Some dogs just aren’t that bright, are they?
By David S. Greene
July 12, 2010
Do you complain that your pets are too smart, that you have to spell too many words, and you’re always sure that they’re plotting a takeover any minute? Have you ever said “I really wish [insert pet name here] wasn’t so damn clever?”
Before you answer, read this, but FIRST, make sure you’re in a place where it’s OK to laugh out loud without frightening strangers. For your reading and guffawing pleasure, I give you Hyperbole and a Half. Just a little bitty taste of what you’re in for:
A lingering fear of mine was confirmed last night: My dog might be slightly retarded.
I’ve wondered about her intelligence ever since I adopted her and subsequently discovered that she was unable to figure out how stairs worked.
Enjoy. And hat tip to H. Houlahan.
The oily dilemma of Gulf turtles: We’re approaching three months since the oil disaster began in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil is still gushing, and the full impact on wildlife still remain a terrifying unknown.
An illustration of how confused the situation is can be seen in back to back posts at PetHobbyist. While Gail McMahon highlights efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to evacuate dozens of sea turtle eggs to safer parts of the Gulf to prevent their contamination, Cindy Steinle paints a much more confused portrait of contrasts: SeaWorld Orlando is releasing five rare saved turtles back to the Gulf.
At the same time, the Turtle Island Restoration Network was pleading with the National Park Service to keep hatchlings in their possession to prevent a further tragedy. Meanwhile, migration season is coming — right over (and through) the Gulf. The two facts we can be sure of — raw crude is still pouring into the Gulf, and wildlife are dying.
Sterilization grant awarded: One of the holy grails of veterinary medicine is the development of an inexpensive, safe, reliable and non-surgical method of sterilization for dogs and cats. Dr. Ralph Meyer, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded a grant totaling over half a million dollars to achieve that goal. Here’s the UPenn press release.
Happy fifth anniversary to the Pittsburgh House Rabbit Club: If you’re in the neighborhood next weekend, our pal Mary Mary will be hosting a party at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the successful (and still growing) Pittsburgh House Rabbit Club. From a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
First-time owners “are charmed by how much personality rabbits have,” said club co-founder Mary Cvetan, who adopted her first rabbit eight years ago. “They are social animals. They come when you call them and they love to cuddle.”
Every year hundreds of domestic rabbits are turned in to the local Humane Society, Animal Friends and the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania. Many started out as “Easter Bunny” gifts to children. The mission of the Pittsburgh House Rabbit Club is teaching proper care and handling techniques that enable bunnies to be pleasant and happy pets.
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This month’s meeting, the July 17 party, is at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, 1101 Western Ave., North Side. If you’re going you must RSVP by e-mail — mary@cvetan.com — by Wednesday. Visiting rabbits must be transported in carriers and owners must bring a rabbit exercise pen to the party.
If you’re there, say hi to Rodger (that’s him in the picture). And congratulations, Mary!
On being a service dog: I’ve always assumed that being a service dog must be a fascinating, difficult and rewarding life for a pooch. In this very well-written commentary, veterinarian Dr. Myrna Milani explores looks at the challenges, from the dog’s point of view. It is a terrific read.
Smarties: I can’t get enough of 3 Woofs and a Woo, a blog that’s quickly become one of my favorites on the blogroll. Check out this delightful photo essay, The Bitches of East Beach.
The Franck’s saga continues: I’ve written about Franck’s Compounding Pharmacy in Ocala, Fla. They’ve given up veterinary compounding, and while we thought there would be a resolution to the case with FDA, Ocala.com says not so much, at least not anytime soon.
In April, the Ocala-based pharmacy was named as a defendant in a federal petition seeking to permanently ban the lab from compounding animal drugs from bulk substances. Last week, the company, led by CEO Paul W. Franck, filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. The FDA responded a day later seeking preliminary injunctive relief as the matters sort out.
A compromise appeared to have been reached two months ago. Franck’s agreed to voluntarily suspend compounding animal drugs, a component of its business that accounts for almost half of its $8 million in annual gross sales, amid these settlement negotiations.
But the company is free to revoke that suspension by giving 48 hours notice. The government now alleges that Franck’s is assisting other compounding labs with fulfilling client orders for animal drugs.
Stay tuned. We may still have a ways to go on this one.
I always like to hear from readers, especially if you have tips, and links for interesting stories. Give me a shout in the comments, or better yet, send me an e-mail.
Photo credits: Gulf turtle, Orlando Sentinel. Rodger Rabbit, wphsrabbits.
I’m not so sure that Dr. Milani’s assertation that SDs are taught, during training, to interact positively with a wide variety of things. My OT service dog was, as her intended career was a show dog (she came to me at just over a year when it was obvious that a head fault wasn’t going to correct itself as she grew), but the puppy raiser manuels I’ve read from the various orgs seem to stress that the puppy needs to be taught to IGNORE things and that the rewards are going to come from his handler- not people or things in the environment.
