Before the development of modern diagnostic equipment, doctors had to rely on their senses to make a diagnosis; diabetes is marked by fruity breath; the breath of patients with cystic fibrosis smells acidic and typhoid smells like baked bread (Stitt 1995). The stool of C.difficile infected patients smells like horse manure; there is even something called the…
See Spot Spot Spot Based on the strength of other research I’ve criticized self-styled gurus who pretend to act like animals. They may be fooling themselves and their gullible followers but they are not fooling the dog. This study finds that even on a computer monitor, a dog can tell the difference between a dog,…
Whether we are talking about zoo animals or our own pets, blood collection usually involves restraint. Forcible restraint is a stressful experience (for dog and handler), it can produce a fearful response which often results in defensive aggression. While the resulting behavior is what we see, there is also a complex biochemical cascade that accompanies…
This is an old study and it is not about dogs. What caught my attention though was the age of the subjects and the species it involved: Giant Aldabra tortoises. Weiss E., Wilson S.(2003) The Use of Classical and Operant Conditioning in Training Aldabra Tortoises (Geochelone gigantea) for Venipuncture and Other Husbandry Issues.Journal of Applied Animal…
Of the 1001 possible uses for a dog’s nose, a Spanish led group of researchers has come up with a new one: sniffing out wildlife infected with Sarcoptes scabiei.[1] In humans, the mite causes scabies. The skin parasite, Sacorptes, is found throughout the world. It infects over 100 species [2] spreading through direct body contact…
Science and Dogs 
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