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Monday, June 15. 2015
Gun Dogs
A curious thing the English language is it not? When we talk about a gunman we mean a man with a gun, usually a man with a gun that he is quite prepared to use to shoot somebody for whatever reason. Note that we also run the two words, “gun” and “man” together to make one word.
Continue reading "Gun Dogs" »
Thursday, February 27. 2014
The History of the Domestic Dog
Most people like dogs, some people more than others and perhaps some dogs more than others but on the whole they are pretty likeable creatures. Many people would find it very hard to do their jobs without dogs and others would find their daily lives very much more difficult without them. Dogs make great companions and can be very helpful but where did they come from in the first place? What is the domestic dog’s history? We often talk about Human History so let’s look at Canine History and how they are inextricably linked.
The first thing to get out of the way perhaps is the idea of the wolf allying itself with humans and being taken in and domesticated leading to the dogs we know today. All the evidence indicates that this is a myth.
Extensive research over many years including DNA comparisons etc shows that, though the dog as we know it is a subspecies of the grey wolf, the evolutionary split between them occurred some 100,000 years ago. The date of the earliest evidence of domestication of dogs is vague but, varying between 14,000 years ago and at the very earliest, 31,700 years ago, it’s at least 68,300 years after the genetic division from the grey wolf. Although the Latin name of “canis lupus familiaris” suggests a direct link, remember that the split and the early domestications were already ancient history before Latin came into existence!
Having attached themselves to humans, presumably for food and shelter, dogs soon discovered that they were expected to give something in return and their natural instincts made it easy for them to oblige. Those early men were hunter-gatherers and dogs are natural hunters too. Their combined skills made hunting more successful to the benefit of both.
Then, as humankind progressed into farming and other activities, their dogs developed with them first as guard dogs, then herding livestock. The use of dogs in hunting continued right up to the present day. The transition of hunting, at least in the allegedly civilised world, from a necessity for survival to recreation, in no way diminished the rôle of the hunting dog or the retriever.
The enormous variety of breeds that makes up the 21st Century canine world is a comparatively recent development. Most are no more than a few hundred years old. Selective breeding encouraged the development of existing characteristics that improved the dogs’ usefulness for particular tasks and even to fit in handbags!
The overall effect has been beneficial to both species, human and canine and has produced the amazingly talented, useful and lovable companions we know today. The dog was the first known example of a domesticated animal and arguably the most successful.
This article was provided by Freelance Copywriter UK, Pete Hopper of Write For You.
The first thing to get out of the way perhaps is the idea of the wolf allying itself with humans and being taken in and domesticated leading to the dogs we know today. All the evidence indicates that this is a myth.
Extensive research over many years including DNA comparisons etc shows that, though the dog as we know it is a subspecies of the grey wolf, the evolutionary split between them occurred some 100,000 years ago. The date of the earliest evidence of domestication of dogs is vague but, varying between 14,000 years ago and at the very earliest, 31,700 years ago, it’s at least 68,300 years after the genetic division from the grey wolf. Although the Latin name of “canis lupus familiaris” suggests a direct link, remember that the split and the early domestications were already ancient history before Latin came into existence!
Having attached themselves to humans, presumably for food and shelter, dogs soon discovered that they were expected to give something in return and their natural instincts made it easy for them to oblige. Those early men were hunter-gatherers and dogs are natural hunters too. Their combined skills made hunting more successful to the benefit of both.
Then, as humankind progressed into farming and other activities, their dogs developed with them first as guard dogs, then herding livestock. The use of dogs in hunting continued right up to the present day. The transition of hunting, at least in the allegedly civilised world, from a necessity for survival to recreation, in no way diminished the rôle of the hunting dog or the retriever.
The enormous variety of breeds that makes up the 21st Century canine world is a comparatively recent development. Most are no more than a few hundred years old. Selective breeding encouraged the development of existing characteristics that improved the dogs’ usefulness for particular tasks and even to fit in handbags!
The overall effect has been beneficial to both species, human and canine and has produced the amazingly talented, useful and lovable companions we know today. The dog was the first known example of a domesticated animal and arguably the most successful.
This article was provided by Freelance Copywriter UK, Pete Hopper of Write For You.
Thursday, October 31. 2013
The 1925 Alaska Serum Run
We have previously considered the essential role dogs have played in making human life possible in the Polar Regions. Here is a brief account of one of the most famous examples of an almost superhuman lifesaving effort by men and their dogs.
In December 1924, just outside Nome, a gold-mining town in Alaska, a 2 year old Inuit boy contracted diphtheria and died. So began what became a substantial outbreak affecting both native and settler communities.
The first cases were misdiagnosed as tonsillitis and it was not until 20th January, 1925 that diphtheria was confirmed. The local hospital’s stock of diphtheria anti-toxin, dated from 1918, too old to use.
Fresh supplies, ordered in the summer of 1924, would come by ship to Nome. It had not arrived before the winter ice closed the harbour.
More cases were diagnosed. The Mayor, called an emergency meeting of the town council. It was evident that they faced a growing epidemic and the doctor estimated that at least a million units of the anti-toxin serum would be needed. The State Governor was informed of the situation and a telegram, to Washington DC carried an urgent plea for supplies of anti-toxin to be delivered by whatever means possible.
Using a relay of dog sled teams to carry the serum, once it was available, to Nome was suggested. Consolidated Gold Fields had an employee, Leonhard Seppala, who was already famous as a dog sled racer, in Nome. He could go from there with his team to Nulato, 315 miles away. There he could meet a team coming from Nenana, considered the best place to pick up the anti-toxin for the journey.
Some argued for flying the supply by bush plane, however only two of these aircraft were located in the area and both were stowed away, dismantled, for the winter.
Meanwhile, three hundred thousand units of the diphtheria anti-toxin serum were rushed by train from the Anchorage Railroad Hospital to Nenana. It arrived on 27th January. It wasn’t enough to end the epidemic but it would serve to hold it in check until more arrived. Over a million more units from hospitals all over the country were being shipped to Seattle for transport by sea to Seaward, near Anchorage, but that would not arrive before the first week in February.
Leonhard Seppala was already training his team of 20 dogs, led by his usual lead dog, Togo. Togo was already famous in the dog sled racing world and was getting on in years for a working dog in these conditions at 12 years old.
The plan was modified to use more teams to break the journey into more stages. On 27th January the first driver, “Wild Bill,” Shannon, set out with his team from Nenana railway station, carrying the 20lb pack of serum. His lead dog, Blackie, was five years old and an experienced sled dog. Shannon chose to travel along the relatively smooth surface of the frozen Tanana River to avoid the rutted track which could tear the pads of the dogs’ paws and cause ankle injuries. He ran alongside the sled to reduce the drag and keep as warm as possible.
He arrived at the roadhouse at Minto where he rested the dogs and himself and warmed the antitoxin. This had to be done at every opportunity to prevent it freezing and becoming useless. Apparently by this time, parts of his face were blackened by severe frostbite. After four hours rest, Shannon resumed his leg of the relay with just six dogs, leaving three behind. He arrived at the next staging post, Tolovana at 11.00a.m on the 28th January where he handed the serum over to the next driver.
Shannon and his team were described as being in pretty bad shape. When he returned home afterwards, two of the dogs he had left at Minto died. There is no record of what became of the third.
The serum continued its journey and reached the roadhouse at Shaktoolik on 31st January.
