Art Dog Doppelgangers, What Your Pup’s Head Tilt Means, Scary Household Tech, and More!
photo: Country Living Magazine
Is Your Pup a Work of Art?
New App Finds Museum Quality Doggie Doppelgangers
As if we’re not already spending too much time on our screens, Google has launched a new feature most dog lovers will find hard to resist. Just download the free Pet Portraits app, scan a photo of your pup, and an algorithm will find the best match from hundreds of years of paintings and sculptures in museums around the world.
And dogs aren’t the only ones in line for portrait fun. You can also find famous art lookalikes for your favorite cat, bird, fish, horse, rabbit, and yes, reptile (snake lovers should have a field day given all the Adam and Eve canvases out there).
Here at Bay Woof, we already think every dog is a work of art. The app just makes it easier to prove.
Source: countryliving.com
photo: GettyImages
Let’s Get Quizzical: Are Dogs Who Tilt Their Heads Smarter?
Who doesn’t love that quizzical head tilt some dogs do? A new study published in Animal Cognition found that dogs who were particularly good at toy recall (so-called “gifted” dogs) cocked their heads far more often than “typical” dogs when asked to bring a particular toy. Most typical dogs in the study had a hard time remembering the names of just two toys, while the gifted dogs could recall 10 or more.
Researchers concluded that the adorable head tilt may actually be a sign of concentration or matching a word to a visual image. For the record, all the gifted dogs in the study turned out to be Border Collies, which won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s ever known one of those canine smarty pants.
Source: smithsonianmag.com
photo: Anna Dudkova
Did You Hear That? Common Household Tech May Trigger Canine Anxiety
It’s no secret that many dogs are spooked by fireworks or thunderstorms, but a new study from UC-Davis finds noise associated with common household technology may also be adding to your dog’s stress. Researchers found that high frequency intermittent sounds like loud beeps from a smoke detector were more likely to cause stress for dogs than low-frequency continuous sounds, and vacuum cleaners and even beeping microwaves were enough to trigger anxiety in many test subjects.
The research team also found that pet owners often underestimated their dog’s level of noise-related fear or found it funny. While most humans could read common signs of canine fear – cringing, trembling, running away – researchers said they often missed subtler clues such as panting, licking lips, stiffening, dropping the head, or turning down the ears.
Their advice? Change out the batteries on your smoke alarm before it starts that ear-splitting reminder shriek, put your dog in another room when you’re vacuuming, and give Fido a pass on your next apocalypse movie night. In short, pay attention to the noise in your home. You’ll both be happier for it.
Source: www.studyfinds.org
Evan Bisnauth reads to dogs at the Manhattan location of Animal Care Centers of NYC. photo: Amanda McGarrity
Puppy Dog Tales: Meet ASPCA’s Kid of the Year
The ASPCA recently named 11-year-old Evan Bisnauth its official Kid of the Year in recognition of his outstanding volunteer work with Animal Care Centers of NYC.
Evan began reading books aloud to shelter dogs a few years back as part of New York’s Books With Boroughbreds program, which encourages children to hone their reading skills by reading to abandoned dogs to help socialize the animals and make them more adoptable. When the pandemic put in-person visits on hold, Evan branched out into online video work, using photos supplied by the shelter to promote pups most in need of adoption.
All the dogs showcased in Evan’s videos have found new homes or been picked up by other rescue groups. “Either way, they get a second chance,” says his mom. “Evan tries never to let them down.”
Meanwhile, Evan’s eager to get back to his shelter pals for in-person reading, which always includes a pep talk. “I’d tell them at the end of the story, ‘Don’t give up – I have a lot of hope for you, and I know you’ll get adopted.’”
Source: washingtonpost.com
photo: The Denver Post
Paws Up for Pittsburgh: Steel City is Number One for Number Two!
A recent study by Protect My Paws has officially crowned Pittsburgh the Dog Poop Capital of the U.S., beating out runners-up Seattle, Atlanta, and San Francisco for BM bragging rights.
Meanwhile, the prize for most complaints about dog poop went to Colorado, despite the fact that not a single city in the state made it onto the poopiest list (apparently, Coloradans don’t have as much crap to carp about, but they make the most of what they’ve got). Least likely to complain about dog poop? That would be Delaware.
Sadly, Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol didn’t live to see his hometown recognized as the nation’s reigning dog poop capital. We’re sure he would have commemorated the moment in his own inimitable style.
Source: mercurynews.com