Blog about dogs

  South Korea plans to ban eating dog meat by the end of the year. Although only a small minority of people still consume dog meat in South Korea, the ancient practice has been the subject of sharp criticism from foreign media and animal rights advocates. Now, the country’s younger generations have joined calls to ban it. The government said it plans to enact a special law within the year banning the breeding, slaughter, distribution and sale of dogs for food. As part of this, dogs will be recognized for their status as companion animals. It is reported more than half a million dogs were being raised for food across the country in 2022. The government will give enterprises three years to change and will provide help with it. Research indicates that this law will be implemented even after the upcoming election. Info and photo source:  https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/11/20/south-korea-plans-to-ban-the-consumption-of-dog-meat-by-the-end-of-the-year

  In recent times, research has shown that dogs can recognize emotions in people's facial expressions from neutral, and they can tell happy faces from angry ones - just from photos of faces. They even 'process' the voices differently in their brains depending on whether they involve positive or negative emotions. It's nothing to do with the words used, just the sound of the voice. Interestingly, there was a clearer difference in brain processing when the negative emotion in the voice was fear or sadness - rather than anger - or when the positive emotion was happiness. Our canine friends are also very good at knowing when they have our attention, and using it to best effect to influence our emotions. Research has found that dogs' faces are most expressive when they know people are looking at them. Studies have already shown that dogs will mimic each others' body language, especially if they're closely bonded. Some researchers now believe that the same behavio...

  Since the 1950s, there has been popular theory that one dog year is the equivalent of seven human years. Even though this formula has been around for a surprisingly long time, the reality is not so cut-and-dried. One explanation for how this formula got started is that the 7:1 ratio seems to have been based on the statistic that people lived to about 70, and dogs to about 10. The American Veterinary Medical Association breaks it down like this: 15 human years equals the first year of a medium-sized dog’s life. Year two for a dog equals about nine years for a human. And after that, each human year would be approximately five years for a dog. Large dogs age at an accelerated pace, and “their lives seem to unwind in fast motion,” according to researcher Cornelia Kraus, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany . Scientists concluded that every 2 kilograms of body mass reduced a dog’s life expectancy by about a month.  Info and image source: https://www...

  Most experts agree there's probably a combination of reasons for dogs licking people. First of all there is a good chance your dog is licking you to show their affection. Licking is a natural action for dogs. They learned it from the grooming and affection their mothers gave them as puppies.  Dogs will also lick you to simply get your attention. It often starts as a sign of affection, but then it's reinforced by a person's reaction: laughing, smiling, or petting.  Dogs have licking coded in their DNA from canids, such as wolves. When the mother returned from hunting, the cubs licked her until they vomited and thus obtained food.  Another reason dogs lick you is to see how you taste. Once that dog gets to licking you, they might realize you have an intriguing salty flavour. Dogs love anything that has an interesting taste. Plus, licking is a way for your dog to explore their world.  Info source:  https://www.thesprucepets.com/why-do-dogs-lick-people-111830...