Dogs With No Names Project

In southern Alberta, Canada, homeless "rez" dogs are now getting a helping hand from the Dogs with No Names project. Animal health technologist, Lori Rogers, and veterinarian, Judith Samson-French designed a pilot program in 2009 to reduce the population of homeless dogs on two First Nations reserves in southern Alberta by implanting a contraceptive under the skin of female dogs.

To date, volunteers with the project have successfully implanted more than a hundred dogs and prevented the birth of hundreds of thousands of pups.

To support this effort, Dr. Samson-French has recently published a new book,Dogs with No Names: In Pursuit of Courage, Hope and Purpose; 100 percent of the profits go to the project.

Find out more about their work at the website.

Smart Dogs

Dogs are very smart animals.


Some scientists estimate that the average dog is as smart as a 3-year-old child. That means he is smart enough to understand more than 150 words, smart enough to count to five - and smart enough to outsmart humans! (You have probably already learned that lesson.)

Some breeds are smarter than others.

Psychologist Stanley Coren, a leading canine researcher and widely published author from the University of British Columbia, studied data from 208 dog obedience judges in the USA and Canada to determine which breeds are the smartest.

Check out the results below to see if your dog made the list:

1. Border collies
2. Poodles
3. German shepherds
4. Golden retrievers
5. Dobermans
6. Shetland sheepdogs
7. Labrador retrievers

So how do you improve your dog's IQ?

A good smart toy can actually boost your dog's IQ!

Veterinarians recommend puzzle toys (also called "smart toys") because they provide dogs with the fun mental challenges they need to keep their minds sharp, while keeping them active and happy. These toys require your dog to use his problem solving skills to "win" the game. A good smart toy is worth its weight in gold, because it will entertain your dog for hours.

Woofstock Similar To Woodstock

Do you recall Woodstock?

If not old enough...... Woodstock was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969. It famously became a "free concert" only after it became obvious that the event was drawing hundreds of thousands more people than the organizers had prepared for.......about 500,000 people showed up. It became the first "love-in".

Woofstock is a big festival in Canada in the St. Lawrence Market neighborhood of downtown Toronto on June 11th and 12th. The annual love-in will see over 300,000 dog lovers. Admission is free!

Competitions includes: Mr. and Ms. Canine Canada Pageant, High Tea (look-a-like celebrity wanna-bes), top model, best costume, stupid dog trick, and agility. Vendors selling everything from designer outfits to the latest in dog treats.

Each year Woofstock donates space to rescue groups, and stages a K9 Rescue Me Walk-A-Thon to raise money for rescue groups across Canada. They even have a Paws to Remember Memorial Service for pets who have died.

Study on Longevity in Dogs

Since the earliest domestication of wild dogs, human beings and canines have been nearly inseparable.

With the passing of time, we have evolved behaviors that cater to the dog's best interests. We have also worked to bring out the traits in them that we find most desirable while simultaneously suppressing those with which we disagree. This has been done through careful application of selective breeding, giving rise to specialized dogs with singular purposes. But a new study shows that in addition to changes in behavior, this artificial selection has also had an effect on canine longevity.

According to the study, to be published next month in The American Naturalist, calmer, low-energy dogs live longer than their bolder, higher-energy counterparts. The scale upon which the docility of the dogs is measured was first introduced in a Journal of General Psychology study in 1995. According to that scale, the mellow Springer Spaniel is 34 percent more docile than a Basset Hound and is twice as likely to live past ten years of age. Poodles, being 24 percent more docile than Boxers, are four times as likely.

The new study’s author Vincent Careau, along with colleagues at University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, was careful to compare dogs of a similar size only and collected the data for the paper from studies done previously. Using this information, he has arrived at what he is calling an “undesired correlation into longevity.”

The greater impact and implications of this study remain to be seen.