From there, Leonhard Seppala with Togo and his team had the task of taking the short cut across the frozen sea water of Norton Sound, the most dangerous part of the whole journey, due to the unpredictable nature of the treacherous sea ice which was actually starting to break up, just to make a bad situation worse!
Seppala and his large team of dogs set out into the Arctic storm, reaching Isaac’s Point a day later, a distance of 84 miles. He rested his team and himself for a few hours and then pressed on to Golovin, crossing more of the hazardous Norton Sound and traversing Little McKinley Mountain.
By then there were 28cases of diphtheria in Nome. The serum the teams were carrying was sufficient to treat 30.
The wind speed was 80 mph by then and when the serum arrived at Bluff the temperature was down to -57˚C. It was handed over to Gunnar Kaasen, a young Norwegian, trained by Seppala, and his team led by the soon to be famous Balto.
Kaasen waited a while for the storm to abate before setting out into the still ferocious weather. He later reported that at times the visibility was so bad that he could not even see the last two dogs in the team, nearest to the sled!
For various reasons he skipped the next stop and pressed on to Port Safety where he arrived considerably earlier than expected. Finding the next driver still asleep he decided that, rather than wait for him to get kitted up and his team ready, he would take a short rest and warm the serum and then press on again.
This he did and finally arrived outside the Merchants and Miners Bank on Front Street in Nome at 5.30am on February 2nd. A few people were about and they reported that on stopping, Kaasen staggered to the front of the team and collapsed there. He was heard to mutter, “Damn fine dog!” referring of course to Balto.
The serum delivered by means of this heroic example of men and dogs working together, held the situation in Nome until more substantial supplies could reach the town. Kaasen and Balto and Seppala and Togo became national heroes, particularly Kaasen and Balto, theirs being the team that actually brought the serum into town. It seems a little unfair to the other drivers and their dogs but such is the nature of fame and public acclamation! It should not be forgotten that at least four dogs did not survive the run.
Today, the Nome serum run is commemorated annually in a dog sled race in rather less desperate circumstance. This has been a very much condensed summary of the story. To find out much more fascinating detail, read The Cruelest Miles by Gay and Laney Salisbury, ISBN- 13:978-0393325706. There can be found the full story including all the events leading up to the run and what happened afterwards.
This article was provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You.
In December 1924, just outside Nome, a gold-mining town in Alaska, a 2 year old Inuit boy contracted diphtheria and died. So began what became a substantial outbreak affecting both native and settler communities.
The first cases were misdiagnosed as tonsillitis and it was not until 20th January, 1925 that diphtheria was confirmed. The local hospital’s stock of diphtheria anti-toxin, dated from 1918, too old to use.
Fresh supplies, ordered in the summer of 1924, would come by ship to Nome. It had not arrived before the winter ice closed the harbour.
More cases were diagnosed. The Mayor, called an emergency meeting of the town council. It was evident that they faced a growing epidemic and the doctor estimated that at least a million units of the anti-toxin serum would be needed. The State Governor was informed of the situation and a telegram, to Washington DC carried an urgent plea for supplies of anti-toxin to be delivered by whatever means possible.
Using a relay of dog sled teams to carry the serum, once it was available, to Nome was suggested. Consolidated Gold Fields had an employee, Leonhard Seppala, who was already famous as a dog sled racer, in Nome. He could go from there with his team to Nulato, 315 miles away. There he could meet a team coming from Nenana, considered the best place to pick up the anti-toxin for the journey.
Some argued for flying the supply by bush plane, however only two of these aircraft were located in the area and both were stowed away, dismantled, for the winter.
Meanwhile, three hundred thousand units of the diphtheria anti-toxin serum were rushed by train from the Anchorage Railroad Hospital to Nenana. It arrived on 27th January. It wasn’t enough to end the epidemic but it would serve to hold it in check until more arrived. Over a million more units from hospitals all over the country were being shipped to Seattle for transport by sea to Seaward, near Anchorage, but that would not arrive before the first week in February.
Leonhard Seppala was already training his team of 20 dogs, led by his usual lead dog, Togo. Togo was already famous in the dog sled racing world and was getting on in years for a working dog in these conditions at 12 years old.
The plan was modified to use more teams to break the journey into more stages. On 27th January the first driver, “Wild Bill,” Shannon, set out with his team from Nenana railway station, carrying the 20lb pack of serum. His lead dog, Blackie, was five years old and an experienced sled dog. Shannon chose to travel along the relatively smooth surface of the frozen Tanana River to avoid the rutted track which could tear the pads of the dogs’ paws and cause ankle injuries. He ran alongside the sled to reduce the drag and keep as warm as possible.
He arrived at the roadhouse at Minto where he rested the dogs and himself and warmed the antitoxin. This had to be done at every opportunity to prevent it freezing and becoming useless. Apparently by this time, parts of his face were blackened by severe frostbite. After four hours rest, Shannon resumed his leg of the relay with just six dogs, leaving three behind. He arrived at the next staging post, Tolovana at 11.00a.m on the 28th January where he handed the serum over to the next driver.
Shannon and his team were described as being in pretty bad shape. When he returned home afterwards, two of the dogs he had left at Minto died. There is no record of what became of the third.
The serum continued its journey and reached the roadhouse at Shaktoolik on 31st January.
From there, Leonhard Seppala with Togo and his team had the task of taking the short cut across the frozen sea water of Norton Sound, the most dangerous part of the whole journey, due to the unpredictable nature of the treacherous sea ice which was actually starting to break up, just to make a bad situation worse!
Seppala and his large team of dogs set out into the Arctic storm, reaching Isaac’s Point a day later, a distance of 84 miles. He rested his team and himself for a few hours and then pressed on to Golovin, crossing more of the hazardous Norton Sound and traversing Little McKinley Mountain.
By then there were 28cases of diphtheria in Nome. The serum the teams were carrying was sufficient to treat 30.
The wind speed was 80 mph by then and when the serum arrived at Bluff the temperature was down to -57˚C. It was handed over to Gunnar Kaasen, a young Norwegian, trained by Seppala, and his team led by the soon to be famous Balto.
Kaasen waited a while for the storm to abate before setting out into the still ferocious weather. He later reported that at times the visibility was so bad that he could not even see the last two dogs in the team, nearest to the sled!
For various reasons he skipped the next stop and pressed on to Port Safety where he arrived considerably earlier than expected. Finding the next driver still asleep he decided that, rather than wait for him to get kitted up and his team ready, he would take a short rest and warm the serum and then press on again.
This he did and finally arrived outside the Merchants and Miners Bank on Front Street in Nome at 5.30am on February 2nd. A few people were about and they reported that on stopping, Kaasen staggered to the front of the team and collapsed there. He was heard to mutter, “Damn fine dog!” referring of course to Balto.
The serum delivered by means of this heroic example of men and dogs working together, held the situation in Nome until more substantial supplies could reach the town. Kaasen and Balto and Seppala and Togo became national heroes, particularly Kaasen and Balto, theirs being the team that actually brought the serum into town. It seems a little unfair to the other drivers and their dogs but such is the nature of fame and public acclamation! It should not be forgotten that at least four dogs did not survive the run.
Today, the Nome serum run is commemorated annually in a dog sled race in rather less desperate circumstance. This has been a very much condensed summary of the story. To find out much more fascinating detail, read The Cruelest Miles by Gay and Laney Salisbury, ISBN- 13:978-0393325706. There can be found the full story including all the events leading up to the run and what happened afterwards.
This article was provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You.
