I’ve gotten way behind thanks to the holidays and weather, but did want to update everyone on what BeeBee’s been up to. She continues to grow longer and remains very svelte. When I carry her up and down the stairs, sometimes she drapes over my arm like Feron, the cat belonging to the Little Red-Haired Girl (I think) in the “Peanuts” comic strip. In a way, it’s easier to carry her that way than when she’s more upright and liable to swing her head around at any time. Carrying such a dog multiple times a day is also a good
Read more →As I discovered when we had our first major snowstorm, something quite unintended. To be sure, BeeBee loved romping in the snow once I’d cleared an area for her and Frica to play in. I also enjoyed the fact that the snow was deep enough that I didn’t have to worry about them going anywhere but where I’d shoveled because the deep snow acted like a natural fence. But above and beyond that, BeeBee enhanced my snow-shoveling experience for a quite unrelated reason: carrying her up and down the stairs for the past three months has increased my arm
Read more →Since I got BeeBee, I’ve been looking for something that would enable me to readily see her in limited light or darkness. There were two BeeBee-related challenges to this project. The first is that she’s so low to the ground that it couldn’t be anything of any size that dangled from her collar. The second is that she’s now getting a corgi ruff that could hide a smaller light source. As luck would have it, someone sent me an email about some dog-related event. The event didn’t particularly interest me, but I immediately zeroed in on a notice about
Read more →In addition to allowing her to compensate splendidly for her deafness and visual difference, BeeBee also uses her nose like a 5th appendage. Because of her pronounced overbite, she can stick her nose into narrower places than a dog of similar size and conformation with a normal jaw. This enables her, for example, to get her nose into the tiny space between the wood rack and wall. But much to her consternation, that’s all that fits there. I can always tell when her nose locates something tantalizing that she can’t grab or lick up with her lower jaw or
Read more →In the last BeeBee blog I talked about the real possibility that, thanks to her various impairments, BeeBee’s brain works differently. I use the word “impairment” for convenience, fully aware of the fact that whatever she experiences is normal for her. It’s conceivable that she looks at me and the other pets and thinks how lucky she is to possess the wherewithal to live with those suffering from so many limitations. Relative to perceptual ability, I’m sure even the average normal dog and cat thinks that about any humans they live with every day. Just as humans born lacking a particular
Read more →If you have a medical background like I do, you can’t help but wonder what goes on in BeeBee’s brain. To begin with, I’ve given up thinking that there is just one lesion or abnormality that will explain the whole shebang. That’s the left side of my brain talking there. My right brain still clings to the hope that there’s one, reversible condition that would explain it all and that said condition will magically right itself when Mars is in the 7th house of Pluto or some such thing. Realistically, it seems that her symptomatic hodge-podge involves both her
Read more →I swear, every day BeeBee gets longer and sometimes it takes a heroic effort not to worry about what that means for both of us. When she’s standing still, anyone with a basic knowledge of physics would recognize that the span between her front and back legs is too great. Were she an bridge, a engineer would immediately shout, “For heaven’s sake, put a support in the middle before the whole thing collapses!” And, indeed, I’ve had fleeting thoughts of strapping a roller-skate to her mid-section as a preventive measure. Realistically, though, that’s not an option, any more than
Read more →I heard a news report the other day about how climate change is precipitating a burst of mass wildlife extinction. That’s hardly surprisingly and not really even news any more. And those who prefer to remain in denial about any modern human contribution to this can rightfully claim that such mass extinctions have happened before. What sticks in my mind about this particular interview was the scientist’s response to the typical newscaster’s question: “What will the loss of all these species mean to the average person?” The scientist somewhat blithely replied that the average person living in a western
Read more →It’s been rightfully, albeit jokingly, pointed out to me by my best bud in whole world, Ann Firestone, that I did not acknowledge her role in bringing BeeBee into my life. It was Ann who immediately thought of me when she and Mary Taylor saw the pup and Ann who broached the subject of me taking her. In spite of my vow never to get another corgi after Violet the Wonderdog died, Ann intuitively knew BeeBee and I would be a match. How did I forget Ann in the commentary? It’s simple. Ann is like air, such an important part
