💡 DID YOU KNOW?

Dogs can sense heat

A nose to a dog is like a bee to a flower, they just couldn't live without it.

Obviously, your dog couldn't live without any important part of his body but there is nothing like being able to smell anything and everything.

While we "only" have 5 million olfactory receptors, dogs have about 300 million. That really puts things into perspective.

Just imagine how you could experience the world if you had that powerful sense of smell.

And let me show you what this little nose is also capable of.

If you have ever touched your dog's nose, you may have noticed that it's actually quite cold compared to other parts of the body.

This is no coincidence and there is a reason behind it that has not been explored sufficiently until now.

Dog noses were thought to play an important role in body temperature regulation as the main reason for their cold tips. 🧊

But this study found that the cool temperature allows them to have another sensory function related to heat.

When you put a dog under a thermograph (the fancy infrared camera that records radiant heat energy), you will find that the tip of the dog's nose is significantly colder than any other part of the face.

It's also colder than the ambient temperature.

Even if it's 86°F (30°C) outside, your dog's nose will still be about 9°F (5°C) colder.

To put their cold noses to the test, researchers used two identical objects, one at room temperature and one around 22°F (12°C) above room temperature.

No human could detect that small differences without directly touching the object.

Results: All dogs were able to sense the faint heat sources from a distance of 5 feet away and were always drawn towards them.

The warm object also elicited an increased response in their brain as shown in MRI scans.

It's not 100% clear why dogs can sense heat but these results make the function of heat regulation unlikely and give the nose a whole other purpose.

The most probable theory is that dogs use heat detection as a tool for hunting small mammals.

🧠 BEHAVIOR

Preventing dog bites

With more than 4.5 million dog bites each year in the United States, it's more important than ever to work on preventing these from happening in the future.

A big chunk of these bites happens inside homes or at gatherings and the victims are oftentimes children.

While a ton of aspects go into bite prevention ( socialization, training, breeder selection, respect, etc.) there is one that everyone can apply even if you have never met the dog.

Understanding canine behavior is the key to preventing conflicts.

Before a dog bites, there are always many signals that a dog displays and it's important to learn them.

There is something called a "canine aggression ladder" that explains everything that can happen before a bite.

At the bottom, it starts with yawning, licking, and blinking and then progresses to turning the head away, sitting, pawing, and walking away.

Other body language signals may include stiffening, standing crouched, ears back and tail tucked. 

This all happens before the dog has even made a single sound. 🔇

Then comes the starring, growling, snapping, showing teeth, and at the last stage happens the bite.

Any signs of discomfort in a dog need to be respected just like you want to be respected when you would like to be left alone.

But unlike us, dogs don't have the ability to tell us that so they oftentimes need to resort to growling.

Growling is a great way for them to vocalize that you need to back up.

Sadly, growling is also a signal that is most frequently punished.

Especially when a dog growls at a child, it is perceived as unacceptable behavior.

Punishing growling will only leave you with a dog that goes straight to the bite.

Dogs should have permission to vocalize negative moods just like humans can.

Your dog sharing his emotions freely with you is a desirable thing and something that not every dog had the chance to learn.

The next step is to always respect your dog's needs.

That's why children are common victims of dog bites as they have not been taught to respect a dog's space.

At gatherings, a dog should be allowed to have a quiet space just for himself.

Guests are often victims of bites as they crowd the dog, give him a hug, or pet him in sensitive areas while invading his own territory.

Bite prevention starts with choosing the right breed, a responsible breeder, and socialization.

Knowing and understanding how dogs might feel in certain situations always helps!

🍖 FOOD

Avocados for dogs

This is not a typo and something that could be very real in the future.

Since the discovery of avocados as a superfood, consumption skyrocketed, and with it the waste that results from it.

The pulp, seed, and skin of the avocado may be the next super fiber source in commercial dog food.

But wait, aren't avocados toxic to dogs?

You have probably read on the internet that avocados contain a toxin called persin which can be harmful to dogs.

This is actually not something that is said around the world.

“Being from Brazil, avocados grow in our backyards. They fall on the ground, and if dogs get hold of them, they eat them. 🥑

I’d never heard of a dog dying from eating an avocado, so I was really curious why they were considered toxic here,” says Cattai de Godoy, associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at U of I.

Persin is not enough researched and there are no known amounts that cause symptoms in dogs so it's best to stay away from them for now.

Luckily the researchers found a method that breaks down the persin and removes it from the final product.

"Persin is structurally similar to a polyunsaturated fatty acid, meaning there are a lot of double bonds" and processing the avocado into a meal breaks it down.

With no detectable persin, they tested out the avocado in dry dog food.

Results: The avocado meal is palatable and a functional fiber source in canine nutrition and performed just as well as the gold standard fiber source beet pulp.

Avocado leftovers are abundant and economical making them a realistic novel fiber source of the future.