Subscribe to my feed
This weekend was my little Australian Shepherd debut in the Dog Show world.
It was an experience that started to be very strange for my little puppy and ended to be very enriching, since it was the first time he saw so many different dogs, so many people and walked so long with a leash.
His father and aunt went along to provide strength, company and show that to go to this places is “very cool”.
Of course, Angel and Teco, are ambassadors by excellence, since they nice behavior, joy to be with their owners and will to please is contagious. It isn’t every day we can see two dogs playing loose with a ball in an environment with lots of people and dogs.
My little one was 1º baby of the breed in both days. The performance of his first presentation was quite week, but he soon overcome that, and behaved quite well in the next performances.
His brother Dilan also showed on Saturday and behaved quite well, even being his first dog show, so all the credit goes to his owner Fernando, that has train and work with him.
And that is it ! A canine weekend, in my favorite show of the year, on the beautiful gardens of the Casino do Estoril, in the company of my friend Luis, that is also rendered to the Australian Shepherd friendship and companionship.
Other activities:
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Estoril Dog Show 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Roadshow Nintendogs + Cats
From July 28 to August 24, the Roadshow Nintendogs+Cats, with the União Zoófila support, walk through the streets of Portugal with the aim to raise awareness of the Portuguese population towards a responsible adoption of dogs and cats, and also inform the raising of the abandon problem of domestic animals.
With a space exclusively dedicated to the adoption of dogs and cats, the União Zoófila makes known through photographs in 3D, showed in the Nintendo 3DS, some of their animals available for adoption. Those interested can choose the location where the pet is available for adoption and can contact directly União Zoófila to make their adoption. And because having a pet involves a high sense of responsibility and care, visitors of this space can also find tips and advice for caring for animals ranging from food, hygiene, education, socialization or exercise.
The União Zoófila, association of reference in Portugal in regards of assistance and protection of abandon dogs and cats, associates for the first time with a video game, with the aim of helping to prepare future adopters of a domestic animal and thus reduce the number of these abandoned animals in Portugal.
The start of the Campus Nintendogs+Cats 3DS is scheduled for July 28, in Praia da Torre in Oeiras. Until the 24th of August, will go the beaches of the Algarve and Figueira da Foz, which will have extra entertainment these days. For more information, visit www.nintendo3ds.com.pt, where you can find the map with the locations and times.
All those who do not know the game Nintendogs+Cats 3DS have the opportunity to try this tool to help you become aware of the responsibility associated with owning a pet because, similarly to what happens with a real animal, the player will have, among other responsibilities, to feed, walk, bathe, teach tricks or pamper your pet.
Source: http://gameover.sapo.pt/article.html?id=56279
Related Article: http://casacalado-eng.blogspot.com/2011/03/pets-in-new-3d-virtual-world.html
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Another job for dogs ...
Dog helps children to testify
The girl on the stand - with fifteen years of trauma - was scared. The defendant, his father, still clearly had the power to intimidate.
Occasionally she looked at him and the effect could be seen. Tone down, hesitated, stopped in the middle of an answer. At such times, the animal got closer to her feet, brushed her with the nose, or leaned against her. The girl hugged her and went on.
In the end, the defendant was sentenced to capital punishment for crimes of rape: 25 years to a life sentence. It was just the latest case in which justice was done with the presence of a canine in a U.S. court.
The use of dogs to help particularly vulnerable witnesses to feel safe is a growing practice in the U.S.. Two dozen jurisdictions, from New York to Hawaii and going through Texas, Idaho and Missouri, have officially adopted it. At least one foreign court in Santiago, Chile, did the same.
You can not cross-examine a dog
Prosecutors love it. Not only the dog or bitch gives an emotional support and encourages the witness to speak, as juries seem to be susceptible to persuasion in this way.
There is the idea that if a child or other victim have a nearby dog - especially a dog as cute as Rosie, the golden retriever in the case above - is half the battle for the jury to believe in the testimony. "Sometimes it means the difference between conviction and acquittal," said one attorney.
By the same token, the defense lawyers object. O Tohom already announced that it will probably be one of the elements to use in the appeal. "Every time the girl was stroking the dog, the jury sent a subconscious message that was in stress to be telling the truth," said one.
Furthermore, he added, we can not cross-examine a dog.
Like the teddy bears
On the same day and in the same court in Poughkeepsie, New York, another trial in which Rosie would also be involved - the bitch is on permanent duty to the court - was interrupted when suddenly the defendant confessed. Also there came to witness children, daughters of a murdered woman, and he wanted to avoid that.