Monday, July 1. 2013
Search and Rescue Dogs - General
When we start looking at the ultimate dog friendly service, search and rescue dogs, it is very easy to get sidetracked by the fascinating stories of specific breeds such as the St Bernard and the Newfoundland. Well, we’ve been there and done that so now let’s take a look at SAR dogs in general. Several different breeds are employed in this kind of work, none of them as specialised as the two we’ve considered so far.
In fact even in snowy mountain country with high incidence of avalanches the St Bernard’s role has been largely taken over by smaller, more agile breeds, such as the German Shepherd, which are still big enough to have the strength needed but are lighter and much easier to transport quickly. However, for rescue from water, there is really no replacement for the Newfoundland.
Unofficial SAR dogs have even been portrayed in popular fiction. Everyone over a certain age will remember the screen star, “Lassie”. That said, even some younger folk will remember, “Skippy the Bush Kangaroo”. However, as far as can be ascertained, no-one has ever actually trained SAR kangaroos in real life!
Dogs, on the other hand, have played an essential part in search and rescue operations ever since the monks of the St Bernard Hospice first started to use them in the 17th Century. Their work in the treacherous St. Bernard’s Pass area is the earliest recorded canine rescue activity.
In Victorian times and earlier, Bloodhounds were used to track down fugitives and find bodies so by the time war broke out in Europe in 1914 the value of the canine sense of smell and acute hearing was already well appreciated. Amid the dreadful chaos, carnage, mud and debris of the Western Front many wounded men were only found and brought to relative safety due to the expertise of specially trained search and rescue dogs. The armies involved were not alone in their use of canine support. The Red Cross workers also employed dogs to assist them in their missions of mercy.
When peace was again shattered by World War II the same kind of work was again undertaken by rescue dogs. Although the pattern of warfare had altered from the entrenched stalemate of WWI to the fast moving actions of the 1940s, wounded soldiers still needed to be located and rescued. As the war progressed, the deployment of US troops led to the establishment of the Dogs for Defense Program in America.
There the dogs were trained for the same kind of work and some other military tasks as well. A number of different breeds were employed but, originally, the majority were Newfoundlands.
After hostilities ceased in 1945, life in Europe began to return to some sort of normality. The military on both sides of the Atlantic continued to develop their dog training activities for various purposes including search and rescue.
Civilian search and rescue organisations were quick to recognise the value of canine assistance now that people had not only the freedom but also the leisure time to visit more remote areas and inevitably, on occasions get themselves into difficulties. In Switzerland the alpine regions provide plenty of opportunities for people to suffer injuries and, worst of all, on occasions become the victims of avalanches. When that happens they need to be found and dug out quickly if they are to survive.
The Swiss Alpine Club, which undertakes this vital work, originally used to search by prodding with a long pole into the snow in the hope of hitting a person who lay buried beneath. This was literally a “hit or miss” system and was far from satisfactory. They soon found that rescue dogs provided a much quicker and more certain method and their use quickly became the preferred option.
Very soon other search and rescue groups throughout the Alps followed suit. However, it is not only in the Alps that SAR dogs are now an essential part of every team dedicated to finding and rescuing people in remote and difficult terrain. All over Great Britain these four legged Samaritans are on readiness to go out at a moment’s notice when needed. Pups are constantly being trained ready to take over when old age overtakes them.
Dogs of several breeds undertake this sort of work, German shepherds may be the best known to us, the general public, but Labradors, Golden retrievers and Border collies are all out there doing sterling work. They work in different ways which is one reason for the variety of breeds. Some are trail dogs, following a scent trail on the ground; others follow scent in the air. The canine nose is a wonderful creation. Don’t forget the acute hearing of the species though. Faint cries for help will be picked up by a dog’s ears long before his or her human handler will hear them.
SAR dogs have proved their value in many different situations. Following countless earthquakes around the world, hurricanes and similar natural disasters, they are there helping to locate survivors and indeed the dead so they can receive proper burial or cremation. The aftermath of terrorist attacks too such as 9/11 in America, the London Underground attack and the Madrid bombing sees search and rescue dogs getting in there and finding the victims.
Many of the dog friendly organisations that train and employ SAR dogs are made up of unpaid volunteers. Others are part of the professional, full-time emergency services. The level of professionalism is common to both, humans and dogs!
This article was provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You.
In fact even in snowy mountain country with high incidence of avalanches the St Bernard’s role has been largely taken over by smaller, more agile breeds, such as the German Shepherd, which are still big enough to have the strength needed but are lighter and much easier to transport quickly. However, for rescue from water, there is really no replacement for the Newfoundland.
Unofficial SAR dogs have even been portrayed in popular fiction. Everyone over a certain age will remember the screen star, “Lassie”. That said, even some younger folk will remember, “Skippy the Bush Kangaroo”. However, as far as can be ascertained, no-one has ever actually trained SAR kangaroos in real life!
Dogs, on the other hand, have played an essential part in search and rescue operations ever since the monks of the St Bernard Hospice first started to use them in the 17th Century. Their work in the treacherous St. Bernard’s Pass area is the earliest recorded canine rescue activity.
In Victorian times and earlier, Bloodhounds were used to track down fugitives and find bodies so by the time war broke out in Europe in 1914 the value of the canine sense of smell and acute hearing was already well appreciated. Amid the dreadful chaos, carnage, mud and debris of the Western Front many wounded men were only found and brought to relative safety due to the expertise of specially trained search and rescue dogs. The armies involved were not alone in their use of canine support. The Red Cross workers also employed dogs to assist them in their missions of mercy.
When peace was again shattered by World War II the same kind of work was again undertaken by rescue dogs. Although the pattern of warfare had altered from the entrenched stalemate of WWI to the fast moving actions of the 1940s, wounded soldiers still needed to be located and rescued. As the war progressed, the deployment of US troops led to the establishment of the Dogs for Defense Program in America.
There the dogs were trained for the same kind of work and some other military tasks as well. A number of different breeds were employed but, originally, the majority were Newfoundlands.
After hostilities ceased in 1945, life in Europe began to return to some sort of normality. The military on both sides of the Atlantic continued to develop their dog training activities for various purposes including search and rescue.
Civilian search and rescue organisations were quick to recognise the value of canine assistance now that people had not only the freedom but also the leisure time to visit more remote areas and inevitably, on occasions get themselves into difficulties. In Switzerland the alpine regions provide plenty of opportunities for people to suffer injuries and, worst of all, on occasions become the victims of avalanches. When that happens they need to be found and dug out quickly if they are to survive.
The Swiss Alpine Club, which undertakes this vital work, originally used to search by prodding with a long pole into the snow in the hope of hitting a person who lay buried beneath. This was literally a “hit or miss” system and was far from satisfactory. They soon found that rescue dogs provided a much quicker and more certain method and their use quickly became the preferred option.
Very soon other search and rescue groups throughout the Alps followed suit. However, it is not only in the Alps that SAR dogs are now an essential part of every team dedicated to finding and rescuing people in remote and difficult terrain. All over Great Britain these four legged Samaritans are on readiness to go out at a moment’s notice when needed. Pups are constantly being trained ready to take over when old age overtakes them.
Dogs of several breeds undertake this sort of work, German shepherds may be the best known to us, the general public, but Labradors, Golden retrievers and Border collies are all out there doing sterling work. They work in different ways which is one reason for the variety of breeds. Some are trail dogs, following a scent trail on the ground; others follow scent in the air. The canine nose is a wonderful creation. Don’t forget the acute hearing of the species though. Faint cries for help will be picked up by a dog’s ears long before his or her human handler will hear them.
