Questions and answers

Posted with permission of the authors.

 ----- Original Message ----- 

From: "Stanley Coren"
To: "Mary Cooke"
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 6:26 PM
Subject: Re: Can you please answer these serious questions?

Dear Mary Cooke

Here are the brief answers to your questions.

Chewing on raw beef bones does keep the dogs teeth clean and healthy.

If the teeth have turned bad you must go to a veterinarian.

A dog should not be allowed to jump on people.

Dogs do get depressed when separated from their owners. Occasional

visits from the owner tends to lift their moods but may result in

renewed depression when the owner leaves.

Dogs only need to be bathed when they are dirty.

Overweight and lack of exercise can shorten the life of the dog.

Cordially

Stanley Coren, PhD, FRSC
Department of Psychology
University of British Columbia
2136 West Mall
Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z4
------ End of Forwarded Message


----- Original Message -----
From: Mary Cooke
To: drcoren@stanleycoren.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 6:08 PM
Subject: Can you please answer these serious questions?

I would like to know what effect it will have on a dog if the owner gives it a raw beef bone for it's teeth but it is taken away from the dog & now it's teeth are very bad?

Should a dog be taught to jump on people & why?

What damage can be done by the separation of dog & owner for say a year & only one short visit a week that started a couple of months ago?

What harm if any can be done by not bathing a dog except maybe twice a yr.?

Also what harm can there be if a dog is overweight & little or no exercise?

What would the concern be if the dog is six years old?

Thank-you,

Mary Cooke

PS - I need the answer quickly as possible

------ End of Forwarded Message

Some of Dr. Coren's books are :
How To Speak Dog
Why does My Dog Act That Way?
How Dogs Think
Why We Love The Dogs We Do
The Intelligence of Dogs
The Left-Hander Syndrome
& The Pawprints of History

Dr. Stanley Coren is a professor of psychology and animal behaviorist.

ELEVEN MONTHS

Tomorrow is the eleventh month anniversary/badiversary of Brindi's seizure.

She has made it through all these months, six of them without seeing me at all, being the good-natured girl she really is. She is putting up gracefully with the situation but the signs of strain are unmistakable. 

Today, my city councilor, David Hendsbee, hopes to get a vote through on a resolution to add an appeal process to By-Law A300. I believe he proposed that a committee of five councilors be formed for this purpose. It would be a good way to make up for one of the bigger problems in the current system, so that an owner doesn't have to pay a fortune to go to court. It would be even better if the panel was made up of people with knowledge about dogs and dog behavior, rather than councilors, as is the case in many other cities, and since the councilors are not impartial. However, any kind of appeal would be a step in the right direction!!

There would have to be additional provisions as well, I imagine, such as restrictions on the amount of time, whether there can be an appeal of the committee's decision, etc. so that no dog has to spend eleven months and more in a pound. 

Meanwhile I have not heard yet from the SPCA whether I will be able to see Brindi tomorrow. 

I want to have her moved to a more suitable facility. I think it is high time. 

Postscript: checking the council meeting agenda online I did not see anything about Hendsbee's resolution... not sure why.

Transgression of the day

Today I went to the shelter/pound/SPCA and gave my dog a bone. 

For that transgression, I have risked never being allowed to see her again. 

I really don't understand so I cannot explain. I have asked. All I am told is that this transgression is apparently defined in the 12 conditions as "no high-value items." Who knew?? All I could think of was an iPod, or a heating pad... ??? 

If you accept bones for 10 months, who would dream that you were not really accepting them? 

If you mean bones, why don't you please write "no bones"?

Raw beef bones happen to be cheaper than any dental bone or smoked bone or whatever - and they happen to be Brindi's chew of choice. Why the deception? Why not a discussion? 

I just do not understand: I thought they said they were taking excellent care of my dog. 

Glimpses, precious moments June 3

Taken by somebody passing by, when I was not there. She's finding shade, not a lot of comfort, no company. 

At some point on every visit the same thought goes through my mind: I have to ask, I have to remember to ask them, can't I just live there with her?