Many who had followed my regular contributions to Dog World magazine back in the `70s, `80s, and `90s have asked that I write something about Japan’s most famous dog, Hachiko, who is still a symbol of faithfulness in that country. Even those familiar with the story wanted it retold, and thanks to the Japan Kennel …
Giardia is a single-cell organism in what we used to call “the animal kingdom” because early classification systems distinguished animals from plants by the ability of the former to move from place to place “of their own free will.” The Giardia cell does this by whipping its appendages, like a shark’s tail, or a sperm …
A lady told me that she had spent thousands so far in raising a small litter (six pups to four months old) and the costs had not yet finished mounting, even though she paid no stud fee or shipping, since she owned the sire, too. This was her first attempt at breeding and will probably …
In the “olden days” (which to today’s generation probably means before TV), when there were no street lamps or lighted guppy aquariums, and people used candles or torches to find their way at night, the sky could get very dark indeed. Especially when the moon was less full or on the other side of Earth, …
As first seen in APRIL 1984 DOG WORLD magazine, page 28 Mention “war dog” and you will evoke various mental images, depending on the age of the hearer. The younger military veterans will tell you of the German Shepherds used in Vietnam. Those of my generation will remember the War Department’s drive during the early …
In some registries and countries, the dog show judge is expected or required to critique the entries—at least, the top-placing dogs in each or some classes. A critique is supposed to be a description of the dog that gives spectators and readers a good idea of the salient features of the dog and the reasons …
Memory and experience are personal—that is, they die with the person. But sometimes we are fortunate to find a repository of such memories written down, so that future dog aficionados can enjoy and be enlightened. I hope that wherever you are reading this now, it will be saved in case some grandchild who fancies dogs …
It seems that no matter why a dog is brought in, many quick-draw vets immediately fire their salvos of antibiotics and/or steroids. Most (or at least a great part) of the time, these are the wrong or ineffective approaches, but it’s a natural reaction, like smashing a snake even though the odds may be 50-to-one …
As you are reading this, the odds are darn good that you are a dog lover; even better that you have either a dog or a cat, or perhaps another animal pet. So, I have a pretty good idea whom I am talking to. This article was originally prepared for my monthly newspaper column—you can …
A very common tendency among humans, be they dog fanciers or not, is to anthropomorphize. That means we ascribe human intelligence, motives, and morals to animals. Now, this is perfectly understandable, because there ARE a few things that both people and animals do for the same “reasons” (an odd choice of words, but you know …