SAR dogs have proved their value in many different situations. Following countless earthquakes around the world, hurricanes and similar natural disasters, they are there helping to locate survivors and indeed the dead so they can receive proper burial or cremation. The aftermath of terrorist attacks too such as 9/11 in America, the London Underground attack and the Madrid bombing sees search and rescue dogs getting in there and finding the victims.
Many of the dog friendly organisations that train and employ SAR dogs are made up of unpaid volunteers. Others are part of the professional, full-time emergency services. The level of professionalism is common to both, humans and dogs!
This article was provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You.
Wednesday, June 5. 2013
Lifesaving Dogs - The Newfoundland
Probably the first thing that strikes you about the Newfoundland when you first meet is the size of the animal. They really are big! It wasn’t for nothing that the natives of Newfoundland in ancient times referred to them as “bear dogs.” As long ago as 1000 AD the forebears of the Newfoundland dogs of today were the constant working companions of those early inhabitants of what we now know as the Province of Newfoundland, Canada.
The dogs have evolved since then partly through the usual sequence of selective breeding and way back in those early days they soon developed an instinctive talent for retrieving objects and people from water. They quickly proved indispensable, especially to the native fishermen earning a living from the treacherous icy waters off the island’s coast. They took the dogs with them on board their boats where they earned their keep by retrieving items of equipment that was lost overboard and fishermen themselves who were so unfortunate. The dogs’ ability to get a man back on board swiftly would have been the key to survival. Life expectancy after falling into such icy water is measured in minutes and not many of them!
Quite apart from rescue and retrieval these amazing dogs were tireless helpers in hauling in heavily laden nets and carrying lines from boat to boat when required, in addition to their lifeguard duty. Their work was not over when the boats returned to port either. The day’s catch had to be hauled to market and who pulled the carts? That’s right, the faithful Newfies!
Down through the centuries this partnership between men and dogs continued. When Viking explorer Lief Erickson sailed to North America he is said to have been accompanied by a Newfoundland, Oolam. Legend has it that during a North Atlantic storm, Oolam rescued five of Erickson’s Vikings when they were washed overboard. As Newfoundland became settled with immigrants from Europe, many of them from Scotland, trade with the rest of the world developed and sailors from elsewhere began to appreciate the work of the Newfoundland dogs. Sailing ships often carried a Newfoundland on board to recover anyone who fell overboard at sea, a practice that was still common at the beginning of the 20th Century.
When the explorers, Clarke and Lewis set out to try to find the fabled Northwest Passage they took with them a Newfoundland by the name of Seaman as lifeguard and helper. Down through the ages, stories abound of lives being saved by these gentle canine giants, well known personages among them. Napoleon I for example was once saved from drowning by a Newfie for better or worse, depending on your point of view. As recently as 1919, just off the coast of Newfoundland, a small steamship stranded on rocks. The rocks combined with the heavy surf to render rescue boats or the ship’s lifeboats useless. Fortunately for all on board, among the ship’s company was a Newfoundland dog. The dog swam ashore in conditions which no human could have survived with a line which enabled a bosun’s chair to be rigged. As a result the entire ship’s company were saved from certain death.
In the 21st Century, Newfoundlands work regularly with beach patrols in many countries. At the Molveno Dog Show in Italy, the Italian School of Dog training put on their annual water training demonstration. They demonstrate rescue situations where Newfoundlands, with their human handlers, jump from helicopters as they hover at a height of fifteen feet above the surface of the water and then carry out a rescue.
The French coastguard have carried out exercises which demonstrate that a fit and healthy Newfie can tow an inflatable life raft carrying twenty people two miles to shore without any signs of over exertion. Bear in mind that a life raft is not a normal boat shape and is not at all easy to tow, even empty, especially one that size!
Some of the Newfoundland’s lifeguarding instincts are quite uncanny. For example they seem to instinctively take special care of children or a family group. They seem to sense when danger threatens in the water and will often circle the group, shepherding them to shore. Their apparent ability to sense when someone needs help seems almost supernatural. Without being prompted a Newf will swim out to the potential casualty almost before the person realises they are in danger!
Their method of rescue seems to vary between dogs. Some will swim around the person until they feel him or her grab hold of them and then swim to shore. Others will actually take hold of the person’s arm in the mouth and tow them ashore that way.
Evolution has equipped the Newfoundland unusually well for its role as the world’s only truly amphibious dog. It has a double coat which is remarkably water resistant, providing a sort of hairy wetsuit! The ears cling close to the head helping to keep water out of them and aiding streamlining. His tail is strong and muscular and he uses it as a rudder but the most unusual feature for a dog is the feet. The Newfoundland actually has webbed feet, perfect for swimming. The style of swimming is unusual for a dog too. It’s more like a breast stroke than the ”doggy paddle,” adopted by most dogs.
If you live and work on the sea, you couldn’t have a better companion than a Newfoundland. You do need quite a big boat though!
Article provided provided by UK copywriter, Pete Hopper of Write For You.
The dogs have evolved since then partly through the usual sequence of selective breeding and way back in those early days they soon developed an instinctive talent for retrieving objects and people from water. They quickly proved indispensable, especially to the native fishermen earning a living from the treacherous icy waters off the island’s coast. They took the dogs with them on board their boats where they earned their keep by retrieving items of equipment that was lost overboard and fishermen themselves who were so unfortunate. The dogs’ ability to get a man back on board swiftly would have been the key to survival. Life expectancy after falling into such icy water is measured in minutes and not many of them!
Quite apart from rescue and retrieval these amazing dogs were tireless helpers in hauling in heavily laden nets and carrying lines from boat to boat when required, in addition to their lifeguard duty. Their work was not over when the boats returned to port either. The day’s catch had to be hauled to market and who pulled the carts? That’s right, the faithful Newfies!
Down through the centuries this partnership between men and dogs continued. When Viking explorer Lief Erickson sailed to North America he is said to have been accompanied by a Newfoundland, Oolam. Legend has it that during a North Atlantic storm, Oolam rescued five of Erickson’s Vikings when they were washed overboard. As Newfoundland became settled with immigrants from Europe, many of them from Scotland, trade with the rest of the world developed and sailors from elsewhere began to appreciate the work of the Newfoundland dogs. Sailing ships often carried a Newfoundland on board to recover anyone who fell overboard at sea, a practice that was still common at the beginning of the 20th Century.
When the explorers, Clarke and Lewis set out to try to find the fabled Northwest Passage they took with them a Newfoundland by the name of Seaman as lifeguard and helper. Down through the ages, stories abound of lives being saved by these gentle canine giants, well known personages among them. Napoleon I for example was once saved from drowning by a Newfie for better or worse, depending on your point of view. As recently as 1919, just off the coast of Newfoundland, a small steamship stranded on rocks. The rocks combined with the heavy surf to render rescue boats or the ship’s lifeboats useless. Fortunately for all on board, among the ship’s company was a Newfoundland dog. The dog swam ashore in conditions which no human could have survived with a line which enabled a bosun’s chair to be rigged. As a result the entire ship’s company were saved from certain death.
In the 21st Century, Newfoundlands work regularly with beach patrols in many countries. At the Molveno Dog Show in Italy, the Italian School of Dog training put on their annual water training demonstration. They demonstrate rescue situations where Newfoundlands, with their human handlers, jump from helicopters as they hover at a height of fifteen feet above the surface of the water and then carry out a rescue.
