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Showing posts with label Animal Wise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animal Wise. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Dogs Are Copycats

                   Photo courtesy of The Washington Post

Can dogs copy human behavior? The answer appears to be "yes" according to this article in a recent Washington Post . The author of the article, Virgina Morell (the author of Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures that we reviewed a few months ago), is an award-winning science writer whose recent work has focused on animal cognition...and who just happens to be a huge dog lover. We guess she must have been thrilled when she saw the recent study that appears to confirm what many dog owners have always believed: dogs are capable of sophisticated cognitive skills.

This study, published this month in the journal, Animal Cognition, demonstrates that dogs "...are capable of copying our behavior as long as 10 minutes after it's happened. [That] ability is considered mentally demanding and, until this discovery, something that only humans and apes were known to do."

This information shocked Parental Unit-particularly the evidence that canines have mastered the commands: "Do as I do" and "Do it", neither of which she has fully mastered to date. And copy human behavior? Duh...why does she think I lie around sleeping all day...

P.S.  Don't forget that you still have time to enter to win a special ASPCA gift pack-but hurry, cause the giveaway closes this evening at 8:00pm EST!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Animal Wise: Book Review And Giveaway!

Cover photo courtesy of Crown Publishing

We're thrilled and honored to review this fascinating new book by famed science writer, Virginia Morell: Animal Wise, The Thoughts And Emotions Of Our Fellow Creatures. See the details at the end of this post to enter to win a copy!

First, a behind the scenes tidbit: Parental Unit was lucky enough to attend two writing conferences a few years ago where Ms. Morell was speaking, and was instantly taken with her depth and breadth of knowledge, not just about putting words on paper, which in Morell's capable hands rises to an art form, but about the sciences and those who study them. Her intense interest in, and seemingly endless passion for animals shone through her lectures and personal conversations, and by the end of the conferences, we knew all about the wild and domesticated animals she'd encountered on her far-flung journeys, and of course, Buck, her beloved collie and Nini, her calico cat. And believe it or not, Ms. Morell was generous enough to hand-deliver a student's thesis paper to a scientist she thought could help. Thank you, again, on behalf of Parental Unit and her student!

O.K., enough about us, and on to Animal Wise, where Morell takes us to Jane Goodall's study site in Tanzania, interviews a man who studies fish cognition in Germany, visits Kenya for close-up elephant observations, and wings it to Hungary and Austria to chat with wolf and dog researchers. Morell sets out to discover the cognitive and emotional abilities of our animal kin, and in the process, reveals that ants have hierarchical, teaching communities, rats laugh when tickled, and a parrot can have a deep, emotional relationship with his caretaker (the famous parrot, Alex, and Dr. Irene Pepperberg)  And according to the latest data, it's no longer whether other creatures think, but how and what they think.

As Morell says in the introduction:
    Animals have minds. They have brains, and use them, as we do: for experiencing the world, for thinking and feeling, and for solving the problems of life every creature faces. Like us, they have personalities moods and emotions; they laugh and they play. Some show grief and empathy and are self-aware and very likely conscious of their actions and intents.

Morell's access to the world's most important animal researchers, combined with her powerful story-telling abilities, gives the reader what feels like a first-hand glimpse into the minds of these glorious creatures with whom we share our planet. And learning that "our fellow creatures" think, feel, and yes, even love like we do makes us all the more determined to understand them better and work for their protection. We hope you are similarly moved after reading Animal Wise.


                           Now on to the giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive a hardback copy of Animal Wise, The Thoughts And Emotions Of Our Fellow Creatures.  Here are the requirements to enter: No anonymous comments, please!

1. "Like" our Facebook page: See top of right sidebar or click here: www.facebook.com/pages/Boccis-Beefs/190090017696328?ref=stream

2. You must give this giveaway a shout-out on your Twitter or Facebook page by using the buttons below this post-easy!

3. Comment on this post and indicate in your ONE comment that you'd like to enter this giveaway.

This contest will run from today, April 29, 2013 through Saturday May 11, 2013, at 8:00 EST.
Note: if you choose to enter, please promptly check back to see if you won. If you're the lucky one, please send us your home address ASAP.

                                      Good Luck!



Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sunday's "Living With Your Pet" Tips: Banish Fleas and Ticks!

     Fabulous photo of me by John Clark of Clark Creative

Today's timely pet care tips come from our friends at the ASPCA. And they're timely because 'tis the season' for those nasty fleas and ticks-in fact, May is pretty much the start of tick season here in Ohio. Remember our post from a few springs ago when our May hike left me covered in ticks and Parental Unit had to flag down the park patrol for a ride back to the shelter area?

Although it's fun to reminisce, let's look forward to this season's flea and tick prevention efforts. The ASPCA's blog provides both their top five general prevention tips, and step-by-step tick removal instructions. Let's just say that Parental Unit wishes she had memeorized these tips before some of her past tick removal efforts: Note: Wear latex gloves  during removal because ticks can transmit Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to humans, and...it's not the best idea to flush a tick down the commode, which is what we've always done.

Here's to rushing headlong into spring and summer (with just a little preparation) sans those pesky fleas and ticks!

P.S. Stay tuned tomorrow for a review and giveaway of a fascinating book on animal cognition, Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of our Fellow Creatures by one of Parental Unit's favorite science writers, Virgina Morell.
And coming up on Tuesday will be a detailed account (with pictures aplenty) of Parental Unit's first orphaned dog transport mission.

Monday, April 15, 2013

And The Winner Of ThePetSmart Disney Dog Toy Giveaway Is...!


I wonder who the lucky Bocci's  Beefs reader will be? Who will win five Disney-themed plush dog toys plus a Disney doggy T-shirt? Hmmm, better head over to our friend, the Random Sequence Generator, and see which number comes up first. There were a total of 10 comments so we entered the numbers 2-10 (Note that Gizmo deleted his first comment, so we started with the number 2)...and here's what came up:

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:
 6
 3
 2
 4
 5
 9
 7
 8
10
Timestamp: 2013-04-15 19:54:58 UTC

Number 6 is the top number and the 6th comment belongs to Diana Stanhope-congrats to Diana! Let's all put our paws together in a round of applause for Diana, who says she has four, count 'em, four dogs! Now there's a pet parent in serious need of some dog toys!

Thanks to everyone who entered! We'll have another book giveaway coming up soon. Hint: A fascinating exploration of animal minds-you'll never think the same way about our compatriots in the animal kingdom again!

And stay tuned later tonight when we bring you a hilarious video that went viral overnight-don't miss it!

Friday, March 01, 2013

Who's Smarter: Dogs Or Cats?

Pooch ready for play at the Duke Canine Cognition Center. Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

Well, if the Wall street Journal can't decide, neither can we! Check out this essay written by two animal researchers from a recent Wall Street Journal, for proof positive (despite the title) that the jury's still out on which species is smarter-but it does provide a review of some of the latest research on dog and cat cognition that is quite eye-opening.


Let us know what you think. In general, which species do you think is smarter, dogs or cats?
We'll vote first and go with dogs as the smarter species. But hey, even though I'm forced to live with a cat, this is my blog after all!

P.S. Speaking of animal cognition, here's a heads up: In a few weeks we'll be bringing you a review and giveaway of a wonderful new book: Animal Wise-The Thoughts And Emotions Of Our Fellow Creatures by science writer, Virgina Morell. Ms. Morell is the author of three other books and is a regular contributor to National Geographic, Science and Smithsonian, among other prestigious publications.
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