Dogs 5 Things You Didn't Know

Dogs 5 Things You Didn’t Know

Those puppy dog eyes your dogs gives you when you scold the for digging up the garden for the 5th time in a month time aren’t a sign of guilt, researchers say. Your dogs are just responding to your rebuke.

Dogs know when they’re not getting a fair shake. A 2008 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that when dogs saw other dogs getting treats for a trick they’d been performing unrewarded, the unrewarded dogs became agitated, scratching themselves and avoiding the gaze of the rewarded dogs.

Humans and dogs aren’t so different after all, at least regarding what makes us sick. While illness is sad for humans and pets alike, sharing diseases benefits both species. Clinical trials are easier to run on pets, giving doctors an animal model of human disease. In fact sometimes after years of human suffering in less then 10 years major advances can be made in treatment, diagnosis, and genetic testing when researchers work with dogs who have the disease.

Obedient, docile dogs live longer, according to research published in June 2010 in The American Naturalist. The study compared the energy use, personalities, growth rates and life spans of 56 dog breeds. After controlling for factors like body size, the researchers found that bold, aggressive dogs lived fast and died young. They grew faster than obedient, eager-to-please dogs, and also had higher energy needs.

If you have cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy, your dog might be the first to know. Studies have shown that dogs can be trained to sniff out cancers of the lung, breast, skin, bladder and prostate. Researchers suspect the canines are picking up on extraordinarily faint scents given off by the abnormal cells.

Comments

Jenny Weeks says

April 20, 2012 at 10:12 am

I love you blog! I have two..the doggie one is scullyshaven.blogspot.com…thank you so much for the info! I look forward to reading more! ^..^ .
Stacey says

April 21, 2012 at 12:27 am

Pretty cool info.
Kelly says

April 22, 2012 at 3:39 am

Great info. Dogs are the best. So glad I came across your blog, I’m following through Linky Followers. Look forward to reading more!
~Kelly