The French coastguard have carried out exercises which demonstrate that a fit and healthy Newfie can tow an inflatable life raft carrying twenty people two miles to shore without any signs of over exertion. Bear in mind that a life raft is not a normal boat shape and is not at all easy to tow, even empty, especially one that size!
Some of the Newfoundland’s lifeguarding instincts are quite uncanny. For example they seem to instinctively take special care of children or a family group. They seem to sense when danger threatens in the water and will often circle the group, shepherding them to shore. Their apparent ability to sense when someone needs help seems almost supernatural. Without being prompted a Newf will swim out to the potential casualty almost before the person realises they are in danger!
Their method of rescue seems to vary between dogs. Some will swim around the person until they feel him or her grab hold of them and then swim to shore. Others will actually take hold of the person’s arm in the mouth and tow them ashore that way.
Evolution has equipped the Newfoundland unusually well for its role as the world’s only truly amphibious dog. It has a double coat which is remarkably water resistant, providing a sort of hairy wetsuit! The ears cling close to the head helping to keep water out of them and aiding streamlining. His tail is strong and muscular and he uses it as a rudder but the most unusual feature for a dog is the feet. The Newfoundland actually has webbed feet, perfect for swimming. The style of swimming is unusual for a dog too. It’s more like a breast stroke than the ”doggy paddle,” adopted by most dogs.
If you live and work on the sea, you couldn’t have a better companion than a Newfoundland. You do need quite a big boat though!
Article provided provided by UK copywriter, Pete Hopper of Write For You.
Monday, May 20. 2013
Police Dogs - A Potted History
Continuing our rather less than “in depth” look at working dogs, this time it’s the turn of the police dog. If some early, informal, peace keeping roles played by dogs count, police dogs actually pre-date the existence of human police officers by centuries.
According to a contemporary account, in Ancient Greece, during the reign of King Pyrrhus of Epirus, between 300 and 272 BC, a dog detected a murder. It seems two men murdered a slave, in the presence of his dog. The King passed by just after the event and saw what had happened. He ordered the burial of the body and took possession of the dog, which became his constant companion. One day when the King was reviewing his troops, accompanied by the dog, it happened. As the soldiers marched past the dog sprang out and attacked two of them, threatening to tear them to pieces. So terrified were the two men that they confessed to the murder there and then to escape the vengeance of the dog. The story is claimed to be true but witnesses present at the time are very scarce now so we cannot be sure. Anyway, it’s a great story!
For centuries Night Watchmen and Parish Constables often patrolled accompanied by their own dogs. As early as the 1300s, the city of St Malo in France employed dogs to patrol the streets at night controlled by armed citizens appointed by the city. That lasted right up to 1770 when it was abruptly terminated after a young naval officer, out after curfew, was attacked by a dog patrol and killed. However the dogs have never been forgotten and to this day they are represented on the official insignia of St Malo.
The ancient abbey and town of Mont St Michel in Normandy used dogs provided by King Louis XI to warn of approaching strangers between 1461 and 1483. It seems likely that other French towns had similar arrangements.
1895 is generally regarded as the year when the use of specially trained dogs for official police duties began in Europe. That year, experiments began in France to explore the possibilities of training dogs specifically for police work. 1896 saw the launch of similar studies in Germany.
Then in March, 1899, Police Commissioner E Van Wesenmael of the city of Ghent in Belgium established a school for the training of dogs to assist in law enforcement duties. This is considered to be the first formal police dog training establishment anywhere. Starting with three dogs, then another seven, the project was deemed to be a success and all the dogs entered active service with the city police by the end of the year. The ten dogs worked with ten constables and were on duty from 10.00pm to 6.00am.
The scheme was judged to be a great success. By 1906 about 120 officers were patrolling several districts of the city of Ghent with 50 to 60 trained police dogs.
Ghent’s innovation was soon copied and in 1910 more than six hundred German towns had adopted the idea. Police forces in Hungary, Austria and Italy soon followed along with the rest of Belgium.
All this did not go unnoticed in Britain of course. The principle of training police dogs was first officially adopted in Britain around 1910. However, being Britain, officialdom moved slowly and it was not until 1934 that a Home Office study into the formal use of trained police dogs commenced, only to be shelved owing to the outbreak of war in 1939.
After the war, as an experiment, patrols in Hyde Park, London were accompanied by dogs. It started well when one of the dogs foiled an attempt to snatch a purse on the first night. The dramatic reduction in crime in the park following the introduction of the dogs soon confirmed the success of the experiment.
As a result, the Metropolitan Police established its first specialised dog training unit in 1953 to train both dogs and handlers and the Dog Section was born. By then several other Police forces across the UK were experimenting with their deployment.
In 1954 a nationwide Standing Committee was set up to oversee and co-ordinate the breeding and selection of suitable dogs for police duties, the supply of such animals and their training as a support service for all forces in the UK. Thus was laid the foundation for the highly effective and professional Dog Sections to be found in every UK Police force today.
Article provided provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You
According to a contemporary account, in Ancient Greece, during the reign of King Pyrrhus of Epirus, between 300 and 272 BC, a dog detected a murder. It seems two men murdered a slave, in the presence of his dog. The King passed by just after the event and saw what had happened. He ordered the burial of the body and took possession of the dog, which became his constant companion. One day when the King was reviewing his troops, accompanied by the dog, it happened. As the soldiers marched past the dog sprang out and attacked two of them, threatening to tear them to pieces. So terrified were the two men that they confessed to the murder there and then to escape the vengeance of the dog. The story is claimed to be true but witnesses present at the time are very scarce now so we cannot be sure. Anyway, it’s a great story!
For centuries Night Watchmen and Parish Constables often patrolled accompanied by their own dogs. As early as the 1300s, the city of St Malo in France employed dogs to patrol the streets at night controlled by armed citizens appointed by the city. That lasted right up to 1770 when it was abruptly terminated after a young naval officer, out after curfew, was attacked by a dog patrol and killed. However the dogs have never been forgotten and to this day they are represented on the official insignia of St Malo.
The ancient abbey and town of Mont St Michel in Normandy used dogs provided by King Louis XI to warn of approaching strangers between 1461 and 1483. It seems likely that other French towns had similar arrangements.
1895 is generally regarded as the year when the use of specially trained dogs for official police duties began in Europe. That year, experiments began in France to explore the possibilities of training dogs specifically for police work. 1896 saw the launch of similar studies in Germany.
Then in March, 1899, Police Commissioner E Van Wesenmael of the city of Ghent in Belgium established a school for the training of dogs to assist in law enforcement duties. This is considered to be the first formal police dog training establishment anywhere. Starting with three dogs, then another seven, the project was deemed to be a success and all the dogs entered active service with the city police by the end of the year. The ten dogs worked with ten constables and were on duty from 10.00pm to 6.00am.
The scheme was judged to be a great success. By 1906 about 120 officers were patrolling several districts of the city of Ghent with 50 to 60 trained police dogs.
Ghent’s innovation was soon copied and in 1910 more than six hundred German towns had adopted the idea. Police forces in Hungary, Austria and Italy soon followed along with the rest of Belgium.
All this did not go unnoticed in Britain of course. The principle of training police dogs was first officially adopted in Britain around 1910. However, being Britain, officialdom moved slowly and it was not until 1934 that a Home Office study into the formal use of trained police dogs commenced, only to be shelved owing to the outbreak of war in 1939.
