The Doggy "Guilty" Look

Does my brudder, Lightning, look guilty?? Well, according to Alexandra Horowitz at Barnard College, New York, don't be too quick to judge. Lightning read about an experiment that shed some light on the subject:

What Really Prompts The Dog's 'Guilty Look'

Horowitz was able to show that what humans interpret as a 'guilty look' in a dog is really just the human's interpretation of their pet's 'guilty look'. Humans tend to anthropomorphize their pet's behaviors and the interpretation of the 'guilty look' falls into that category. The 'look' exhibited by the pet is a reaction to the owner's actions upon discovering the naughty deed, not a reaction to the actual deed that was done by the dog.

Hmmph, I could of told Mom that! Being naughty is fun!

Do Pessimistic Dogs Have More Anxiety?

My brudder, Lightning, has been doing some reading and he found an interesting article on separation anxiety that he wanted to share.

Dogs showing separation-related behavior exhibit a 'pessimistic mood' according to an article published in the October 12, 2010, issue of Current Biology.

The article suggests that dogs that demostrate 'pessimistic' behavior are more likely to show separation anxiety than dogs that exhibit 'optimistic' behavior. The author, Mike Mendl of the University of Bristol, notes that most owners believe that anxious pets are 'fine' and do not seek treatment for their pet, however, pets may actually benefit from treatment for anxiety. Mendl believes that treatment is very important to ensuring good dog welfare.

The link above describes how Mendl tested dogs for 'pessimistic' versus 'optimistic' behavior.

Backyard Romp in Da Snow

My hooman brudder finally got his present in Japan, exactly one month after Mom sent it. He said it went to Sydney, Australia first for some reason before showing up in Japan. Now that is some well traveled Goodie bars!

Well, anyway, we were bored today so Mom took us outside to play. She shot the video and we romped. We love the snow. Yeah, we are black labs. Yeah, we are water dogs, but we were born in Minnesota! We do not know that there's no duck hunting in the snow. We just like it! It is fun to run and roll in the snow with brudder,,, crazy brudder! ps, we got a little carried away at the end and Mom had to tell us to behave! We just boy dogs for goodnes sake!

Lost in Da Mail!

...My hooman brudder lives in Japan. He is a teacher at a high school in Osaka, Japan, employed by the JET (Japanese English Teaching Program). Last month, Mom sent him a package Priority Mail (USPS) on November 26. In da package were several items that he had asked for that he misses from the US: toothpaste, deoderant, undies, a face mask for his hockey helmet, and ten Nut Goodies that he was craving!

The package never arrived! It usually only takes one week for a Priority Mail package to travel from Northern Minnesota to Osaka, but not this time! Mom was not really intending for this to be his Christmas present. She was going to send something else, but now she is wondering if she should send another package. Where did the Nut Goodie package go? Should she use the USPS again?

She called the post office and registered that the package was lost. They said it will take at least three weeks to trace the package and they had no info in their database except that she had dropped it off on November 26!

Poor brudder! Not only is he not home for Christmas, but his package is lost in da mail. Send him a Twitter greeting at @bennyjpn and wish the poor guy a Merry Christmas. Hopefully it will cheer him up!

Poo Gun Store for Serious Shoppers



We were thinking, why not put poo guns up for sale for the serious poo gun player that likes to #pawpawty all day and night? So, here is da store! If you need one, just click on da link below and make a donation. Your new weapon will pack a wallop for da animals!

The Citrus Shooter: Orange you glad this ain't pointed at you?



Eco Friendly Flinger: Made of all natural materials for shooting all natural materials

Doody Dart Gun: Accurate and powerful, for farty fun or fast blasting

 



High Powered Shooter: For shooting sloshy stuff a long ways!



The Little Lady: For packing heat under that pretty outfit



Make My Day: For the serious player that needs rapid fire and lots of ammo

Serious Doody Shooter:  For Wild Pawpawties only!!! Don't use this at home!

The Slosher: Small but accurate, for watery shots dat sting with odiferous ammo

Snub Nosed Shooter:  for the James Cagney personalities

Space Aged Shooter: for the 21st century ammo that is out of this world!

Zig Zag Zinger: for the player that has papers (if you know what we mean!)

Zippy Zonker: for the player that likes to put a spin on their sin!

Long Time No Write

Wow, it has been a long time since we wrote on our blog, but our friend, BearBearD, inspired us.  Mom went to England to Shannon and Rob's wedding in October, and it has been hectic here ever since.  We wanted to share a picture that Mom took of our brudder, Chase, on Thanksgiving.  It was a beautiful sunny day. We went outside snuffling snow mice while Mom took pictures.