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Adoption

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Repetitive Behaviour in Kennelled Domestic Dog: Stereotypical or Not?
Behavior in animals that is repetitive, unvarying, and has no obvious goal is often described as "stereotypical." It is generally seen most frequently in situations of captivity and / or stress. However, not all repetitive behavior is stereotypical, and this study seeks to better understand how kenneled domestic dogs display (or don't display) this behavior. The research finds a tremendous variance in the stimuli that can trigger stereotypical behavior, and notes the difficulty in assessing exact causes. READ MORE

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“Pets or Meat”? Ethics and Domestic Animals
There is often a deep disconnect and great variation in how we treat farmed, companion, and wild animals. Using a particular scene from Michael Moore's documentary Roger and Me as a starting point - a scene where backyard rabbits are sold as "pets or meat" - this article unpacks the ethics around our perceptions of the different categorizations of animals. The author approaches the subject by viewing these categories of animals through the lens of an "ethic of care," and suggests ways of acting ethically towards all wild, companion, and farmed animals. READ MORE

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Behavioral Differences Among Breeds of Domestic Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris): Current Status of the Science
Though there is a tremendous amount of visible variation among dog breeds, all domestic dogs belong to the species Canis lupus familiaris. This study examines how much breed variation has an effect (or lack thereof) on behavioral traits, recognizing that many particular types of dogs have been bred for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. The results show that the behavioral differences thought to exist among different breeds are more pronounced depending on the research methods used. READ MORE

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Unmasking the Shelter Dog
The suggestions that black dogs are frequently overlooked for adoption, or that animals given as gifts are more likely to be given up, are just a couple of many theories becoming increasingly entrenched in our language, and these are having a serious effect on the operation of many animal shelters. This article from the Journal for the American Veterinary Medical Association, notes that scientists are working hard to verify whether these ideas have any substance in fact or if they are simply myths. The central theme of the piece is that there are no "shelter dogs" or "shelter cats," but instead each animal in a shelter is an individual being that needs to be considered as a separate case. READ MORE

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Rethinking Dog Breed Identification in Veterinary Practice
The visual identification of dog breeds is made more difficult when assessing mixed breed dogs. This paper examines whether it is useful for veterinarians to attempt to visually identify mixed breed dogs, especially as a means of predicting future health problems that may be associated with certain breeds. The study recommends that animal hospitals adopt a policy of not using visual identification, and instead explain to their clientele that only purebred or DNA tested dogs will be identified by breed, while others should be identified in different, non-breed specific ways. READ MORE
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