After the war, as an experiment, patrols in Hyde Park, London were accompanied by dogs. It started well when one of the dogs foiled an attempt to snatch a purse on the first night. The dramatic reduction in crime in the park following the introduction of the dogs soon confirmed the success of the experiment.
As a result, the Metropolitan Police established its first specialised dog training unit in 1953 to train both dogs and handlers and the Dog Section was born. By then several other Police forces across the UK were experimenting with their deployment.
In 1954 a nationwide Standing Committee was set up to oversee and co-ordinate the breeding and selection of suitable dogs for police duties, the supply of such animals and their training as a support service for all forces in the UK. Thus was laid the foundation for the highly effective and professional Dog Sections to be found in every UK Police force today.
Article provided provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You
Wednesday, May 8. 2013
Man's Best Workmate - The Sheepdog
Let’s take a brief break from rescue dogs and return to look at dogs as workmates to humans. As to which is actually man’s best workmate, the dog or the horse, is historically quite a close contest. For centuries the horse, a noble beast, has carried man into battle and to the hunt, provided him with transport, pulled his ploughs and other implements, provided sport and fertilized his crops.
Although the dog has not actually carried anyone on its back, nor fertilized crops, it has been used for pulling things, but for sheer versatility the dog has the edge on the horse for the title of man’s best workmate. For example, you can herd sheep on horseback, but a dog will do the job for you.
The sheepdog is probably one of the oldest examples of a working dog along with the guard dog from which it evolved. Dogs are great for the role of guarding property, people or indeed sheep. They bark and raise the alarm when intruders approach and they have teeth!
Sheep are naturally nervous of dogs and mankind learned long ago to capitalise on this, once the natural herding instincts of some breeds of dog were recognised and then finely tuned through selective breeding and training.
Just watch an experienced shepherd working a flock of sheep with a dog and observe the superb synergy between human and dog. What team-work is demonstrated by these perfect workmates!
Practice makes perfect and shepherds and their dogs have been developing this working relationship over many generations. It all seems to have started with shepherds using dogs to guard their flocks against predators such as wolves and bears.
Apparently the keeping of sheep originated in the Middle East and the nomadic tribes who travelled across Europe to the British Isles around 2500BC brought with them both their sheep and domesticated, or at least semi-domesticated, dogs. In the lands south of the Mediterranean Sea it was usual to let the sheep roam far and wide over a large area and only round them up for shearing, slaughter, or moving to fresh pasture.
Their dogs appear to have lived with the people so they would already have been domesticated to a degree. It seems unlikely they would have been pets but would have earned the scraps of food thrown to them by the people, almost certainly by guarding the sheep and cattle against attack by wolves and bears.
In Northern Europe such attacks would have been more common, prompting a change from the Mediterranean system. Keeping the sheep together in a manageable area rather than allowing them to roam far and wide would have made the task of protection from predators far more achievable. The guardian dogs would help in this by constantly circling the sheep, encouraging them to stay together. Finding that some dogs showed signs of a natural herding instinct the shepherds would have favoured those dogs, encouraging them to breed so gradually strengthening the herding instinct, generation by generation.
By the end of the Middle-Ages in Britain and Ireland, wolves and bears were no longer to be found and the guardian dogs had given way to the more specialised breeds of herding sheepdogs and the beginnings of what we know as sheepdogs. More and more land became enclosed for arable farming meaning that in many parts of Britain allowing sheep and goats to roam all over the place became less practical, encouraging the use of sheepdogs to keep flocks together.
Another interesting development in shepherding in the British Isles compared with the Middle East and other countries is that when a flock of sheep is on the move together in the Middle East and elsewhere it was customary for the shepherd to lead and the sheep to follow. Bible references to the Good Shepherd leading his flock come to mind. In Britain, at least since mediaeval times, the shepherd follows behind the flock with the dogs keeping the sheep together. That would have made it much easier for the shepherd to spot any potential threat early and also to work the dogs.
CREDIT REF: www.janedogs.com/herding-sheepdogs.
Article provided provided by freelance copywriter UK, Pete Hopper of Write For You
Although the dog has not actually carried anyone on its back, nor fertilized crops, it has been used for pulling things, but for sheer versatility the dog has the edge on the horse for the title of man’s best workmate. For example, you can herd sheep on horseback, but a dog will do the job for you.
The sheepdog is probably one of the oldest examples of a working dog along with the guard dog from which it evolved. Dogs are great for the role of guarding property, people or indeed sheep. They bark and raise the alarm when intruders approach and they have teeth!
Sheep are naturally nervous of dogs and mankind learned long ago to capitalise on this, once the natural herding instincts of some breeds of dog were recognised and then finely tuned through selective breeding and training.
Just watch an experienced shepherd working a flock of sheep with a dog and observe the superb synergy between human and dog. What team-work is demonstrated by these perfect workmates!
Practice makes perfect and shepherds and their dogs have been developing this working relationship over many generations. It all seems to have started with shepherds using dogs to guard their flocks against predators such as wolves and bears.
Apparently the keeping of sheep originated in the Middle East and the nomadic tribes who travelled across Europe to the British Isles around 2500BC brought with them both their sheep and domesticated, or at least semi-domesticated, dogs. In the lands south of the Mediterranean Sea it was usual to let the sheep roam far and wide over a large area and only round them up for shearing, slaughter, or moving to fresh pasture.
Their dogs appear to have lived with the people so they would already have been domesticated to a degree. It seems unlikely they would have been pets but would have earned the scraps of food thrown to them by the people, almost certainly by guarding the sheep and cattle against attack by wolves and bears.
In Northern Europe such attacks would have been more common, prompting a change from the Mediterranean system. Keeping the sheep together in a manageable area rather than allowing them to roam far and wide would have made the task of protection from predators far more achievable. The guardian dogs would help in this by constantly circling the sheep, encouraging them to stay together. Finding that some dogs showed signs of a natural herding instinct the shepherds would have favoured those dogs, encouraging them to breed so gradually strengthening the herding instinct, generation by generation.
By the end of the Middle-Ages in Britain and Ireland, wolves and bears were no longer to be found and the guardian dogs had given way to the more specialised breeds of herding sheepdogs and the beginnings of what we know as sheepdogs. More and more land became enclosed for arable farming meaning that in many parts of Britain allowing sheep and goats to roam all over the place became less practical, encouraging the use of sheepdogs to keep flocks together.
Another interesting development in shepherding in the British Isles compared with the Middle East and other countries is that when a flock of sheep is on the move together in the Middle East and elsewhere it was customary for the shepherd to lead and the sheep to follow. Bible references to the Good Shepherd leading his flock come to mind. In Britain, at least since mediaeval times, the shepherd follows behind the flock with the dogs keeping the sheep together. That would have made it much easier for the shepherd to spot any potential threat early and also to work the dogs.
CREDIT REF: www.janedogs.com/herding-sheepdogs.
Article provided provided by freelance copywriter UK, Pete Hopper of Write For You
Monday, April 22. 2013
Sniffer Dogs
Also known as detection dogs, sniffer dogs have become an important ally to law enforcement agencies all over the world in carrying out their primary function, the protection of life and property. As we saw last time, the contribution that these dogs can make to human well being and quality of life goes far beyond the realms of law enforcement.
