Pet Blog By Bocci @ Bocci's Beefs: Working Dogs

Showing posts with label Working Dogs. Show all posts

Sunday, September 04, 2016

Celebrate Labor Day With Top Hero Dogs of 2016

Uh, do I count as a "hero working dog"? I wrestled Tigger to the ground, and that takes a lot of work!

Enough about me! This article from DogTime Media shines the spotlight on a few canines who accomplished some standout heroic work during the past year—enough to put the "work' into working dog! And on this Labor Day, we think we should celebrate these canine workers right along with their human counterparts.

We hope you and your pup can enjoy tomorrow relaxing outdoors together, with a nice long walk in your neighborhood or hike in the park, and polish off the day with a picnic that includes all of the neighborhood canines. Sounds like a perfect day to us!

Let's Celebrate Our Canine Co-Workers This Labor Day!

We kinda liked this Labor Day Post from 2013, so we thought there would be no harm in re-posting it with a few updates for Labor Day 2015. Seriously, we couldn't have said it better ourselves!

Each year on Labor Day, we've saluted not only the hard working woman and men of our country, but their canine companions, too, because we dogs work to protect our humans and their property every day of our lives. And then there are what we call the professional working dogs, like the heroic search and rescue, drug detection, service and therapy dogs and...well, you name it, and your canine companions do the work. Here's one great example: We sniff out your cancer and participate in clinical trials that result in cancer treatments for both humans and animals.

We though we'd share a few photos of some very brave working dogs, or dogs working...or maybe just dogs working to have fun with you!

Uh...I'm protecting Parrental Unit from my fetching stick

As so many of us enjoy our day off from our labors, we urge you to take a moment to salute all of the many workers who enrich our lives just by doing their jobs. And perhaps give a nod to the physical laborer—someone who works with their hands and the sweat of their brows to bring us the food on our table, the machines we use daily to make our lives easier, among so many other products and services that we often take for granted. A happy, healthy and safe Labor Day 2015 to all!

"Smart Harness" Improves Communication Between Human And Dog

I think we communicate just fine without any fancy equipment, don't we, Parental Unit?

What happens when North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine collaborates with its computer science and electrical and computer engineering departments? In this case, the result is a "Smart Harness", a device that can be customized for different purposes, and ultimately will allow a dog and owner to improve their communication.

This article in a recent New York Times describes a Smart Harness as "a computer-equipped back pack worn by the dog...and that operates as a platform for two-way computer-mediated communication between dogs and handlers." Researchers hope this new technology "will allow owners to better train their pets" and improve training and communication with search and rescue dogs.

Apparently in the real world, more sophisticated methods of communication (other than staring at or pawing your parental unit until you get what you want) are necessary to help train working dogs. Hmmm. What do you think about this new technology? Let us know!

A Veterinarian's Perspective On Our Canine 9/11 Heroes

Denise Corliss and Bretagne, a Golden Retriever, both helped at Ground Zero. Beautiful Bretagne is still alive today and is a finalist for the American Humane Association's Hero Dog Awards!

Kudos to DogTime Media for this pitch-perfect piece on the canine heroes of 9/11, and the veterinarian, Dr. Cindy Otto, who tended to the Ground Zero working dogs for 10 days following the attacks. We all owe a huge debt to the countless humans and approximately 900 trained service dogs who gave their time and risked their lives to help so many in need on that horrific day, and for the months and years afterward.

What we didn't know were the results of studies conducted on both the humans and animals who served at Ground Zero. Although the reasons are not clear, there are differences in the way the human body reacted to the onsite debris and dust and the way a canine"s body reacted. Although the human workers at Ground Zero had higher incidents of cancer rates in the following years, the dogs did not, at least according to one study directed by Dr. Otto and funded by the AKC's Canine Health Foundation.

Dr. Otto also founded Penn Vet Working Dog Center in 2007 to " Enhance research and training" for all working dogs, with thej ultimate goal to make their lives better. A hearty thank you to Dr. Otto for not only her work at Ground Zero, but for following through on her passion for all working dogs.

Let's Celebrate Our Canine Co-Workers This Labor Day!

We kinda liked this Labor Day Post from last year, so we thought there would be no harm in re-posting it for Labor Day 2014.

Each year on Labor Day, we've saluted not only the hard working woman and men of our country, but their canine companions, too, because we dogs work to protect our humans and their property every day of our lives. And then there are what we call the professional working dogs, like the heroic search and rescue, drug detection, service and therapy dogs and...well, you name it, and your canine companions do the work. We even win prizes for you in agility competitions!

We though we'd share a few photos of some very brave working dogs, or dogs working...or maybe just dogs working to have fun with you!

As so many of us enjoy our day off from our labors, we urge you to take a moment to salute all of the many workers who enrich our lives just by doing their jobs. And perhaps give a nod to the physical laborer-someone who works with their hands and the sweat of their brows to bring us the food on our table, the machines we use daily to make our lives easier, among so many other products and services that we often take for granted. A happy, healthy and safe Labor Day to all!

