving home, a little compassion and common sense would have led to a wiser course of action.

The good news is that when the story aired on local TV,  the city agreed to extend the deadline and people stepped forward to help with the expenses. And hopefully they will demand a better way of dealing with this kind of situation.

Interesting that this story out of South Carolina refers to a "dog catcher" and a "pound," terms I haven't heard in years. Might this be a clue to why we hear of so many transports of dogs out of South Carolina? Just wondering...

Video

Lucy the Husky mix wins worst behaved dog contest

An 11-month-old Greenville, South Carolina Husky mix has the dubious distinction of beating out hundreds of contenders to be named Worst Behaved Dog in Camp Bow Wow’s national “Bad to the Bone” contest.

Nicknamed “The Destroyer” Lucy has managed to destroy anything she puts her mind to destroying. When she was 6 months old, her owner, Eve Memmbe, said Lucy had enough of the crate and finally chewed her way to freedom. According to Memmbe Lucy has failed training sessions.

The picture of Lucy looking at the crate she had destroyed and the story that went with it, “Prison Break” won her the title.

Lucy will receive a year’s worth of free training at a Camp Bow Wow, a national doggie daycare franchise. Source

Undoubtedly the trainers will reveal the closely guarded secret for correcting bad dog behavior: exercise and mental stimulation.

It always amazes me when people get large, high energy puppies like Huskies or shepherd dogs and expect them to stay in a crate and play solitaire when they would much prefer pulling a dog sled, chasing sheep, or going for a long walk until they’re ready to crash.

Mugly wins World’s Ugliest Dog 2012 title

A contender from the United Kingdom was awarded the World’s Ugliest Dog title Friday at the 24th annual ugly contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair.

What started as a small novelty idea at a county fair in California has grown into an event that now attracts international reporters and camera crews. The winners become instant celebrities.

Mugly is a Chinese Crested dog, a breed that has dominated the competition, with good reason. I’ve offended enough owners of these dogs in the past, so that is all I’ll say on the subject of breed.

Every year when I write about the contest, I get someone commenting about how mean the whole idea is. But, of course, dogs don’t see ugly or beauty. The owners love them and never think of their dogs as ugly.

The contest raises money for dog charities and, since many of the dogs are rescue dogs that someone has abandoned because of their appearance, they become little ambassadors for dogs who are loving and beautiful on the inside. The dogs are examined by a veterinarian to make sure the ugly isn’t the result of a serious health problem as has happened in the past.

Mugly and her owner, Bev Nicholson, received a trophy, $1000 in prize money, a photo shoot, a stay at a Sheraton, and a year’s supply of dog cookies. In addition they will be hitting the talk show circuit and appear as celebrities at many dog events throughout the country.

Congratulations, Mugly. You are truly beautifully ugly.

Breakthroughs in how a dog thinks

There are some misguided souls who argue that dogs do not think.

They say dogs react because of instinct and their life experience with reward and punishment. Nothing more.

They say that we are projecting our own thoughts on them as if the thoughts are coming from the dog.

While we admit to doing this, there is more to dog-think.

If you are reading this blog, probably on more than one occasion you have imagined the wheels going around in your dog's head, as they try to resolve an enigma never encountered before. Or they may be trying to figure out what you want them to do. Or whether they want to do it or not.

 

Researchers at Emory University believe they are a step closer to finding out how a dog thinks by using an MRI to scan the dog’s brain waves. The researchers hope to decode the mental processes of dogs by finding which areas of the brain are activated by various stimuli.

So that they would be awake for the procedure, the dogs were trained  to wear earmuffs, walk into the MRI scanner, and hold their heads still to prevent the blurring of images.

Early results have been promising.

According to the lead researcher, Gregory Berns,

We hope this opens up a whole new door for understanding canine cognition and inter-species communication. We want to understand the dog-human relationship, from the dog’s perspective. Source

 

If there is any question about whether a dog can think and solve problems...

Problem: small dog size, food on counter. Solution comes at about the 1:40 mark

Voter registration form sent to dead dog in Virginia

Maybe because Mickey Mouse, Adolph Hitler, and dozens of convicted felons, dead people and illegal immigrants had already registered.

Mozart the Poodle passed away two years ago. He would have been 18 this year, making him eligible to vote except for the dog thing.

You never know who you’ll see at the laundromat

  
A few years ago Charlie Daniels performed at our county fair. He was met at the airport by two young men who worked at the fair. They had no trouble recognizing him, a friendly, imposing 6’2” tall with the full snowy beard and white cowboy hat.

They asked about his luggage, but all he had was a carry on duffel bag. “I like to travel light,” he told them. “But I would appreciate directions to a laundromat and a car to borrow.”

And of course they’re thinking but not saying,

You do your own laundry? But you’re a legend. You’re rich.
And kind of old.

Back in town he got directions to a laundromat and a car to borrow (for which he paid most generously). Besides doing his clothes, he told them he enjoyed talking to the locals.

 

When he returned they had to ask if anyone recognized him.

“They never do.”

 

But then of course no one would expect to see an American icon folding his undies at a laundromat in a Central Valley California town on a quiet Friday afternoon.

 

I should mention that the Charlie Daniels Band arrived separately on a bus. Included were musical instruments, sound and light equipment, costumes, musicians, technicians, and assorted road dogs.

 

Charlie Daniels Band
The Devil Went down to Georgia

 

 

Resolution suitable for full screen

"It wasn’t me on the camera, it was my evil twin”

John Grainger, 62, was severely injured and needed reconstructive surgery on his face after a Staffordshire Bull Terrier attacked him last August. Then the owner, Joseph Bowers, 49, casually walked away without offering help.

He was given a nine month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months and banned indefinitely from owning a dog.

Last week Bowers was caught on a surveillance camera walking a dog. The police were notified and when an officer approached Bowers, he had one of the classically stupid excuses we’ve heard.

He said it must have been his identical twin brother who had been walking the dog.

Since no twin had surfaced in the 49 years of his life, he admitted he had been lying and had to plead guilty for breaking the ban. Bowers will appear in July for sentencing.

(My evil twin Skippy enjoyed this story too.)