Study says that our beloved pet dogs actually understand us. When you ask other dog owner if their dog understands them, they’ll probably answer with a yes.

Psychology researchers at the University of Otago are conducting experiments whether dogs can really detect human emotions and the messages that we wish to convey.

Associate Professor Ted Ruffman and a team of students have put in Dunedun dogs over the past 15 months. These dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and breeds.

Some dogs have been shown images of babies laughing, crying, and babbling while others have been shown humans with happy or stern expressions while giving a command.

Indeed, dogs can differentiate a happy human from an angry or sad human. Professor Ruffman said. “We know dogs are very good at picking up on human gestures … and it seems they are very good at picking up on human emotions too.”

The dogs that were shown a crying and laughing baby have different responses. Some try to “find” the baby and showed signs of concern.

The studies were designed to find out whether dogs have an empathetic response to human emotions or are their reactions simply a result of the positive reinforcements that they receive.

Technorati Tags: dog, Emotion, Human, Psychology, Research, University of Otago

Depression does not only affect humans but dogs as well. When dogs are depressed, they are sleepy, do not eat properly, and do not like to go out for walks. In extreme cases, they lose a lot of weight.

Dogs are used to the environment where they live. If there is a change of location or owner, it can make a dog depressed. Weather changes can also be a cause of depression in dogs. Dogs can sense a death of a family member and this can also cause them to be depressed, just like the family members.

A depressed dog can show a lot of symptoms such as loss of interest in the activities that happen around him. He will not want to play or run around and be unmotivated. If your dog is always asking for food when you are eating, you will noticed that this will cease when your dog is depressed. A drastic weight loss is can be a symptom so bring your pet to the vet immediately.

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At Cumberland County, PA, one of the dogs of a family bumped a knob on the stove and caused fire. This happened in the 5300 block of Erbs Bridge Road in Hampden Township  Sunday morning. The fire spreadto the whole kitchen.

Another one of the family’s dogs, a 2-year-old coonhound woke Tyler Hay up, whose bedroom is near the kitchen.

“He pulled me off the bed and then I woke up and I just saw pitch black,” said Hay.

The family said that they usually take the knobs off. The dog that nudged the knob, Paige, died in the fire along with other pets.

“I get emotional when I think about it. We can replace dogs — not their personalities, but we can get more dogs. We can’t replace Tyler,” said Howard Hay, Tyler’s father.

According to the fire investigators, the family is lucky enough to be alive. The house had no working smoke detectors.

Flyball is a fun sport for you and your dog. This is a relay race where there are teams of 4 dogs, their humans, four jumps, and a box which tosses a ball. The dogs are then released one at a time. Then they race over the jumps, land on the box which triggers a ball and then race back over the jumps with the ball in their mouth.

Then the next dog is released to start running. There are two lanes of dogs that race side by side. The first team to complete the course wins. This is going to be definitely  fun for dogs, and human.

Hot Diggity Dogs flyball club started in 1999 by Natalie and Denny Cornell. After many years of hard work they now have an indoor training ring and has diverse members coming from all ages from all over the area.

For more information about the Hot Diggity Dogs Flyball Club call 1-613-398-0002.

Technorati Tags: dog, Flyball, Pets, Recreation, Sport

Six severed dog heads found in a trash bin behind a restaurant at Largo, Florida. However, they were said to have been used for legal veterinary studies.

According to Largo Police, Monday, these remains that were found were not result of animal cruelty.

The canine heads were obtained from dogs that had been euthanized. These were legally acquired and used by a licensed medical company for veterinary training.

Police say the investigation is continuing.

Technorati Tags: dog, Pets, Veterinary medicine

A family dog was able to save a Clearwater household from their burning home. The one year old Shih Tzu named Scooter kept on barking ealry Sunday morning which called the family’s attention. Thanks to Scooter, the family was able to escape from a fire which started in a car parked in the driveway of their home.

According to Roberto Segovia, the 18-year-old son of the homeowners, the dog usually barks but they usually don’t pay so much attention. But this time,Scooter kept on barking until they woke up to check what is going on.

The fire started in a 2001 Ford Expedition parked in the driveway about 4 feet from the house and it spread to the attic. It took about 40 minutes to put out the fire. The house is no longer fit to live in.

Technorati Tags: dog, Shih Tzu