Comment by Cait — July 12, 2010 @ 6:28 am
oh thank you for the laugh David on the blog you found….oh shades of Meg my gwp foster that seemed a little slow….well a lot slow.
I just accepted her as she was, big dumb old Meg. As time went on, did I observe her performing some pretty impressive maneuvers such as opening crate door latches of the other fosters in the middle of the night if she wanted a toy or bone in their crate….then I realized she was the Diva, why should she please me?
She would look at me like, “you got to be kidding me.” it wasn’t she was dumb, she just was the Queen Diva Bigness…and I was her subject.
Comment by Mary — July 12, 2010 @ 7:07 am
Milani commentary very thought-provoking. (The intended link to 3 woofs and woo goes to it as well, btw.)
Cait, the puppy-raising reality that I’ve seen looks a lot like the way we raise our SAR pups, the “never met a stranger” confident ideal, with perhaps a bit more emphasis on restrained manners.
I think the cognitive and affective stress that Milani describes may be one more reason why German shepherds have been largely pushed aside by retrievers as guide and service dogs.
My SAR dogs don’t work every day. They work hard when they do, but it’s a much more natural set of skills, much less psychically overbearing for them. They are very social dogs by nature. Generally after a long task or set of tasks, they have brief period of sociability at base while they “come down,” and then it’s time for rest and privacy. After a big search, we sometimes don’t hear from them for days. They have the luxury of that kind of recharge time.
Comment by H. Houlahan — July 12, 2010 @ 7:08 am
Thank you, David!
And thanks for including the photo of Rodger. He arrived at the shelter with nine siblings way back in November 2007. Not a typo.
I’m hoping the exposure in our local media brings the perfect adopter(s) to him. He’s a fabulous, confident rabbit with perfect litterbox habits. We call him the Mayor.
Unfortunately, large breed rabbits have a hard time finding homes.
He will be the star of the party, methinks.
Comment by Mary Mary — July 12, 2010 @ 7:24 am
http://www.wootube.net/2010/07.....ast-beach/
Comment by H. Houlahan — July 12, 2010
Link fixed. I blame it on Spain.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 12, 2010 @ 7:25 am
I’ve taken to comparing Darby to Tom Cullen, of “The Stand” fame.
Darby: “M-O-O-N —- that spells here! Everybody knows that!” I love him, but no one’s in danger of losing a talent contest to him :)
Comment by Vicky — July 12, 2010 @ 8:08 am
Ah, Vicky, we have Rain Dog.
“I’m an excellent fetcher …”
Comment by H. Houlahan — July 12, 2010 @ 8:17 am
My Ace was the biggest reddest fluffiest corgi anyone ever met. His nickname was Forest. AKA the Gump meister.
He was so sweet and loving. A puppy mill rescue - 4 years old when we got him. He house broke real easily, learned to walk nicely on a leash. Play in the pool and chase water from the hose. He could retain 1 obedience command at a time. You’d get him to heel, then try a sit, and you’d loose heel, work with him on stand till he had it and he’d loose his sit. He never did “get” stay. He could do agility jumps until he discovered contacts, then he just bulled over the jumps to get the teeter.
I always felt that most “pet people” would be better off with a dumber dog rather than one that was too smart, and Ace certainly was a wonderful pet. No chance of him outsmarting the humans by figuring out how to open gates or cabinets, no chance of him getting into much trouble as he was quite happy chasing a sunbeam across the room or playing with his stuffy.
We lost him to poisoned food in the menu food debacle.
Comment by schnauzer — July 12, 2010 @ 9:15 am
Kind of shocked that the dumb dog blog got over 700 comments! Floor licking can mean that the dog has a stomach ache. I would go to the vet with that mutt. Sorry to be a buzz kill.
Comment by Nancy Freedman-Smith — July 12, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
By the way, I have a dog that is not that smart. You know that saying “He coudn’t fight his way out of a paper bag?” My dog almost smothered in a large Lay’s potato chip bag. Did not have sense to use his paw to get it off and started to hyperventilate. Then we stopped laughing and took it off.
Comment by Nancy Freedman-Smith — July 12, 2010 @ 12:17 pm
Cedar was my “retarded dog”. We prefer to call him ADD. He actually did lick the carpeted floor all of the time. He was the hardest dog in the world to get any kind of obedience titles on. He did finally get his CDX, but boy was that a challenge. He carried the dumbbell by the bell. Disqualified so many times on the stay exercises because he would stand the whole time. Didn’t move a muscle, just stood for 8 minutes while I was out of sight. He did get his head stuck in a dog food bag and once you took it off, he would dive right back in. Covered him with a blanket and he just laid there. But, he had the biggest heart and was very intuitive to my feelings. I guess I will take that over the other. I miss him so much and his little “retarded” quirks.
Comment by Jill — July 12, 2010 @ 3:27 pm