Read more →BeeBee has taken to barking–a loud, shrill bark–for no apparent reason that I can discern. When hearing dogs do this, I assume they’re reacting to some sound I can’t hear. This raises the question: what is she barking at? Accepting that I have no idea and that the bark is very annoying, including to the other pets, I’ve devised a hand and body language signal that means “quiet.” The instant I used it the first time, though, a funny thing happened. It hit me that BeeBee had created a koan for me. Surely expecting a deaf dog to obey
Read more →Last day to sign up for the New England Federation of Humane Societies’ panel discussion on behavior assessments at the University of New Hampshire is Tuesday, October 23rd. I looking forward being part of the panel and exploring the many facets of this complex subject. For a registration form or if you have any questions, contact Stephanie Frommer at stephanief@humanecommunity.org or call 603-352-9011 extension 123,
Read more →I’m a big fan of Oliver Sacks and when I was watching Fric and BeeBee tear around the yard, I couldn’t help but think of his book, A Leg to Stand On. In it he describes how people who have lost function of a limb may use it normally if placed in conditions that cause them to forget that they can’t do so. When BeeBee walks slowly her gait is half-way between the come-hither woozy swing of an inebriated street-walker and a dog who really has to go but doesn’t want to go just yet. There’s no doubt she
Read more →Does the phrase “frozen zoo” conjure up as many images for you as it did for me when I first heard it? If it makes you think about wildlife on the north and south pole, you’re indirectly right in that the future on those species may very well depend on the zoo–even though it’s located 35 miles north of San Diego, CA. If it makes you think of sci-fi, well, there are certainly elements of that in the high technology of the frozen zoo, too. And, sadly, if it makes you feel cold and empty when you think of
Read more →Although a certain lip-service is paid to health and temperament, for a fair number of people an animal’s looks are the primary concern. If a breed, such as a corgi, is known for its erect ears, then these become the immediate focus of attention. Such people would look BeeBee’s drooping right ear and think that her left side was her “good” side and hope that her right ear gets with the program so it doesn’t spoil her looks. In reality, the left side of BeeBee’s face is the side that’s compromised. That eye doesn’t blink and her vision from
Read more →A friend stopped in unannounced yesterday and was taken aback to the point of appalled that I’d taken on a dog like BeeBee. His comments’ effect on me surprised me for two quite opposite reasons. My immediate response was to lash out at him for his anti-canine comments because Bee and her problems have become such a normal part of my life I’ve already forgotten that others might not see her the same way I do. Fortunately, I realized that this was my problem not his and didn’t say anything I’d later regret. Whew! But after he left (after offering Bee
Read more →Previously I mentioned that BeeBee appears to have learned to bark in a “normal” way from observing my other two dogs. In addition to using this bark when she joins in greeting visitors, she also uses it when she greets and wants to play with other dogs. Unfortunately, the latter yields less successful results than the former because the average human has no idea what she’s saying to them but it doesn’t matter, especially with cute puppies. On the other hand, it does matter to the average dog and, judging from other dogs’ responses to her, whatever she’s saying
Read more →This morning as part of my morning ritual I draped myself upside down on my exercise ball on my yoga mat next to the woodstove with my head touching the floor and my eyes closed. Frica and BeeBee were doing their usual post-breakfast carousing while Watson napped on the dog couch and Whitman, the cat, tried to convince me to let him out. Normally I would have let Whit out before I started my yoga routine, but it’s cold and rainy and I knew what would happen when I opened the door for him. He would stand there peering
Read more →Actually, I doubt she has. Or rather, she may have, but her skills at reading body language are probably much better. Like other dogs born deaf, she has a distinct vocalization which in her case is half-way between a low bark and a moan. But since she’s been here, she has also develop a bark that is indistinguishable (to me) from that of a dog who can hear. That animals, including humans, learn by mimicry is well-known, and one day several weeks ago I saw what I can only describe as a conscious attempt on Bee’s part to mimic my other dogs in
Read more →Are there times you look at your pet and think you don’t know anything about animal behavior? Well, click here and read about this study and I bet you’ll find yourself thinking, “Gee, I knew that! “
Read more →BeeBee has less control over the left side of her face. That plus her much shorter lower jaw causes saliva sometimes to collect on her down side when she sleeps. There’s never been much of it so I forgot all about it. But yesterday I looked down at her sleeping under my desk and noticed a distinct pink color around her lips and immediately thought, “Oh, my God, what’s happened to her!” Ridiculous visions of that as yet unidentified damaged part of her brain leaking out through the roof of her mouth vied with those of some unacknowledged infirmity