The sensitive canine nose can detect many different scents far beyond the range of the human sense of smell. The trick is to train the dog to recognise and react to the aromas given off by specific objects, substances, or by the activity of particular micro-organisms or chemical reactions. It’s the dog’s reaction that indicates to the handler that the animal has found what the handler is looking for.
In the case of law enforcement work the dogs will have been trained to react to the presence of substances such as illicit drugs, explosive materials, accelerant that have been used or are about to be used to commit arson. Firearms too can be located by the dogs, even counterfeit or illegally handled money. They are very good at finding human remains too.
The first recorded use of detection dogs seems to have been by the US Army in the 1940s in North Africa. They found that dogs could be trained to detect the presence of German mines. These first “bomb-dogs” must have saved many lives and limbs among both the soldiers and the local civilian population. Since then both the American and British Armies have continued to develop their skills at using dogs for this purpose with great success. No doubt other armed forces across the globe have done the same.
Since the end of World War II, the olfactory senses of dogs have been increasingly used to detect other things and by 1971 dogs were being used to find drugs such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine. Since then the range has expanded to include other drugs.
The use of sniffer dogs in detecting drug trafficking, arms smuggling and terrorist activity is being increasingly challenged in courts, frequently on the basis of infringement of human rights. This may be an indication of the fear of such an aid to detection felt by the criminal fraternity. Or maybe they feel that to be free to spread death and human misery is a basic human right!
In the USA the Department of Agriculture found another use for the canine nose. They found that dogs could be trained to expose the conveyance of agricultural products carrying pests and diseases across the borders into the US.
Pest control is another area where dogs can be of great assistance. Remember the bed-bug dogs? They can also detect other pest which can cause problems such as termites and wood worm. In these situations dogs can save a great deal of time and therefore money.
Trained dogs can also be a great help in medical situations too. They can detect health problems associated with diabetes, cancers, migraines and even heart attacks before they actually happen. The presence of allergens and other substances which can cause serious problems to some individuals can be sniffed out by specially trained canine assistants. Toxic moulds and peanuts are two of the commonest examples.
Peanut dust in particular can easily contaminate foods produced in factories and packing plants. Levels of contamination too minute for humans to detect can be sufficient to be life threatening to a nut allergy sufferer. A trained sniffer dog can detect it though and potentially save human life.
Article provided provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You (write4you.org.uk)
The sensitive canine nose can detect many different scents far beyond the range of the human sense of smell. The trick is to train the dog to recognise and react to the aromas given off by specific objects, substances, or by the activity of particular micro-organisms or chemical reactions. It’s the dog’s reaction that indicates to the handler that the animal has found what the handler is looking for.
In the case of law enforcement work the dogs will have been trained to react to the presence of substances such as illicit drugs, explosive materials, accelerant that have been used or are about to be used to commit arson. Firearms too can be located by the dogs, even counterfeit or illegally handled money. They are very good at finding human remains too.
The first recorded use of detection dogs seems to have been by the US Army in the 1940s in North Africa. They found that dogs could be trained to detect the presence of German mines. These first “bomb-dogs” must have saved many lives and limbs among both the soldiers and the local civilian population. Since then both the American and British Armies have continued to develop their skills at using dogs for this purpose with great success. No doubt other armed forces across the globe have done the same.
Since the end of World War II, the olfactory senses of dogs have been increasingly used to detect other things and by 1971 dogs were being used to find drugs such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine. Since then the range has expanded to include other drugs.
The use of sniffer dogs in detecting drug trafficking, arms smuggling and terrorist activity is being increasingly challenged in courts, frequently on the basis of infringement of human rights. This may be an indication of the fear of such an aid to detection felt by the criminal fraternity. Or maybe they feel that to be free to spread death and human misery is a basic human right!
In the USA the Department of Agriculture found another use for the canine nose. They found that dogs could be trained to expose the conveyance of agricultural products carrying pests and diseases across the borders into the US.
Pest control is another area where dogs can be of great assistance. Remember the bed-bug dogs? They can also detect other pest which can cause problems such as termites and wood worm. In these situations dogs can save a great deal of time and therefore money.
Trained dogs can also be a great help in medical situations too. They can detect health problems associated with diabetes, cancers, migraines and even heart attacks before they actually happen. The presence of allergens and other substances which can cause serious problems to some individuals can be sniffed out by specially trained canine assistants. Toxic moulds and peanuts are two of the commonest examples.
Peanut dust in particular can easily contaminate foods produced in factories and packing plants. Levels of contamination too minute for humans to detect can be sufficient to be life threatening to a nut allergy sufferer. A trained sniffer dog can detect it though and potentially save human life.
Article provided provided by freelance copywriter uk, Pete Hopper of Write For You (write4you.org.uk)
Monday, March 25. 2013
Assistance Dogs (Part 2)
Maybe this piece should be preceded by a Health Warning. Not your health you understand but that of your dog, particularly his mental health. It would be best not to let your dog see you reading this as it could lead to his feeling inadequate and that would be most unfair. Just as we cannot expect every human being to be a highly trained mountain rescue or lifeboat paramedic, we can’t expect every dog to be a highly trained assistance dog. Your dog already has a job, as your friend and companion, and he does it very well. That’s all you ask of him, or her of course.
When we started looking into the subject of assistance dogs we started with a brief account of the assistance dog that is best known to most people, the guide dog, sometimes known as "the seeing eye dog". Mention "Assistance Dogs," to the majority of folk and they will immediately think of Guide Dogs for the Blind. That’s not unreasonable, guide dogs were the first dogs to be used to assist humans with problems and they still have the highest profile in the Assistance Dog world.
However, following on from the success of guide dogs, a combination of human ingenuity and canine versatility has resulted in dogs of various breeds being trained to play an amazing variety of roles to assist people with all kinds of disabilities to live as near normal a life as possible. You get some idea of this variety when you look at Assistance Dogs UK. That is a coalition of assistance dog charities. There are six of them supporting different assistance roles for dogs. They are:
Guide Dogs , the sighted companions for blind people
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, they react to sounds and alert their deaf friends
Dogs for the Disabled, who answer the door, fetch and carry, pick up dropped objects and many other tasks
Canine Partners, Help for disabled people again, dogs can unload washing machines, help with getting dressed, press buttons and switches.
Support Dogs, medical support dogs alert humans to oncoming seizures in cases of epilepsy, diabetes, etc. among other tasks.
* Dog A.I.D, Dog Assistance In Disability, who train disabled people to use assistance dogs and even to train pet dogs they already have to be support dogs.
When you consider that a dog’s paw has no fingers with opposable thumbs like a human hand, it really is amazing that a dog can operate switches, open and close doors to rooms, cupboards etc. Then consider the uncanny ability to detect an incipient hypo in a person with diabetes and warn the person before he or she is even aware of it or detect an epileptic seizure before it happens and again warn the sufferer and you have a creature with seemingly supernatural powers. Yet it is just a humble dog! How little do most of us humans really understand?
Of course the people who do really know about these things, the trainers of both dogs and people and the breeders, of dogs that is, will tell you it is all a matter of careful training having selected the right breed for the task and no doubt they are right. But most dogs do seem to have a natural, instinctive, desire to please and surely that must have something to do with it.
What this does tell you is that like so many worthwhile services, all assistance dog training and provision is done by charities with little or no Government support. Each of the organisations we’ve mentioned is a registered charity dependent for funding on public support. Makes you think doesn’t it?
Content provided by Pete Hopper, Freelance content writer of Write For You.
