Issue #73

Did you know…. Real Dog Box now ships to Canada? OPEN TO THE FIRST 100 MEMBERS ONLY ✈️ $10 Flat Fee (per dog) + maximum of two boxes. Sign up now!

Pandemic puppies returned to shelters as COVID-19 restrictions lift. Shelters are reporting high rates of returning and surrendering dogs adopted during the pandemic, as well as other pets. Some animal rescues have noted a large portion of the owners surrendering their dogs were first-time pet owners. The returns coincide with the easing and lifting of coronavirus restrictions in many states.

Marijuana legalization is retiring police dogs. Why that’s good. Virginia is set to legalize the possession of up to an ounce of cannabis beginning in July. That means the “early retirement” of at least 15 drug-sniffing dogs throughout the state. Since the dog can’t discern between a large amount of cannabis and a single joint, and because a dog trained to detect both cocaine and marijuana can’t inform its handler what was detected, the only path forward for police narcotics units is to retire their drug-sniffing dogs and acquire new hounds trained only to suss out cocaine, heroin, MDMA, or other substances still part of America’s war on drugs.

Available until June 13th ONLY, here’s the current line up:

🐄 Green Tripe

🐷 Pork Liver

🐟 Salmon

🐔 Chicken Feet

🦆 Duck Wing

🐄 Beef Backstrap

🐮 Bull Pizzle (Super Chew)

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BarkBox stops distributing duck-flavored chews that were attributed to a dog’s death. The maker of the chew sticks, Loving Pets, and BarkBox have said they will investigate to see if the treats caused the death of a dog named Sugar. Sugar's owner, a woman named Sarah, wrote on Facebook that her dog died about 24 hours after eating the Duck Lucky Chew Stick that was included in her Super Chewer BarkBox delivery. Sarah said Sugar ate the stick around 9 p.m. Sunday and started vomiting in the early morning hours of Monday. Sugar died at the veterinarian's office that evening.

Summer blues…. During the summer, the heat isn’t the only thing that increases. Pesky fleas, ticks, and other bugs tend to run rampant throughout most states during this time. Here’s an article that will help you keep them at bay!

Study suggests grumpy dogs learn faster from strangers than easy going dogs do. In a recent study in Hungary, researchers found that dogs with personality characteristics they had grouped under the "grumpy" heading were better able to learn from a stranger than more easy-going dogs. Some of the characteristics that make a dog “grumpy”: quick to bark, snarls or snaps when disturbed, doesn't come when called, guards food to keep it from other dogs or people, active and restless. In a recent experiment, dogs had to retrieve an object placed behind a fence. The grumpy dogs did noticeably better when a stranger demonstrated the way to get the object.

Ancient dog DNA provides clues about canine evolution. An international study led by UNSW researchers has mapped one of the most intact and complete dog genomes ever generated. In the study, the researchers say the genome of the Basenji, which sits at the base of the dog breed family tree, makes an excellent unbiased reference for future comparisons between dog breeds and evolutionary analysis of dogs. The Basenji genome may allow scientists to more fully unravel the evolutionary history of early dogs and how humans have shaped the first dogs into the companions and breeds we have today.

Dogs understand social cues at an early age. By our side for thousands of years, dogs are masters of understanding human communication. A new study finds their ability to understand social cues emerges from an early age — without much training — and that genetics plays a key role. The study suggests dogs have innate skills and that the ability to follow social cues was actively selected by humans in early dog domestication.

Dogs developed certain muscles to melt our hearts. Over a very short period of evolutionary time, 100,000 years, dogs evolved into great and loyal pets. Compared to wolves, they’re smaller with shorter muzzles and smaller teeth. They’re not likely to attack your livestock, your other pets or your children. But dogs grew some special muscles that their wolf ancestors didn’t have — eyebrow muscles. With these muscles, they can make puppy dog

eyes.