Recent Studies About Dogs in the NEWS

Recent Dog Behavior Excerpts in the News!
Stanly Huber, a professor of psychology at the University of Columbia, told the American Psychological Association that the newest research strategy for understanding dogs is to use tests meant for very young children.
“One of the most recent breakthroughs is that people began to use tests which were originally designed for young humans — for pre-linguistic or limited-linguistic humans — to see whether dogs had certain capacities.
Coren’s presentation included a review of numerous studies that show how dogs are more like humans than previously thought. He says dogs can learn about 165 words, including signals; they can count up to four or five and have a basic understanding of arithmetic. Also, he says, dogs can intentionally deceive other dogs and people to get treats they want.
Source: USA Today 8/10/2009 by Sharon Jayson

A new study says dogs have the capacity of a 2-year-old child in understanding hand gestures.
The comparison of dogs with kids reportedly does not end there. As a result of domestication, other similarities include learning human pointing gestures in “next to zero learning time” and figuring out visual communication. The article states that chimpanzees and other non-human primates often flunk pointing gesture tests, “dogs may understand humans better than even our closest living relative do.” In the current issue of Animal Cognition, a researcher, Gabriella Lakotas explained that that dogs appear predisposed to read other human visual signals, including head-turning and gazing.”

One explanation is that many owners use baby talk which is reportedly known as “ motherese” with both dogs and children. As a result, dogs and young children receive similar social stimulation. She points out that chimpanzees do NOT actively share food where dogs are often eager to cooperate.

She does caution however, that no one should think that dogs are just furry 2 year old children. “Nobody has tried to herd a flock of sheep with two-year old (human children).”

Source:
Updated 7:34 p.m. CT, Mon., July 13, 2009

Contributed by: Mark J. Mohapp, LCSW

Recent Dog Health Excerpts in the News

New Evidence that Second-hand Smoke Harms Pets
“A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that dogs in smoking households had a 60 percent greater risk of lung cancer; a different study published in the same journal showed that long-nosed dogs, such as collies or greyhounds, were twice as likely to develop nasal cancer if they lived with smokers.”

“As the human-animal bond becomes stronger, we share more of our lives, our leisure time and our living space with our companion animals, and they become exposed to the same environmental hazards that we do. Many of our habits, including smoking, can affect our pets as they would affect any other member of our household.”

Source: Second-Hand Smoke Affects Pets, Too
By News Staff | January 27th 2007 11:00

I read a recent article about third hand smoke being dangerous for babies and pets. At first I attempted to figure out what would be the definition of “third hand smoke” and thought it must be the residue left behind after the second hand smoke settled. It seemed to fit when I thought about babies not having the freedom to move and pets depending on their type being confined to an area where someone had smoked. I asked my neighbor who is a physician and he said that the article was true and he always cringed when he saw young children, babies or pets traveling in a car with someone smoking.

“Jonathan Winickoff, assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and one of the authors of the study, defines third-hand smoke as the “tobacco smoke contamination that remains after the cigarette is extinguished.” Apparently over time even in cars when the windows are open during smoking or in homes a layer of toxins build up. Reportedly although the residue may be less concentrated than second hand smoke, babies crawling and dogs and other pets walking frequently over this residue has a negative effect on their health.

It is the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they’re crawling or playing on the floor.

Excerpts from: SMOKER’S PET — By JULIA SZABO, New York Post 03/07/04 and
Does Secondhand Smoke Harm Cats and Dogs?
Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM

Small children are especially susceptible to third-hand smoke exposure because they can inhale near, crawl and play on, or touch and mouth contaminated surfaces. Third-hand smoke can remain indoors even long after the smoking has stopped. Similar to low-level lead exposure, low levels of tobacco particulates have been associated with cognitive deficits among children, and the higher the exposure level, the lower the reading score. These findings underscore the possibility that even extremely low levels of these compounds may be neurotoxic and, according to the researchers, justify restricting all smoking in indoor areas inhabited by children.

Source: ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2008)

ScienceDaily (Feb. 10, 2009) — Smokers are more likely to quit smoking for the sake of their pets’ health than they are for their own, suggests research published ahead of print in Tobacco Control.

In an online survey conducted in south eastern Michigan people were quizzed about what they knew about their partners smoking habits and the effects of second hand smoke on their pets. “Nearly one in three of the smokers (28.4%) said that knowing that smoking was bad for their pets’ health would spur them to give it up. And almost one in 10 (8.7%) said this would prompt them to ask their partners to quit, while around one in seven (14%) said they would tell their partner to smoke outdoors.”

“A recent study by researchers in Michigan turned up some interesting statistics. It seems that one in three would quit smoking if they thought their pet would be adversely affected. This is interesting because in other studies, fewer than 2% would quit smoking if they knew their children would suffer harmful effects and 3.2% would consider quitting under family pressure. Clearly the pets win hands down.”

Source: People more likely to quit smoking for their dogs than their children
February 20, 2:13 AM Health Care Examiner Doctor Lissa

“Almost two thirds of US households have a pet, and their combined spending power on pet supplies and over the counter medicines was estimated to be in the region of more than US$ 10 billion last year. And a survey carried out by the American Animal Hospital Association in 2008 showed that more than half of the respondents said that if they were stranded on a desert island, they would prefer the company of their pet to that of another person.”

Adapted from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

‘Third-hand smoke’: a new danger from cigarettes

A New Cigarette Hazard: ‘Third-Hand Smoke’
Roni Caryn Rabin | New York Times | 01.04.2009

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