Since I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone who hasn't been to see it yet, I'll only say that I went to see the movie 'Up' tonight, and I loved it! I laughed out loud in lots of places.
It has some dogs in it.
And mention of squirrels.
And tennis balls.
I don't think I'm giving more away than the preview does.
Friday, 25 September 2009
Thursday, 24 September 2009
flyball and the continuing crate saga
Well, what a fun evening!
Penny ran for the first time in front of a crowd of strangers. The first time, she forgot it's all about the ball and came racing back without it!
But the second time she did it beautifully.
And then...she ran in a team for the first time!
And as for the vexed question of the crate? The super expensive large one we bought was so heavy we couldn't get it out of the car!
Luckily someone let us use their spare crate.
And the kind lady who sold us the eBay one may let us exchange it for a larger one - a LIGHT one that we can carry.
Penny ran for the first time in front of a crowd of strangers. The first time, she forgot it's all about the ball and came racing back without it!
But the second time she did it beautifully.
And then...she ran in a team for the first time!
And as for the vexed question of the crate? The super expensive large one we bought was so heavy we couldn't get it out of the car!
Luckily someone let us use their spare crate.
And the kind lady who sold us the eBay one may let us exchange it for a larger one - a LIGHT one that we can carry.
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
flyball at the Royal Melbourne Show
Penny's going to take part in a flyball demo at the Show tomorrow evening! As far as I know, we're only expected to do what a beginner can do, which hopefully won't be too demanding.
But the big issue has been the purchase of a crate, in case Penny needs to be in it whilst waiting her turn.
What a business it turned out to be! The first crate I bought was not only huge, but had a manufacturing defect, so that one went back to the shop.
Then I bought another, online - too small! (The problem of what to do with that one will have to wait.)
And finally, another crate - it looked enormous, but when Penny stretched out inside, it only allowed a small amount at each end, so I don't think we could have gone smaller.
The great thing is that she moved in happily, as soon as I tossed some of her toys inside, and almost immediately went to sleep in there - I left the door open.
Anyway, she's happy and we're happy, so I guess we've just got to hope she's used to it by tomorrow night!
But the big issue has been the purchase of a crate, in case Penny needs to be in it whilst waiting her turn.
What a business it turned out to be! The first crate I bought was not only huge, but had a manufacturing defect, so that one went back to the shop.
Then I bought another, online - too small! (The problem of what to do with that one will have to wait.)
And finally, another crate - it looked enormous, but when Penny stretched out inside, it only allowed a small amount at each end, so I don't think we could have gone smaller.
The great thing is that she moved in happily, as soon as I tossed some of her toys inside, and almost immediately went to sleep in there - I left the door open.
Anyway, she's happy and we're happy, so I guess we've just got to hope she's used to it by tomorrow night!
chewber the multipurpose toy
The Other End of the Leash (a great source of information about dog behaviour) posted a video on YouTube of her dogs playing with a Chewber.
It looked so interesting I searched for it on Google. Here's the link. I think it has one of the most cheerful advertisements I've ever seen.
It looked so interesting I searched for it on Google. Here's the link. I think it has one of the most cheerful advertisements I've ever seen.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
more studies of canine cognition
Slavenka has posted a link to an article in Time magazine about a study at Duke University in the US. The study will look at canine cognition. The article says
But I guess they wouldn't get any funding otherwise.
An interesting point in the study is the idea that only dogs and humans can readily understand what is meant if someone points to something. A chimp can follow the gaze of other chimps and figure out what they can and cannot see, but chimps need lots of training to understand the significance of pointing. Yet young puppies can do so.
Penny understands pointing, but I thought we had taught that skill to her. Now I wonder whether she was genetically programmed to pick it up easily.
The work of these researchers won't just satisfy the curiosity of the millions of people who love their dogs; it may also lead to more effective ways to train ordinary dogs or--more important--working dogs that can sniff out bombs and guide the blind. At a deeper level, it may even tell us something about ourselves.As I said when I wrote about a similar study at Harvard University, I don't see why we always have to relate such studies to some imagined benefit for humans.
But I guess they wouldn't get any funding otherwise.
An interesting point in the study is the idea that only dogs and humans can readily understand what is meant if someone points to something. A chimp can follow the gaze of other chimps and figure out what they can and cannot see, but chimps need lots of training to understand the significance of pointing. Yet young puppies can do so.
Penny understands pointing, but I thought we had taught that skill to her. Now I wonder whether she was genetically programmed to pick it up easily.
Honey the Great Dane swims for the first time
I love this video by Honey the Great Dane!
When a dog is as big as Honey is, it's all about trust between the dog and the human.
If Honey hadn't trusted the humans to hold her up, when she first swam, the lesson would never have succeeded.
I wish we had a doggy swimming pool like that near here.
When a dog is as big as Honey is, it's all about trust between the dog and the human.
If Honey hadn't trusted the humans to hold her up, when she first swam, the lesson would never have succeeded.
I wish we had a doggy swimming pool like that near here.
dogs CAN think!
I tried some free shaping the other day. I've read about it on other blogs and wondered what Penny would do if I sat down with a clicker and a pile of treats and placed an empty cardboard box on the floor near her.
Well, it was fascinating to see!
She pawed me (she never paws, but she's been taught to touch me with her left and right paw as a preliminary to learning to march);
she backed away (ditto knows how to back on command);
she looked at the box;
she sat;
she dropped;
she touched the box with her nose - click! treat!
she touched the box a couple more times and was rewarded, but then I stopped rewarding.
So she put one foot into the box - click! treat!
A few more of the same.
Then I raised the bar again.
So she put two feet into the box - click! treat!
As far as I'm concerned, that's thinking.
I was glad to see a philosopher, Dr. Michael LaBossiere from Florida A&M University, writing a blog post about canine cognition. We 'dog people' recognise the obvious truth that dogs think - and feel, but that's another story - so it's good to see this truth acknowledged in the wider world.
He writes about Descartes, famous for saying 'I think, therefore I am'. It was Descartes who did animals a terrible disservice when he argued that animals do not have true minds because they do not use true language.
Well, it was fascinating to see!
She pawed me (she never paws, but she's been taught to touch me with her left and right paw as a preliminary to learning to march);
she backed away (ditto knows how to back on command);
she looked at the box;
she sat;
she dropped;
she touched the box with her nose - click! treat!
she touched the box a couple more times and was rewarded, but then I stopped rewarding.
So she put one foot into the box - click! treat!
A few more of the same.
Then I raised the bar again.
So she put two feet into the box - click! treat!
As far as I'm concerned, that's thinking.
I was glad to see a philosopher, Dr. Michael LaBossiere from Florida A&M University, writing a blog post about canine cognition. We 'dog people' recognise the obvious truth that dogs think - and feel, but that's another story - so it's good to see this truth acknowledged in the wider world.
He writes about Descartes, famous for saying 'I think, therefore I am'. It was Descartes who did animals a terrible disservice when he argued that animals do not have true minds because they do not use true language.
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