Read more →House-training BeeBee has caused me to realize that there’s room for yet another dog-training book even with the gazillions already out there. I came to this conclusion when BeeBee started giving me her, “I have to go” look. The problem was that we were in my upstairs office and, call it sympathy pains or post-menopausal bladder, I suddenly realized that I really had to go, too. I immediately picked her up and carried her downstairs, fully intending to take her outside immediately. Unfortunately, my bladder had other ideas. Even more unfortunately, I couldn’t recall a single training book that
Read more →It’s been almost exactly one month since BeeBee joined my household and, during that time, defining her and our relationship seemed like a particularly pressing task. I say this, not because I felt any pressing need to do this, but because others did. And I admit, there is something comforting about assigning such labels. Somehow doing so implies a certain amount of control. One common view is that BeeBee is broken and everything that can be done should be done to fix her. Another sees her as impaired and in need of some sort of environmental and bond bubble to protect her from the real world at all
Read more →In the past ten years, there’s been an increase in the numbers and sources of street dogs being adopted by Americans as pets. In a moment of fancy, I found myself thinking about what might go through these dogs’ minds relative to the human species when they make this transition. I imagined myself a young street dog living by my wits in a culture that avoids or seeks to harm me because I could carry rabies or other micro-organisms (now including bird flu) that might harm them or their children. If these people address me at all, it’s in
Read more →Stop by the website in October and meet my new addition, BeeBee, and get the inside scoop on why I decided to give her her own category. Then watch this space as the saga unfolds.
Read more →I recently was introduced to Billy Collins’s poetry and, naturally, was attracted to that related to animals in some way. Among these, his poems about dogs particularly caught my attention because they captured the true essence of the human-canine bond. This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy the many poems that romanticize the subject. I find the latter a pleasant diversion when the real world of human-animal interactions threatens to overwhelm me. And yet… Collins’s dog-related poetry isn’t nearly so predictable. Nor is it always comforting. What it is, though, is real. One poem written in the voice
Read more →Several weeks ago I was in WalMart’s huge parking lot in Claremont, NH around 7 a.m. That morning was what is becoming a typical December one in that it was damp, grey and foggy. As I trooped from my distant parking space toward the store, I heard geese overhead, but I couldn’t see them. As I continued walking, the fog thinned and the noise became louder and louder. Periodically I could see what at first I thought was the leading edge of a group of migrating geese. However, these geese weren’t migrating anywhere. They were circling and honking above
Read more →Given that this is the season of hope and joy, and especially miracles, a good friend’s dog is in the process of having puppies as I write this. I was at her place yesterday and experienced that feeling of awe like no other as I laid my hands on that dog’s abdomen and felt the lives within. We both readily agreed that there was do word to describe it but “miracle”. And when my friend, a vet tech, called while ago to tell me the first pup had been born, she used the same word. As I pondered this
Read more →Permit me to engage in a bit of pre-holiday Grinchness in response to yet another of those news articles about people who let their dogs run loose, then sue others for the consequences of their own irresponsible behavior. These owners routinely remind us that these beloved animals were like their children and thus possessed value far above and beyond the value of the animal him/herself. I have no problem with that kind of thinking up to a point. For sure, every one of my pets is worth far more to me than I paid for them, and even more
Read more →it’s always fun to teach animal behavior during an election year and see how humans measure up to animals when it comes to picking leaders. The most glaring difference is that Nature and evolution reward those who get the job done using the least amount of energy. That got me thinking about two things. One is the way humans often use money as a substitute for energy. The second is the ever-increasing cost of political campaigns with so little in the way of returns for society. Because it seems highly likely that politicians will find reasons not to pass
Read more →As I was putting together the information for the telecourse on history-taking, I had a flashback to my veterinary education years ago. At that time, a fair amount of time was spent on anamnesis. Never heard of it? Well, I bet you’ve heard of one of its opposite’s forms: amnesia. Whereas amnesia refers to forgetting, anamnesia refers to remembering. Although getting a comprehensive history before establishing a diagnosis and formulating any treatment would seem the obvious way to go, two human factors conspire against it. The first is that much of animal behavioral and veterinary medical education is still