Let's Celebrate Our Canine Co-Workers This Labor Day!

Each year on Labor Day, we've saluted not only the hard working woman and men of our country, but their canine companions, too, because we dogs work to protect our humans and their property every day of our lives. And then there are what we call the professional working dogs, like the heroic search and rescue, drug detection, service and therapy dogs and...well, you name it, and your canine companions do the work. We even win prizes for you in agility competitions!

We though we'd share a few photos of some very brave working dogs, or dogs working...or maybe just dogs working to have fun with you!

As so many of us enjoy our day off from our labors, we urge you to take a moment to salute all of the many workers who enrich our lives just by doing their jobs. And perhaps give a nod to the physical laborer-someone who works with their hands and the sweat of their brows to bring us the food on our table, the machines we use daily to make our lives easier, among so many other products and services that we often take for granted. A happy, healthy and safe Labor Day to all!

Military Dog Heroes Get Their Day: They're Not Just Equipment.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo News

Or at least their own two hour special on Animal Planet, titled "Glory Hounds" that focuses on the "glory and trauma" of military dogs. This article posted on Yahoo News describes how the lives of one cameraman for Animal Planet, embedded with soldiers in Afghanistan to film this special, a soldier and his working dog, Azza, intertwined one fateful day.

But the Animal Planet special follows the dogs and their human compatriots "into combat zones where insurgents and buried explosives could be around any bend or any pile of dirt." According to the soldier featured in this article, Air Force Tech Sgt. Leonard Anderson, "Military dogs are prized targets for Taliban insurgents...they sniff out bombs, making safe passage for troops to follow and saving countless lives." But "They [the military] call them tools, and they are not...They are soldiers. They just have four paws instead of two feet...It's a deadly game and they die all the time."

We'll be watching when "Glory Hounds" airs this Thursday, February 21 at 8:00 pm ET. In case you miss it or forget to set your DVR, it repeats on February 24 at 9:00 am EST. We hope you enjoy it and share your thoughts with us!

And The Winner Of The Book "Dogs Of Courage" Is...

Well, it's not terribly suspensful, is it? We only had one comment to enter to win this wonderful book, Dogs of Courage: The Heroism and Heart of Working Dogs Around the World by Lisa Rogak, so we won't even ask the mysterious Random Sequence Generator to choose our winner...

The lucky blogger is...our pal Gizmo from Terrier Torrent! Let's all put our paws together in a round of applause for our lucky winner, Gizmo! The pooch even left quite the eloquent comment on our post abou why he (and his Parental Unit) would like to read this book-so thanks Gizmo!

And by the way...check out this picture of Gizmo-we think he could be my brother!

P.S. Stay tuned for another book review and giveaway coming in the next few days: Underwater Dogs by Seth Casteel. It's a runaway bestseller and for good reason!

And tomorrow, look forward to our review of toys and apparel from PetSmart's new line, Luv-A-Pet, plus some new cat toys from Martha Stewart-sold exclusively at PetSmart.

And The Winner Of The Autographed Copy of Rin Tin Tin: The Life And The Legend Is...!

It's that time again...time to call on the mystical powers of Random.org and their spooky Random Sequence Generator to choose the one lucky winner of Susan Orlean's best-selling book, Rin Tin Tin: The Life And The Legend. Sit tight!

We plugged in the numbers 1-4 because there were four comments/entrants and here's what came up:

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

Timestamp: 2013-01-13 22:43:42 UTC

The third comment is from Khyra' Khorner! let's all put our paws together in a round of applause for Khyra and her Mom!

Note to Kyhra's Mom: Please send us you mailing address at your earliest convenience and will mail out your book pronto: jdemarti@columbus.rr.com Thanks to all who entered!

And please don't forget that we've got another book giveaway going on right now. Enter to win a copy of Dogs of Courage: The Heroism and Heart of Working Dogs Around the World right here: www.boccibeefs.com/2013/01/dogs-of-courage-review-and-giveaway.html

Dogs Of Courage: Review and Giveaway!

We're thrilled to bring you an opportunity to win a copy of this terrific book, Dogs of Courage: The Heroism and Heart of Working Dogs Around The World by The New York Times best selling author, Lisa Rogak. By the way, if you want a fascinating glimpse into the freelance writers' life, check out Ms. Rogak's website. And make sure to enter to win a copy of Dogs of Courage at the end of this post!

You already know what fans we are of working dogs-those many thousands of canines around the world that selflessly devote their lives to helping humans, well, be better humans in one way or another. And this book covers the spectrum of working dogs under a broader moniker: "Dogs of Courage", that includes every possible category from police dogs to therapy dogs to "plain old" civilian dogs of courage and even celebrity canines that have entertained us over the years.

The book is super organized among the categories with vivid, real-life examples of each type of working dog and a focus on one very special canine that represents each category. The book also includes glossy color photographs of working dogs in action that make the stories pop. But Rogak also explores the "why" and the "how" of these courageous canines' working lives, and puts each story into meticulously researched historical perspective. We particularly enjoyed the tale of Sigmund Freud's dog, Yofi, who helped the famed psychiatrist assess his patients' emotional health, and whom he loved dearly: "One can love an animal like [Yofi] with such extraordinary intensity, the beauty of an existence complete in itself, " Freud wrote to a friend.

