Tagged: Dogs

The Second Annual Dogs of NHPR is upon us, just in time for the 137th Annual Westminster Dog Show. We have a lovely selection of various breeds, and even a few other pet species thrown in for good measure. So without further ado, we present with minimal editorial input  substantial editorial input, the Dogs [and other critters] of NHPR.

On Monday, Westminster kicks off its 137th contest in front of a packed house at New York’s Madison Square Garden, and no shortage of bemused TV spectators on America’s couches.  For most, the world of competitive dog handling is a mysterious one – we at Word of Mouth were forced to admit while prepping for this segment that the bulk of our show-dog knowledge stems from the 2000 Westminster mockumentary, Best in Show, directed by Cristopher Guest. 

Today when dogs do a disappearing act, infrared cameras, tracking devices, and social media help owners keep tabs on wandering pets. These security technologies are a growing part of the 56-billion dollars spent annually on America’s pets.

It’s not often that we stumbled across a story like the one we found in the latest edition of one of our favorite magazines, Mental Floss. It’s a profile of Alexandra Horowitz, who earned her PH.D. in cognitive science and teaches psychology at Barnard College.

Part 1: The Bad Science of the Left/Tweeting Political Poems

Think the right has cornered the market on denying science? No way, says Alex Berezow. He has a Ph.D. in microbiology and is co-author of the book Science Left Behind: Feel Good Falacies and the Rise of the Anti-Scientific Left. 

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When we call dogs ‘man’s best friend’, we’re typically referring to their value as companions and protectors - but canines have a long history of helping people with affairs far more solemn that playing fetch.  For centuries, dogs have played a pivotal role in aiding the disabled, in hunting, for search and rescue operations, and for their service in police and military applications.  After a long hiatus, U.S. bomb-sniffing dogs were re-introduced to the battlefield in 2007.  There are now some six-hundred military dogs deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.