When we started looking into the subject of assistance dogs we started with a brief account of the assistance dog that is best known to most people, the guide dog, sometimes known as "the seeing eye dog". Mention "Assistance Dogs," to the majority of folk and they will immediately think of Guide Dogs for the Blind. That’s not unreasonable, guide dogs were the first dogs to be used to assist humans with problems and they still have the highest profile in the Assistance Dog world.
However, following on from the success of guide dogs, a combination of human ingenuity and canine versatility has resulted in dogs of various breeds being trained to play an amazing variety of roles to assist people with all kinds of disabilities to live as near normal a life as possible. You get some idea of this variety when you look at Assistance Dogs UK. That is a coalition of assistance dog charities. There are six of them supporting different assistance roles for dogs. They are:
Guide Dogs , the sighted companions for blind people
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, they react to sounds and alert their deaf friends
Dogs for the Disabled, who answer the door, fetch and carry, pick up dropped objects and many other tasks
Canine Partners, Help for disabled people again, dogs can unload washing machines, help with getting dressed, press buttons and switches.
Support Dogs, medical support dogs alert humans to oncoming seizures in cases of epilepsy, diabetes, etc. among other tasks.
* Dog A.I.D, Dog Assistance In Disability, who train disabled people to use assistance dogs and even to train pet dogs they already have to be support dogs.
When you consider that a dog’s paw has no fingers with opposable thumbs like a human hand, it really is amazing that a dog can operate switches, open and close doors to rooms, cupboards etc. Then consider the uncanny ability to detect an incipient hypo in a person with diabetes and warn the person before he or she is even aware of it or detect an epileptic seizure before it happens and again warn the sufferer and you have a creature with seemingly supernatural powers. Yet it is just a humble dog! How little do most of us humans really understand?
Of course the people who do really know about these things, the trainers of both dogs and people and the breeders, of dogs that is, will tell you it is all a matter of careful training having selected the right breed for the task and no doubt they are right. But most dogs do seem to have a natural, instinctive, desire to please and surely that must have something to do with it.
What this does tell you is that like so many worthwhile services, all assistance dog training and provision is done by charities with little or no Government support. Each of the organisations we’ve mentioned is a registered charity dependent for funding on public support. Makes you think doesn’t it?
Content provided by Pete Hopper, Freelance content writer of Write For You.
Friday, November 16. 2012
Assistance Dogs ( Part 1)
Guide Dogs
We call ourselves “dog owners,” but should we really think of ourselves as “owners”? Can you really own a living creature? Should it perhaps be “dog carers”? Maybe that’s a discussion for some other time. Whatever term we use, we are in many ways our dogs’ carers. We think of them as pets, extensions to our human families, but of course not all dogs are simply pets. Many work for their human companions and indeed the close relationship between mankind and dogs almost certainly started that way.
A relatively recent development in the working relationship between dogs and their human carers makes caring very much a two-way traffic. The dog becomes a carer for its carer! The first example of this relationship to be developed was the well known Guide Dog for a blind person. Having described this as recent development we should view that as relative to the long history of the human/dog relationship, which probably goes back thousands of years, because it is known that guide dogs were being used at least as long ago as the middle of the 16th Century.
The first formal training schools for guide dogs were set up during World War I in Germany to help soldiers returning from the front having been blinded in action. The United States followed the German example in the early1920s in Minnesota where John Sinykin had begun training guide dogs. He later founded Master-Eye Kennels and is credited with being the first trainer of guide dogs for the blind in America. In 1929 The Seeing Eye was founded in Nashville, Tennessee. One of its founders was a resident of Nashville, Morris Frank, who is claimed to be America’s first guide dog owner. Mr Frank had trained in Switzerland in 1928 with his German Shepherd, Buddy.
In Britain, the first trained guide dogs were handed over to three veterans of World War I who had lost their sight as a result of combat wounds on 6th October 1931. The dogs were Judy, Meta and Folly. The Guide Dogs for the Blind association was subsequently founded and began its work in 1934. The association’s first permanent trainer was a former Russian military officer, Captain Nikolai Liakhoff who had come to Britain in 1933.
Since then the association has gone from strength to strength and is now the acknowledged source of trained guide dogs and handlers in Great Britain. It is also recognised as a worldwide centre of excellence in guide dog training.
Working as a guide dog is no longer the exclusive province of one breed. The German Shepherd held the monopoly for many years and continues to give sterling service in the role. Today they are joined by Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Dobermans, Rottweilers and other large breeds. For work as guide dogs the larger breeds are usually chosen because their height at the shoulder relates well to the harness length and to the height of a person.
Temperament is important too, of course, and many smaller breeds are chosen for other types of personal assistance work, of which more another time. This has been just a quick look at Guide Dogs and for anyone wishing to investigate the subject in greater depth there is a wealth of information to be found on the Internet. This is just a reminder that a dog can be much more than a pet!
Content provided by Pete Hopper, of Write For You, Freelance Copywriter UK.
We call ourselves “dog owners,” but should we really think of ourselves as “owners”? Can you really own a living creature? Should it perhaps be “dog carers”? Maybe that’s a discussion for some other time. Whatever term we use, we are in many ways our dogs’ carers. We think of them as pets, extensions to our human families, but of course not all dogs are simply pets. Many work for their human companions and indeed the close relationship between mankind and dogs almost certainly started that way.
A relatively recent development in the working relationship between dogs and their human carers makes caring very much a two-way traffic. The dog becomes a carer for its carer! The first example of this relationship to be developed was the well known Guide Dog for a blind person. Having described this as recent development we should view that as relative to the long history of the human/dog relationship, which probably goes back thousands of years, because it is known that guide dogs were being used at least as long ago as the middle of the 16th Century.
The first formal training schools for guide dogs were set up during World War I in Germany to help soldiers returning from the front having been blinded in action. The United States followed the German example in the early1920s in Minnesota where John Sinykin had begun training guide dogs. He later founded Master-Eye Kennels and is credited with being the first trainer of guide dogs for the blind in America. In 1929 The Seeing Eye was founded in Nashville, Tennessee. One of its founders was a resident of Nashville, Morris Frank, who is claimed to be America’s first guide dog owner. Mr Frank had trained in Switzerland in 1928 with his German Shepherd, Buddy.
In Britain, the first trained guide dogs were handed over to three veterans of World War I who had lost their sight as a result of combat wounds on 6th October 1931. The dogs were Judy, Meta and Folly. The Guide Dogs for the Blind association was subsequently founded and began its work in 1934. The association’s first permanent trainer was a former Russian military officer, Captain Nikolai Liakhoff who had come to Britain in 1933.
Since then the association has gone from strength to strength and is now the acknowledged source of trained guide dogs and handlers in Great Britain. It is also recognised as a worldwide centre of excellence in guide dog training.
Working as a guide dog is no longer the exclusive province of one breed. The German Shepherd held the monopoly for many years and continues to give sterling service in the role. Today they are joined by Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Dobermans, Rottweilers and other large breeds. For work as guide dogs the larger breeds are usually chosen because their height at the shoulder relates well to the harness length and to the height of a person.
Temperament is important too, of course, and many smaller breeds are chosen for other types of personal assistance work, of which more another time. This has been just a quick look at Guide Dogs and for anyone wishing to investigate the subject in greater depth there is a wealth of information to be found on the Internet. This is just a reminder that a dog can be much more than a pet!
Content provided by Pete Hopper, of Write For You, Freelance Copywriter UK.
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