Read more →I don’t know what topic described in this article fascinates me more: that dogs have been trained to locate right whale scat in the middle of the ocean to help scientists learn more about these animals, or the wealth of information that scat provides. Granted it didn’t come as a surprise that whale scat smells, but I had no idea that even the smallest bits of it could attract the attention of trained sniffing dogs a nautical mile away. Not only that, these dogs must work fast because, in addition to stinking, right whale scat sinks in less than
Read more →Two articles from the National Geographic website remind us of the elegance of new species creation. In the first, a new DNA study suggests that human and chimpanzee lines split from apes much earlier than previously believed, and that interbreeding occurred much longer than previously acknowledged before the two species diverged. This is significant because hybridization hasn’t been considered a primary player in the evolutionary process in the past (for as logical as such a path might seem to the average person thinking about the problem). It’s also interesting to note that the study also suggests a male-biased mutation
Read more →Here’s an interesting article about a course being offered by the Harvard Extension School called The Cognitive Dog: Savant or Slacker. What I found intriguing about this is that the course’s creator, Bruce Blumberg, works in animation and began studying his dogs in an attempt to understand their behavior. As a result, students gain the insights of someone who has objectively observed the way dogs behave in real-life situations. Compare this to the view of dogs we gain from observing a movie in which dogs have been trained to do what people want them to do in specific situations.
Read more →Here’s a fascinating article about a group of people who freed a massive humpbacked whale who had become entangled in ropes and weights that were threatening to drag the animal down. Once again the dreaded a-word–anthropomorphism–is mentioned in the usual, apologetic “I don’t want be anthropomorphic, but…” manner as one of those involved described the whale’s behavior after being freed. Whenever this happens, I can’t help wondering if people likewise would feel a need to question the meaning of such behavior had it been displayed by a person incapable of verbal communication who instead used body language to communicate
Read more →Here’s a link to an interesting story about Maine’s new domestic violence law that covers both people and animals. It’s long been known that abusers will target animals belonging to others as a way of indirectly abusing those people, too. It’s also long been known that people will stay in abusive relationships if they can’t take their animals with them. Although this often elicits images of family pets, as the woman interviewed in this article makes clear, it also can affect farm animals. Read article here
Read more →This is another one of those articles that demonstrates the Faustian bargain that sometimes (many times?) underlies the proposed salvation of working dog breeds. In this case, Chinese conservationist Wong How Man scours the mountains of Tibet seeking the sturdy and highly aggressive mastiffs used by nomads to guard their herds in the harsh and dangerous environment. However, doing so costs money and promoting his quest worldwide to gain funding naturally attracts dog-lovers. Unfortunately, the more affluent and naive among see Tibetan mastiffs as a perfect image pet, i.e., one which communicates that person’s wealth to others. Whether the
Read more →A March article on yahoo.com (and unfortunately no longer available for those who missed this blog first time around) about a coyote trapped in Central Park reminded me of how often we humans foolishly believe we can experience nature on our terms, as if it were some piece of yard art we can add or delete as the mood strikes us. We fill our feeders or leave pet food outside with the naive idea that only those animals for whom we intend it will be attracted to it. We fling our garbage by the roadside or fill our garbage
Read more →Click here for more evidence illustrating the elegance underlying normal animal behavior. This article is about a mathematician who mathematically analyzed his dog’s path to retrieve thrown sticks. I’m passing it along because of both its bond and behavioral elements. Among the bond ones, we see a man who is enchanted by his dog’s perfectly doglike behavior and seeks to translate these into the language of his profession. People who see a shared human-animal experience in terms of what it means to the animal as well as themselves are becoming increasing rare in our society. In a tribute to balanced
Read more →A website I often recommend to clients who are struggling to shed their reactivity in a favor of a more canine-calming one are the notes of a wildlife biologist describing her observations of an alpha female wolf training two generations of younger animals. When you read this, notice how subtle the communications are, and how much the alpha wolf apparently communicates while seeming to do nothing at all. Then compare this to how the average person communicates with his or her pets. It truly is amazing!
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