[Ag-eq] FAQ about dogs.

[Jewel]

As most of us who keep animals have a dog or 2 amongst them, I don't think that the following is
too, wildly, off topic.  It is followed by an input of my own.

       Jewel

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From: "Jewel" <jewelblanch at kinect.co.nz>
Sent: Friday, November 13, 2015 5:31 PM
To: <kmooney at ihug.co.nz>
Subject: Frequently Asked Questions.i


FAQ about DOGS.

> Q:  Are dogs actually
 colour blind?
A:  It is commonly believed that dogs can only see in black and
> white but that is not
> entirely true. While they cannot see the same color spectrum
> as humans, they
> primarily see in yellows, blues, and violets. Basically,
> similar colors get
> grouped into one. For instance, dogs will perceive oranges,
> yellows, and greens
> as yellow.



 Q:  Why do they circle before sleep?
 A:  Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not walk in a circle before they
> lay down to check for predators. The real reason that this trait exists in
> dogs is thanks to their
> ancestors. Before dog beds existed, wild dogs would make
> beds in tall grass. The
> easiest way for them to pat down the grass was to walk in a
> circle. Nowadays,
> dogs still retain this trait and you'd be hard pressed to
> see a dog lay down
> without performing this ritual.

Q:  Why do dogs shake their toys?A:  It's
> pretty cute when dogs shake their toys back and forth,
> right? The reason behind
> this is actually pretty morbid. The ancestors of
> domesticated dogs used this
> shaking technique to snap the neck of small prey when
> hunting. Dog's have
> maintained this instinct throughout the selective breeding
> process, thus resulting in the shaking of toys.
Q:  Can dogs tell time?
A:  Dogs cannot necessarily tell time like humans can, but studies
> have shown that dogs can differentiate between long and short periods. While they
> cannot understand the concept of time created by humans, they have adapted
> their own sense of time
> by observing and memorizing patterns that regularly occur throughout the day.
Q:  Why do they tilt their heads?
A:  Though it is not proven, dogs will tilt their heads when being spoken to for a variety of
> reasons. The first being that they are trying to aim their ears more in your direction to hear you
> better. Another

explanation is that they are trying to read our faces better as they are very visual when it comes
to taking cues.
Q:  What's the story behind dog years?
A:  We've grown up believing that one year of a dog's life is equal to seven years of a human's.
While dogs do age at a

more rapid rate than humans, seven isn't the steady rate, only the average.  In most breeds, the
first year of a dog's life

is equal to 15 years due to how rapidly they mature. The calculation for the rest of the dog's life
really depends on the

breed, as some dogs will age much faster than others.
Q:  Can dogs really say words?
A:  While the videos of dogs saying "I love you" are amazing, it's all just an illusion.
Dogs do not have the ability to, actually, say words, yet they can imitate sounds and tonal patterns
of humans, giving off

the illusion of speech.
Most of this misconception is based on our minds wish of "You will hear what you want to hear!"
Q:  Why do dogs love fetch?
A:  Fetch is a game that drives most dogs crazy with excitement. But why is this? Well, this is a
product of our own

actions as humans. Through selective breeding, we have bred dogs to become the perfect hunting
companion that will bring

back animals to humans while hunting. So, fetch is essentially a genetic predisposition for dogs.
Q:  Why do they wag their tails?
A:  Wagging tails do not directly translate into happiness and excitement for a dog. Canines use
their tails to display

strong emotions, including everything from anger to agitation, as well as happiness. However, it is
common for many dogs to

wag their tails more towards the left wen they are frightened and to the right when they are happy.

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A reply from me,
Several years ago,  the advertising agency, Sachy & Sachy was contracted by Toyota to devise a
series of commercials advertising the merits of their utes:  Pick-ups in American pallance.
The first of the series was greeted by a huge storm of delight from 99.999% of the viewing audience,
while 17 wowzers, , I think it was, were, sufficiently, outraged to write to the Broadcasting
Standards Authority to protest their disgust.

The ads showed a Toyota carrying out a number of farm jobs:  pulling out a tree stump which flew
across the top of the ute and landed on the chookhouse:  pulling a bogged cow out of a swamp, and,
finally, showed the farmer's wife hanging the washing out in a muddy yard while being watched by the
collie.  The ute comes into the yard and turns around and the dog makes a leap for the deckbut as it
leaps, the truck pulls away and gravity being what it is and with nothing to land on,  the dog falls
into a mud puddle which is splashed all over the washing.
As the farmer's wife says "BUGGER", the dog is seen to say the same.
Mark Vettie, the owner and trainer of * Hercules [Herk] said that they had to shoot the scene over
and over again until one caught Herk with his mouth in just the right shape to be uttering that
offensive word.
After taking the commercial off the air, there was so much outcry about its removal that it was, to
public acclaim, brought back, and the expletive "bugger" became, I will not go so far as to say,
fashionable, but it was accepted as a part of our colourful language.
If  the "bugger" ad, as it became known, caused a cafuffle, that was nothing as compared to Sachy &
Sachy's next Toyota ad which showed a couple of hereford bulls in the cab of a Toyota [I don't know
if it was ever explained, or even if it was ever asked, how in the blue blazes one got 1, let alone,
2 Hereford bulls into  the cab of a Toiota, or a truck of any size when it comes to that!]driving
through a haybarn and emerging on the other side and finding a ram in front of them and calling out
"Out of the way:  sheep shagger" and then dropping over a bank into a paddockful of cows, and the
picture faded out as the truck was seen to be bouncing, up
and down,  rhythmically,  on its springs.
re perception of time.  I remember my Dad telling us of Firpo, a dog he owned when he was a young
working man.
In those days before 40 hours of labour a week:  remember those days?  he worked 5 and a half days:
Monday/Friday and aSaturday morning.
He came home for lunch every day and on the days Monday to Friday, Firpo would just sit at the end
of his chain without any reaction, but come Saturday lunchtime and he, just about, went off his
rocker with excitement.
I also know of Labradors who, for 50 weeks of the year, just mope around the house, but come the 
first Saturday in May:  the opening day of duck-shooting, and they turn into blocks of immovable 
stone that can't be persuaded to move more than a few feet from the vehicle that will convey them, 
and their  duck-shooting pals to the chosen pond, lake or river.
Ducks seem to have the same sense of time, but in the reverse.  Several weeks before that fateful 
first Saturday in May, ducks, in their hundreds will be making their way to rivers and lakes where 
they know they are protected:  well, at leasst they know that their won't be pieces of metal buzzing 
around, and often, through them.

Jewel