As much as the lawyers criticize, the practice should continue. Already in 1994 there were those who tried to nullify a sentence for the victim to have witnessed accompanied by a teddy bear, and at the time it didn't worked.
The court ruled that it did not affect the credibility of testimony.
Source: http://aeiou.expresso.pt/cao-ajuda-criancas-a-testemunhar=f667145
Monday, August 08, 2011
The role of dogs in Human evolution
This week-end following the conversations we were having about Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species, Me and my son went to visit the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Botanical Garden of Lisbon.
On this visit we reflect on various aspects of the creation of the solar system, the emergence of life on Earth, evolution to dinosaurs (a subject that always fascinates children)
mass extinction of dinosaurs, evolution of mammals, and of course human evolution and the role of man's best friend, the dog in our evolution.
In our days it is believed that wasn't man who approached the wolf, but the wolves that followed the human groups to take advantage of the debris produced and often not consumed.
As the proximity of the two species were kept, the more likely situation is that the wolves became more docile and trusting, thus ignoring, the basic instincts. Animals that remained with the human groups, had more success in finding food, and therefore to reproduce and keep their young.
From the step to approach human beings and the first adoption that challenged the laws of the natural world, where humans and wolves competed as predators, we can only guess what happened.
With the domestication and adoption of wolves within the human group it is believed to have formed a symbiotic relationship where the Wolf received food, shelter and care from humans, and humans received protection and companionship, which evolves into a mutual aid in the hunt and later in other activities such as herding.
The man really helped in domestication by selecting the most pleasing docile animals and eliminating those with wild characteristics.
The Wolf, is thought to have contributed to man evolution by eliminating the man's need to develop physical senses, like smell to hunt. Also the use of Wolf, or probably at this point we can designate as dog , as a guard and herder, have actually contributed to the domestication of livestock, that in addition to sedentary agriculture, eliminate our physical characteristics required for hunting and fighting.
Archaeology has placed the earliest known domestication at potentially 30,000 BC in Belgium, and with certainty at 7,000 BC.
But it seems that Wolf domestication is older than the archaeological record so far found.
As the human migrated around the world, their dogs migrated with them. Changes to agricultural and urban areas have led to new selections and specializations, such as search and delivery of items, saving people, police dogs, etc. With the new selection was a new specialization of different types of dogs that best suited human needs.
Kennel clubs appeared in the middle of the 19th century as a way to regulate the various breeds, that already existed and were used in competitions.
Today these Kennel Clubs defines the dog breeds standard, which everyone recognizes.
Wolves, ancestors of our dogs have been since the Middle Ages, targeted has demons and systematically exterminated, witch almost led to the disappearance of these magnificent animals.
Let us pray that the future has room for a new harmony between man and wolf.
Other articles:
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
The prehistoric dog
Not long ago I caught a documentary on BBC about our friend Charles Darwin and his famous theory The Origin of Species.
What is now regarded as obvious at the time gave rise much controversy and disbelief.
But now reflecting on the origin of species, I wonder ... "and our canine friends, how is the tree of evolution?
Ok, doing a little web research and photo summary, I found the following theory of evolution:
Mammals evolution tree:
1) The directly ancestral to all later canids is Hesperocyon
2)Immediately follows the Leptocyon, considered a cousin.
3) Descending immediate from Leptocyon comes Eucyon
It is believed that the first dogs are descendants of Eucyon therefore deserves a comparison with the wolf.
4) One of the first wolves is believed to have lived and competed directly with the large cave lions and saber tooth tigers, and it is called Dire Wolf
5) The oldest dog skull discovered to date is from Goyet Cave, Belgium with 31,700 years old.
They are clearly different from wolves and is thought to be a transition from wolf to dog.
In the end, only a theory of evolution from the wolf (Canis lupus) to the dog (Canis lupus familiaris) can be imagined.
Multiple and Ancient Origins of the Domestic Dog
Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences were analyzed from 162 wolves at 27 localities worldwide and from 140 domestic dogs representing 67 breeds. Sequences from both dogs and wolves showed considerable diversity and supported the hypothesis that wolves were the ancestors of dogs. Most dog sequences belonged to a divergent monophyletic clade sharing no sequences with wolves. The sequence divergence within this clade suggested that dogs originated more than 100,000 years before the present. Associations of dog haplotypes with other wolf lineages indicated episodes of admixture between wolves and dogs. Repeated genetic exchange between dog and wolf populations may have been an important source of variation for artificial selection.
ref: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/276/5319/1687.abstract?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=vila&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT
Canid phylogeny tree
Other articles:
