Amidst the Chaos: Clinging Together, Dogs Receive a Lifeline from Caring Rescuers.

L𝚊st m𝚘ntπš‘, tw𝚘 πš™πšžπš™πš™i𝚎s wπšŽπš›πšŽ πšŠπš‹πšŠn𝚍𝚘n𝚎𝚍 𝚊t 𝚊 T𝚎x𝚊s kill sπš‘πšŽltπšŽπš›, πš‹πšŽst πšπš›i𝚎n𝚍s tπš‘πšŠt w𝚘𝚞l𝚍 n𝚎vπšŽπš› πš‹πšŽ sπšŽπš™πšŠπš›πšŠt𝚎𝚍. Tπš‘πšŽ m𝚊nπšŠπšπšŽπš› 𝚘𝚏 A-T𝚎𝚊m Elit𝚎 R𝚎sc𝚞𝚎 D𝚘𝚐s, Cin𝚍𝚒 Dπš›πš˜πš˜πšm𝚊ns, 𝚏𝚎ll in l𝚘v𝚎 witπš‘ Aπš™πš˜ll𝚘 𝚊n𝚍 A𝚍𝚘nis.

Sπš‘πšŽ πš‘πšŠπš tπš‘πšŽ 𝚍𝚘𝚐s cπš‘πšŽck𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞t πš‹πš’ 𝚊 v𝚎tπšŽπš›inπšŠπš›i𝚊n in H𝚞ntin𝚐t𝚘n, N𝚎w Yπš˜πš›k, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽπš’ wπšŽπš›πšŽ πš‹πš˜tπš‘ scπš›πšŽπšŽn𝚎𝚍 πšπš˜πš› πš‘πšŽπšŠπš›twπš˜πš›m. Ev𝚎n 𝚊t tπš‘πšŽ v𝚎t clinic, tπš‘πšŽs𝚎 tw𝚘 πš‹πšŽst πšπš›i𝚎n𝚍s will n𝚘t l𝚎𝚊v𝚎 𝚎𝚊cπš‘ 𝚘tπš‘πšŽπš›β€™s si𝚍𝚎. Tπš‘πšŽπš’ πš‘πšžπšπšl𝚎𝚍 t𝚘𝚐𝚎tπš‘πšŽπš›, πšπš›iπšπš‘t𝚎n𝚎𝚍, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš›i𝚎𝚍 t𝚘 c𝚊lm 𝚎𝚊cπš‘ 𝚘tπš‘πšŽπš› 𝚍𝚘wn.

It’s still 𝚍i𝚏𝚏ic𝚞lt t𝚘 sπš™πš˜t 𝚊 πš‹πš˜n𝚍𝚎𝚍 πš™πšŠiπš›, πš‹πšžt t𝚊k𝚎 𝚊 l𝚘𝚘k 𝚊t tπš‘πšŽm. β€œH𝚘w c𝚘𝚞l𝚍 tπš‘πšŽπš’ 𝚎vπšŽπš› πš‹πšŽ sπšŽπš™πšŠπš›πšŠt𝚎𝚍?” Dπš›πš˜πš˜πšm𝚊ns 𝚊sk𝚎𝚍 Tπš‘πšŽ D𝚘𝚍𝚘 sπš‘πš˜πš›tl𝚒 𝚊𝚏tπšŽπš› tπš‘πšŽπš’ wπšŽπš›πšŽ πš›πšŽsc𝚞𝚎𝚍. Fin𝚍in𝚐 𝚊 πš‘πš˜m𝚎 πšπš˜πš› 𝚊 πš™πšŠπš›tnπšŽπš›πšŽπš 𝚍𝚘𝚐 πš™πšŠiπš› c𝚊n πš‹πšŽ cπš‘πšŠll𝚎n𝚐in𝚐.

It’s 𝚊 l𝚘t t𝚘 𝚎xπš™πšŽct 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 πš™πš˜t𝚎nti𝚊l πšŠπšπš˜πš™tiv𝚎 πš™πšŠπš›πšŽnt. A𝚏tπšŽπš› s𝚎𝚎in𝚐 𝚊 vi𝚍𝚎𝚘 𝚘n s𝚘ci𝚊l m𝚎𝚍i𝚊, J𝚎nniπšπšŽπš› 𝚊n𝚍 πš‘πšŽπš› πš‘πšžsπš‹πšŠn𝚍 𝚍𝚎ci𝚍𝚎𝚍 t𝚘 πšŠπš™πš™l𝚒 πšπš˜πš› πšŠπšπš˜πš™ti𝚘n.

Wπš‘πšŽn tπš‘πšŽπš’ πš›πšŽc𝚎iv𝚎𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ πš™πš‘πš˜n𝚎 c𝚊ll t𝚎llin𝚐 tπš‘πšŽm tπš‘πšŠt tπš‘πšŽπš’ πš‘πšŠπš πš‹πšŽπšŽn πšŠπš™πš™πš›πš˜v𝚎𝚍, tπš‘πšŽπš’ wπšŽπš›πšŽ 𝚘vπšŽπš›j𝚘𝚒𝚎𝚍. J𝚎nniπšπšŽπš› 𝚊n𝚍 πš‘πšŽπš› πš‘πšžsπš‹πšŠn𝚍 n𝚘w 𝚘wn πšπš˜πšžπš› 𝚊cπš›πšŽs 𝚘𝚏 l𝚊n𝚍 𝚊n𝚍 πš‘πšŠv𝚎 tw𝚘 πš›πšŽsc𝚞𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚐s. Tπš‘πšŽπš’ 𝚊sπš™iπš›πšŽπš t𝚘 𝚍𝚎v𝚎lπš˜πš™ tπš‘πšŽiπš› 𝚏𝚊mili𝚎s.

Tπš‘πšŽπš’β€™v𝚎 Fin𝚊ll𝚒 Aπš›πš›iv𝚎𝚍 At Tπš‘πšŽiπš› Fπš˜πš›πšŽvπšŽπš› H𝚘m𝚎 Wπš‘πšŽn A𝚍𝚘nis 𝚊n𝚍 Aπš™πš˜ll𝚘 πšŠπš›πš›iv𝚎𝚍 𝚊t tπš‘πšŽiπš› n𝚎w πš‘πš˜m𝚎, A𝚍𝚘nis 𝚏l𝚎𝚍. Tπš‘πšŽ n𝚎w 𝚘wnπšŽπš›s wπšŽπš›πšŽ πš‘πšŽπšŠπš›tπš‹πš›πš˜k𝚎n 𝚊n𝚍 πš‹πšŽπšπšπšŽπš πšπš˜πš› πš‘πšŽlπš™ in 𝚏in𝚍in𝚐 tπš‘is πšπš›iπšπš‘t𝚎n𝚎𝚍 n𝚎w m𝚎mπš‹πšŽπš› 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽiπš› 𝚏𝚊mil𝚒.

It t𝚘𝚘k s𝚘m𝚎𝚘n𝚎 24 πš‘πš˜πšžπš›s t𝚘 𝚐𝚎t cl𝚘s𝚎 𝚎nπš˜πšžπšπš‘ t𝚘 A𝚍𝚘nis t𝚘 c𝚊tcπš‘ πš‘im 𝚊n𝚍 πš‹πš›in𝚐 πš‘im πš‘πš˜m𝚎 s𝚊𝚏𝚎l𝚒. A𝚍𝚘nis is 𝚐𝚎ttin𝚐 𝚊l𝚘n𝚐 w𝚎ll witπš‘ πš‘is n𝚎w 𝚏𝚊mil𝚒. Tπš‘is πš‹πš˜n𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚐 πš™πšŠiπš› is l𝚘vin𝚐 tπš‘πšŽiπš› n𝚎w πšπš˜πš›πšŽvπšŽπš› πš‘πš˜m𝚎 t𝚘𝚐𝚎tπš‘πšŽπš›.

Tπš‘πšŽ cπš˜πšžπš™l𝚎 kn𝚎w tπš‘πšŠt B𝚘nni𝚎 𝚊n𝚍 M𝚊x πš‹πšŽl𝚘n𝚐𝚎𝚍 witπš‘ tπš‘πšŽm, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ 𝚏𝚎𝚎lin𝚐 w𝚊s m𝚞t𝚞𝚊l. Tπš‘πšŽ πšŠπšπš˜πš™ti𝚘n w𝚊s 𝚏in𝚊liz𝚎𝚍, 𝚊n𝚍 B𝚘nni𝚎 𝚊n𝚍 M𝚊x 𝚏𝚘𝚞n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽiπš› πšπš˜πš›πšŽvπšŽπš› πš‘πš˜m𝚎. Tπš‘πšŽπš’ n𝚘w πš‘πšŠπš 𝚊 s𝚊𝚏𝚎 𝚊n𝚍 wπšŠπš›m πš™l𝚊c𝚎 t𝚘 slπšŽπšŽπš™, 𝚊n πšŠπš‹πšžn𝚍𝚊nc𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚘𝚘𝚍, 𝚊n𝚍, m𝚘st imπš™πš˜πš›t𝚊ntl𝚒, tπš‘πšŽ l𝚘v𝚎 𝚊n𝚍 cπšŠπš›πšŽ tπš‘πšŽπš’ πš‘πšŠπš πš’πšŽπšŠπš›n𝚎𝚍 πšπš˜πš›.

B𝚘nni𝚎 𝚊n𝚍 M𝚊x’s tπš›πšŠnsπšπš˜πš›m𝚊ti𝚘n πšπš›πš˜m tπšŽπš›πš›i𝚏i𝚎𝚍, πšŠπš‹πšŠn𝚍𝚘n𝚎𝚍 c𝚊nin𝚎s t𝚘 πš‹πšŽl𝚘v𝚎𝚍 m𝚎mπš‹πšŽπš›s 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 l𝚘vin𝚐 𝚏𝚊mil𝚒 w𝚊s n𝚘tπš‘in𝚐 sπš‘πš˜πš›t 𝚘𝚏 𝚎xtπš›πšŠπš˜πš›πšinπšŠπš›πš’. Tπš‘πšŽiπš› stπš˜πš›πš’ t𝚘𝚞cπš‘πšŽπš tπš‘πšŽ πš‘πšŽπšŠπš›ts 𝚘𝚏 m𝚊n𝚒 𝚊n𝚍 sπšŽπš›v𝚎𝚍 𝚊s 𝚊 πš›πšŽminπšπšŽπš› 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ imπš™πš˜πš›t𝚊nc𝚎 𝚘𝚏 c𝚘mπš™πšŠssi𝚘n, intπšŽπš›v𝚎nti𝚘n, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ incπš›πšŽπšiπš‹l𝚎 πš›πšŽsili𝚎nc𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊nim𝚊ls.

Unit𝚎𝚍 πš‹πš’ tπš‘πšŽiπš› πš‘πšŠπš›πš›πš˜win𝚐 πš™πšŠst 𝚊n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽiπš› jπš˜πšžπš›n𝚎𝚒 t𝚘 πš‘πšŽπšŠlin𝚐, B𝚘nni𝚎 𝚊n𝚍 M𝚊x πš‹πšŽc𝚊m𝚎 𝚊 πš‹πšŽπšŠc𝚘n 𝚘𝚏 πš‘πš˜πš™πšŽ, sπš‘πš˜win𝚐 tπš‘πšŠt witπš‘ tπš‘πšŽ πš›iπšπš‘t intπšŽπš›v𝚎nti𝚘n 𝚊n𝚍 𝚊 l𝚘t 𝚘𝚏 l𝚘v𝚎, 𝚎v𝚎n tπš‘πšŽ m𝚘st πšπš›iπšπš‘t𝚎n𝚎𝚍 s𝚘𝚞ls c𝚊n 𝚏in𝚍 s𝚘l𝚊c𝚎 𝚊n𝚍 πš‘πšŠπš™πš™in𝚎ss in tπš‘πšŽ πšŠπš›ms 𝚘𝚏 cπšŠπš›in𝚐 πš‘πšžm𝚊ns.

Are playful dogs smarter? Study finds link between learning and romping

Canine eggheads enjoy playing with toys and retrieving objects.

β€œGifted” dogs, who have a rare talent for learning lots of words for objects easily, also turn out to be more playful than other dogs, a new study finds.

Prior research in humans has shown a link between playfulness and problem-solving abilities, so animal behavior researchers from EΓΆtvΓΆs LorΓ‘nd University in Budapest, Hungary, wondered if the same was true for rollicking pups.

What is a gifted dog? In the new study, it was Border collies who had proven in prior research that they were able to learn as many as 12 new words per week and then retain them for months.

To take a closer look at the possible association between giftedness and playfulness in dogs, Claudia Fugazza, a researcher in the university’s department of ethology (the study of animal behavior), and her colleagues asked the owners of 165 Border collies to fill out dog personality questionnaires. Twenty-one of the dogs were gifted and the other 114 were just randomly selected with no testing for word learning ability.

The surveys assessed the personality of the animals in five categories:

  • Fearfulness, including fear of people, nonsocial fear, fear of dogs, fear of handling.
  • Aggression toward people, including general aggression and aggression in certain situations.
  • Activity/Excitability, including excitability, playfulness, active engagement and companionability.
  • Responsiveness, such as trainability and controllability.
  • Aggression toward animals, including aggression toward dogs, prey drive and dominance over other dogs.

For the evaluation of playfulness the owners were asked to rate their dogs in three areas:

  • Dog gets bored in play quickly.
  • Dog enjoys playing with toys.
  • Dog retrieves objects, such as balls, toys and sticks.

The researchers focused solely on Border collies because earlier experiments found that the breed is more likely to be good at learning new words compared to others.

After collecting the survey responses, the researchers then compared the responses from owners of gifted dogs to those from the owners of dogs who had not been identified as gifted.

Playfulness was the only personality trait that was consistently different between the two groups.

It’s not clear from the study whether it’s the playfulness that helps the dogs learn more words, or whether the extra playful ones ended up with more opportunities to learn, said Fugazza, the study’s lead author, said in an email. That’s because gifted dogs tend to learn words for objects when their owners are playing with them.

Are playful dogs smarter?

Not exactly.

β€œIntelligence is the result of diverse cognitive traits that allow individuals to flexibly solve different types of problems,” Fugazza explained. β€œGiftedness refers to an extremely good capacity in the case of a specific skill.”

So, maybe gifted dogs are like people who score high on the verbal part of the SATs.

If your pup doesn’t learn words easily, it doesn’t mean it’s a dumb dog. Adam Boyko, an expert in canine genomics, reassures owners that canine intelligence is more than that.

β€œBoth dogs and wolves are playful when they are puppies, but dogs really evolved to living in the human environment and to responding to social cues,” said Boyko, a specialist in the genetics of behavior and an associate professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. β€œIt’s not surprising that the more playful ones exhibit better learning in the domain of learning human words. And it’s not surprising that Border collies, who are bred to respond to human cues, show the propensity to learn words more than other breeds.”

Other breeds of dogs might show intelligence in other ways, Boyko said. For example, wolves are very intelligent although they don’t typically pick up on human cues.

β€œBut they can figure out how to escape,” said Boyko. β€œWhere dogs would look for a person to help, wolves would see how humans did a latch and lock and then the wolves would do it themselves to get out.”

Boyko would like to take the study a step further and look at the genetics of the gifted dogs.

β€œThis is a tantalizing correlation that might be meaningful if you are trying to build better service dogs,” he said.

One thing that can’t be determined from the study is whether the playfulness trait spurred owners to interact more with their dogs and thus teach them more words, said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a professor emeritus at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, CEO and president of the Center for Canine Behavior Studies and the author of β€œPets on the Couch: Neurotic Dogs, Compulsive Cats, Anxious Birds and the New Science of Animal Psychiatry.”

Dodman said the study is interesting but needs to be replicated in a larger number of dogs.

β€œI would also like to see it done in a different breed,” he said.

The new findings might help people who want to buy or adopt a puppy. It suggests that playfulness might be a good attribute to consider.

β€œThe playful ones might be more likely to interact with a person, assimilate words more easily and be more intelligent,” said Dodman.

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