Issue #37
Did you know… the play bow first evolved in canids as a form of communication? Dogs will "bow" in the middle of playtime to show that they're having fun and wish to continue, or when a session has paused to signal they want to pick it back up. Prior to domestication, playtime as puppies prepared dogs to hunt as adults. Wild canids, like wolves, foxes, and coyotes, tend to reserve this behavior for members of their own species, but pet dogs often break out the bow for their humans—or anyone else who looks like they might be up for a play session. Nowadays, playtime is crucial to their social, cognitive, and physical development. It’s an opportunity for them to interact with their own kind and learn important behaviors, like how to moderate the strength of their bites. The play also requires the animals to react quickly to new circumstances and assess complex actions from other dogs.
Russia is killing thousands of dogs to 'Clean Up' before World Cup. In what local authorities describe as an attempt to make Russia more media- and visitor-friendly, horrifying executions of dogs are taking place. Sochi Dogs Rescue was founded during the 2014 Winter Olympics for this exact reason, and is working hard to keep this from happening - they have adopted more than 300 pups in the US so far! You can help raise awareness or make a donation to help Sochi Dogs keep saving homeless dogs. And check out the characters available for adoption!
Win free treats! We kicked off our #lamblungchallenge with the new box, giving 5 current members a chance to win a free bag of treats! Find the official rules here. Available until June 17th, just 10 more days to get this box: 🐖 Pork Heart, 🐑 Lamb Lung, 🐟 Anchovies, 🐓 Chicken Feet, 🐖 Pig Skin, 🐄 Beef Tendon, 🔥 Super Chew: Whole Lamb Femur
Bitcoin scammers demanding ransom for lost dogs. Last week, Patty Howell’s basset hound, Happy, went missing and she posted on FB about it. Soon after, she received a threatening text message demanding $600 worth of bitcoin in exchange for the safe return of the lost dog. The bitcoin scammer, who told Howell he was using a burner phone to avoid identification, demanded that Howell send the bitcoin ransom within five days, otherwise they would “sell it or kill it or whatever.” The only problem was, between the posting and text message she got, Happy had already come home. Sadly, several North Carolina residents have been targeted by this scam.
The 2nd annual Drone vs. Dog Trials is over! The initiative was established in 2017 by the Muresk Institute to give high school students opportunities to advance the agriculture industry with technology. Drone pilots race farm dogs for the time by successfully navigating obstacle courses. T[he student pilot who completes the course in the fastest time wins a drone for their school! Drones have beaten dogs for the second year in a row, but it’s a fun event for everyone participating.
](http://www.farmweekly.com.au/news/agriculture/general/news/drone-takes-rivals-to-the-dogs-at-muresk/2757273.aspx)
You can now rent a drug-sniffing dog for $200/hour. Metro K9 Detection Services in Kansas City, Missouri, rents out dogs trained to detect narcotics like marijuana, PCP, cocaine, heroin, and MDMA in your home or other residential locations. They’re not associated with law enforcement and market their services to parents that suspect their teens of doing drugs. The company’s owner says most parents administer the sweep while their kids are not at home. Many just flush the drugs and “never say anything.”
Dogs born in the summertime are more likely to suffer heart disease. According to a study from the University of Pennsylvania, exposure to fine air particulates or outdoor air pollution during early pregnancy has been linked to cardiovascular diseases in dogs later in life. Overall, dogs have a 0.3% to 2% risk of developing heart disease depending on breed. The research team found that risk climbs to the greatest level in dogs born in July, who has a 74% greater risk of heart disease than would typically be expected. The canine heart is a very close model to the human heart, and we (dogs and humans) spend so much time together that we are exposed to similar environmental effects - learning more about what causes heart disease in dogs can shed some light what may cause heart disease in humans.
4 military dogs receive the nation’s highest honor. [Four veterans were honored with Medal of Courage awards on Capitol Hill last week. The four recipients were:
](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/05/29/these-four-military-dogs-just-received-the-nations-highest-honor/)
Jag, a 12-year-old Labrador retriever who served with the Army for seven years.
Taba, a 9-year-old Dutch shepherd who served as an Army Special Forces multipurpose canine.
Summer, a 7-year-old Labrador retriever who served in Afghanistan and is now a member of a TSA K-9 team for the Amtrak Police Department in Washington, D.C.
Taker, a 12-year-old Labrador retriever who served with the Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We can now keep African wild dogs safe. A unique conservation effort in South Africa could result in groundbreaking research about the wild dog. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the African wild dog – or painted dog as it is also known – is Southern Africa’s most endangered large carnivore species with only 6 600 individual dogs still left in the wild. In addition to tracking and collaring these wild dogs in Kruger Park, conservationists will get a complete digital picture of movements and life cycles, giving us an “x-ray of the brain of the wild dog community” which has never been possible before.