While scooping yards, I have seen evidence of strange things that dogs have eaten. Some our clients’ dogs have eaten crayons, stuffing from toys, plastic food containers, and even ribbons and wrapping paper.

The following excerpt is from an article written by Amanda Hauck, DVM for the Mount Vernon Patch. It was last updated on Jan 30, 2011:

Most pet owners aren’t too concerned when their pets gobble down some grass, try to eat a bone or even grab the wrapper from a candy bar. But, when their tastes turn to gravel and rocks or even plastic toys, you might have a serious problem!

Every year, a leading veterinary trade magazine has a contest reviewing the weird things pets across the country have eaten. And, every year, thousands of veterinarians submit their x-rays wondering if their patient will win the grand prize honor of having swallowed the most unusual object!

Click here to read the full article.

I have known that dogs can be very smart; but I was very surprised to hear about this dog! I had no idea that dogs were capable of learning that many words. Apparently they can even learn the difference between nouns and verbs too!

As a kid, I always wished my dog could talk. He always seemed to be a good listener though. Now I wonder how many words he really understood. The dog I have now knows some words too…her favorite ones are “dogfood” followed by “outside” and “walk.”

The following excerpt is from an article written by Kerry Sheridan, AFP for Mother Nature Network. It was last updated on 3:21PM EST on Jan 7, 2011:

Chaser learned the names for 1,022 toys, so many that her human handlers had to write on them in marker so they wouldn’t forget.

She just might be the smartest pooch ever.

A border collie has learned more than 1,000 words, showing U.S. researchers that her memory is not only better than theirs, but that she understands quite a bit about how language works.

Click here to read the full article.

Don’t let your cat read this article! I made sure my cat was outside while I worked on this post. Maybe I should have put my dog outside too? She will probably tell the cat all about it. My cat will probably claim that the study was biased and unscientific. All kidding aside, I thought this was an interesting article to read.

The following excerpt is from an article written by Peter Hutchison for The Telegraph. It was last updated on 7:00PM GMT on Nov 22, 2010:

Dogs are cleverer than cats because their friendly character has helped them develop bigger brains, a study set to end the argument between pet lovers has shown. The intelligence of “a man’s best friend” has evolved at a greater rate than the less social cat over millions of years, scientists at Oxford University have claimed.

Click here to read the full article.

When I was a kid growing up in North Dakota, I lost one of my cats to the cold. My dad had been meaning to get around to putting up a heat lamp for the cats; but unfortunately he delayed one day too long. Winter cold can can be very dangerous for pets; so I thought this article with tips for keeping pets safe in the colder weather would be good to share.

I wish I had discovered this article before we had the recent snowy weather in the Seattle area around Thanksgiving. According to some reports, we’re still supposed to have colder winter this year; so it may still come in handy!

The following excerpt is from an article written by Melissa Bonnel for the Pleasanton Patch. It was last updated on November 12, 2010:

With the weather cooling down and winter fast approaching, we must take certain precautions to keep our pets warm, healthy and happy. Of course, keeping your pet inside is the safest option, but aside from this, there are other steps we can take to help our furry friends.

Click here to read the full article.

Since we are into the holiday season now, I thought it would be good to share the following article. It offers some tips for helping keep our pets safe over the holdidays. It covers a variety of topics including food, plants, lighting, decorations, and parties.