What Dogs of Courage does is give you "private"access to the lives of working dogs the world over and the human lives they've touched. Our best guess is that you'll flat out love each of the stories in this book and enjoy reading them many times over.

Now on to the giveaway of one copy of Dogs of Courage: The Heroism and Heart of Working Dogs Around the World!

This giveaway will run from today, Friday January 11, through Saturday January 26, 2013 at 8:00 pm EST, so you and all of your friends have plenty of time to enter! The one winner will be chosen by computerized random drawing and announced on the evening of January 26th.

Here are the requirements to enter: No anonymous comments, please!

1. Sign up for our e-mail blasts and newsletters-see very top of left sidebar for the sign-up form.

2. 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.

Note: if you choose to enter, please promptly check back to see if you won and if you're the lucky one, please send us your home address ASAP

Good Luck!

Labor Day And The Working Dog: A Celebration.

Whether it's working military dogs, like in the spectacular photo shown below...

Or Bo Obama guarding his yard, or as it's sometimes called, the White House grounds...

Or even me (and the cat), keeping watch over my backyard from the safety of Parental Unit's bedroom... I'll match wits with Bo anytime!

We think that working dogs should be given a special round of applause on this Labor Day, a day when, as a nation, we set aside time to honor the working women and men of our country. Why? Because we're all working dogs, in a sense. We're all fierce protectors of our loved ones and their property, and we all do a job that we love every day: loving our pet parents, parental units, owners, assistants or whatever you'd like to call those tall humans who take care of us.

And in addition to those jobs, we think it wise that humans make sure that we have additional duties as well, even if it just reaching a calm state before we go on our walks or before we're fed, or fetching the morning paper, or learning tricks, or being trained as a service dog, or...you name it! There are countless duties we will willingly perform to keep our minds and bodies active, and in turn, will keep us happy and healthy.

Although we know that there are certain purebred canines that are specifically designated as "working dogs" because of their, well, breeding of certain traits combined with intensive training, we know that many mixed breeds (plucked from shelters across the country) have been successfully trained as service or other professional working dogs. Check out this list of working breeds compiled by Animal Planet to get more information on the "working" classification. But don't forget us mutts-we're working dogs, too!

We hope you all have a happy and restful Labor Day and take a moment to salute our hard working men, women and canines.

Guide Dog Leads Blind Man To Safety on 9/11

Of all of the poignant remembrances from today's news coverage, we found this video particularly compelling. Most of us have probably heard of the beautiful yellow lab, Roselle, who led Michael Hingson to safety that tragic day. He and Roselle were working on the 78th floor of the North Tower when the first plane struck 18 floors above them. The most important lesson Mr. Hingson learned that day? "Working together is the most powerful thing we can do." To that we say: "Amen".

You might also recall the news that Roselle died this July at the age of 13. See the article that marks her passing here: www.peoplepets.com/people/pets/article/0,,20509562,00.html

You might also want to visit our friend, Asta's blog for a beautiful tribute to our 9/11 heroes, both human and canine.

Working Dogs Deserve Labor Day Salute, Too!

From the military dog, Cairo, that helped storm Bin Laden's compound to the countless number of service dogs that help the disabled with their everyday tasks, we think today's celebrations should include a recognition and a hearty "thank you" to all of our country's working canines.
Photo courtesy of Foreign Policy Magazine

Speaking of working canines, The Orlando Sentinel published this list from the American Kennel Club that describes five different ways dogs use their incredible sense of smell to help humans:

Bed bug sniffing:  Bed bugs became a major problem for businesses and homeowners during the past few years, so a new employee entered the work force – the dog. Professional groups have established standards in bed bug-detector dog training, testing and certification. Breeds commonly used to hunt bed bugs include the beagle and Labrador retriever.
Search and rescue: From missing persons cases to natural disasters, dogs have been an integral part in finding people who are in dire situations. Training begins in puppy hood, and when completed the dogs are tested and certified by search and rescue organizations. Breeds most commonly recruited include the bloodhound and German shepherd.
Explosives detection:  Many recent examples have been in the news, especially in military and law-enforcement areas. The dogs go through an intense training course to learn how to find and identify a wide variety of explosives and to alert their handlers. Breeds that excel in this kind of work include the German shepherd and Vizsla.
Cancer detection:  Scientists have been able to train Labrador retrievers to sniff out cancer in patients’ breath. In one case, the Lab correctly diagnosed the disease 98 percent of the time.
Allergy alert dogs:  Peanut allergies can be life-threatening. Dogs are trained to detect the peanut allergen and its residue at schools, social events and everyday activities and alert their owner. Breeds that most commonly work as allergy alert dogs include the poodle and Portuguese water dog.

By the way, does preparing for football season count as "work"?