Issue #35
We're so close with dogs, even our poop looks similar. A new study suggests that our microbiomes and those of dogs have striking similarities and they may be better subjects for research into human nutrition than the more commonly used mice or pigs. The sharing of resources and domestication of dogs in early modern human history may be why dog digestive systems are so similar to humans’ today. And we continue to mirror each other—obesity rates in dogs have risen as ours have. This is why gut health is so important.
Our similarities are also why we look to dogs to help us with cancer research. In the U.S., cancer claims 1 of every 4 human lives each year and is the leading cause of death in domestic dogs. However, because of the similarity of some of our cancers, treatments that work in humans sometimes work in dogs, and vice versa. Comparative oncology is a new field that integrates cancers seen in veterinary patients into more general studies of cancer biology and therapy, studies the similarities between naturally occurring cancers in pets and cancers in people. Scientists at Colorado State are studying 3,000 golden retrievers, the breed with the highest rate of cancer - finding a cure for one of us can mean cures for both of us.
Did you know… next week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week? The number of postal employees attacked by dogs nationwide last year was 6,244 (500 lower than the year before). The top five cities for dog attacks on Postal Service employees are Houston, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cleveland and San Diego. This year, the USPS has deployed technology to let carriers know in advance if an address has a dog.
Have you gotten your wings on yet? Available only until April 23rd, the current box: 🐖 Pork Loin, 🐄 Beef Spleen, 🐟 Salmon, 🐑 Lamb Weasand, 🐣 Duck Wing, 🐖 Pig Ear, 🔥 Super Chew: Spiral Pizzle. Check out the unboxing. #feedreal Want a sneak peek at the new box? Make sure to follow @realpetfood Instagram stories! We’ve got turkey gizzard, lamb ears and rolled cow skin in the lineup!
An investigation uncovers “rescue” organizations purchasing dogs from breeders at $5/piece. A major report from “The Washington Post” has identified 86 rescues and shelters which misled Americans about where they got their dogs. Dog owners who thought their dogs were “rescued” from abuse or mistreatment were actually dogs raised in healthy circumstances, purchased at auction, and then shipped away to rescues and shelters. The owner of the largest commercial dog auction in the U.S., Southwest Auction Service, says that “Rescue generates about one-third, maybe even 40 percent of our income.” Whoa. 😳
Mars Petcare announced the launch of Pet Insight Project. The Pet Insight Project is a three-year study of more than 200,000 dogs across the United States to discover links between pet activity, behavior, and health. By using its subsidiaries to track data -- Mars owns Whistle, pet tracker and activity monitor, and all Banfield Pet Hospitals -- the idea is to map relevant patterns of pet behaviors and movement with illness.
Why more dogs die on United than on any other airline. 75% of animal deaths on U.S. commercial airlines last year occurred on United Airlines. The airline says there’s one simple variable to consider: United accepts higher-risk dog breeds that other major U.S. carriers do not allow. These “higher risk dogs” are known as brachycephalic, or “short-nosed” breeds, which include bulldogs, boxers, pugs, Boston terriers, Shih-Tzus and others, have more compact airways, which tends to lead to respiratory issues. American and Delta have refused these breeds for years.
This 3D printed implant saved this dog’s life. In the first known procedure of its kind, a 3D printed titanium implant was successfully used to replace hard tissue lost from tumor removal from the maxilla (upper jaw) in a seven-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog. The implant was designed with medical CAD tools and additively manufactured providing a patient-specific implant (PSI) that is seen more commonly in human cases. Additive manufacturing is defined as the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer.
This AI thinks like a dog. Kiana Ehsani at the University of Washington and colleagues have gathered a unique data set of canine behavior and used it to train an AI system to make dog-like decisions. The team investigated how to act like a dog, how to plan like a dog, and how to learn from a dog. Their approach opens up a new area of AI research that studies the capabilities of other intelligent beings on our planet. Plus, there’s a whole lot we can learn from dogs - such as guiding people who are visually impaired, finding lost individuals, or sniffing out drugs and other contraband.
Google Lens can now identify dog breeds. The Google Photos app is now able to use Google Lens to identify cat and dog breeds in photos. The new breed identification skill seems to work well for purebred dogs, but is more hit or miss for mixed breed dogs. In addition to the Lens update, you can also label your pet to easily find photos you’ve saved them and create movies and photo books with the option of ordering a copy.