Welcome to the Week’s Review of Canine Social Media
Welcome to this Special Feature on the DoggieU K9 Blog for an update on this week’s dog-related social media from around the world. There are so many stories. Here we will share some of the best stories this week.
Enjoy & share them.
Honoring Our Companions-In-Chief and Unveiling Statues of Three Presidential Dogs At Our Nation’s Capital
In honor of Presidents Day 2022, we are celebrating a different breed of POTUS. This year, life-size statues of 3 famous presidential dogs were unveiled at the Lincoln Memorial located at the National Mall, bringing attention to the enormous impact dogs have had in our Nation’s history. The Pups of the United States monuments will showcase beloved Companions-in-Chief, including Fido, Pushinka and Bo, owned by Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama respectively.
The Premium Dog Food Brand Jinx sponsored the statues and during the dedication ceremony on February 21st, the company co-founder said, “”Over the past couple of years, we’ve realized how much we depend on our pets for emotional support. We all turn to our dogs to get through tough days and we thought if that was true for us, imagine the pressure of being the President of the United States. That’s why this Presidents Day, we put politics aside to celebrate our Companions-in-Chief, the dogs that have been there for some of our nation’s greatest leaders, ready and waiting for belly rubs and daily walks.”
- Fido, Abraham Lincoln’s Dog
Fido was a beloved, sensitive and unnerved pup. When Lincoln won the Presidency, his popularity increased and Fido was often met with celebratory sounds, and an increase of people and foot traffic. These sounds and new routines frightened Fido so much that Lincoln and his wife Mary left Fido at home as they thought life in Washington would be too difficult for him. - Pushinka, Jackie O’s Dog
Over JFK’s term, their beloved canine pack grew from just one dog to nine as the family moved into the White House in 1961. Pushinka, was a gift sent to daughter Caroline by the Soviet Premier and was the daughter of Strelka, the first dog sent into space by the Russians (August of 1960). - Bo, Barack Obama’s Dog
Promised as a gift to Obama’s daughters, Malia and Sasha, if he won the Presidency. In 2008, the first photo of Bo went viral on social media and he quickly became the object of national fascination. He eventually became so popular that he was the subject of four books, made into a plush toy sold on the White House online gift shop, and had an official schedule.
Americans call for new events that include dogs at Winter Olympics
Two in five Americans think dogs deserve a shot at gold during the Winter Olympics, too.
-
According to a recent survey of 1,000 participants, 37 percent of whom think that dog sledding should be an event at the next Winter Olympic Games. While dog sled races
were previously featured as a “demonstration event” at Lake Placid, New York in 1932 and Lillehammer, Norway in 1994, it has never achieved the status of an official Olympic sport. -
It is not surprising that respondents from the Northeast and Midwestern parts of the United States were much keener on the winter games than their Southern and Western counterparts.
-
Unfortunately, it seems that fewer people have an interest in the Winter Olympics compared to the Summer Olympics – which were recently held in Tokyo, Japan after a year-long delay. Only one in three people (34%) say they cared about both summer and winter sports in equal measure, but over twice as many people (68%) described the Summer Games as “interesting” compared to the Winter Games (36%). TV ratings are similar to these survey results.
- Perhaps if we add dogs to the Winter games, there might be greater interest and greater participation. Canines can be added to more than just sledding. What about Skijoring? About a month ago, this blog did a post on skijoring. [Link] The AKC describes that skijoring is derived from the Norwegian word for “ski driving.” It’s cross-country skiing with a dog. This sport generally involves one to two dogs. There are probably several other sports that can include dogs or teams of dogs in Winter Olympic sports. [Link]
DU Reader Poll: Tell us what you think!
Many Dogs Understand Many More Words than We Think
Yes, Your Dog Can Understand What You’re Saying — to a Point
Researchers in Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University, came up with some interesting figures on dogs ability to recognize words from a survey of owners. They developed a list of 172 words organized in different categories (such as, toys, food, commands, outdoor places) and asked an online sample of 165 owners of family and professional dogs to select the words that dogs responded to consistently.
- They found that, on average, service dogs respond to about 120 words, whereas family pets respond to about 80 words, ranging between 15 to 215 words across all dogs. They also found that certain breed groups, such as herding dogs like border collies and toy dogs like chihuahuas, respond to more words and phrases than other breed types like
terriers, retrievers and mixed breeds. -
There is a practical value to studying dogs and language. It is very expensive to train puppies for service work and many do not make the final cut. However, if early word-based responding abilities predict later behavioral and cognitive abilities, such a measure could become an early and simple tool to help predict which dogs are likely to become good service animals.
-
Of course, dogs generally responding to words as signals, not as components of sentences. What dogs are really good at is picking up on and responding to human emotions. Dogs have a remarkable ability to read the facial expressions and body cues of human beings.
-
Often hand signals combined with verbal commands help the dog grasp the concept of what they are being asked to do.
[Link]
A New Video Game Combining Dogs and Photography
-
Pupperazzi has arrived on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC
-
Pupperazzi is a first-person photography title set in a world overrun by dogs. Players are tasked with traversing a handful of different locations as a walking camera, completing objectives implemented throughout each level in order to progress.
-
Objectives involve photographing different dogs in different ways, making use of the game’s various unlockable lenses and film, and encouraging player exploration. Unlike other photography games, the game isn’t on-rails, instead giving players the opportunity to explore each level at their own pace. As well as the core level completion, players can snap each and every dog type to complete their Puppypedia, as well as conditional images, such as Dog Wearing Hat, or Sleeping Dog. Players must also grow their following on the in-game social media platform, dogNET, by sharing their best snaps for the in-game world to enjoy. There are some limits to the gameplay though, with only a set number of photographs uploadable per day so as to avoid “spamming” followers.
-
You’ll discover and snap a bunch of breeds including Shibas, Labs, Pugs, Terriers and more. You’ll be able to dress them up in various costumes, play fetch with them, chase them with vacuum cleaners and, of course, pet the good boys and girls.
-
Pupperazzi is an easy-to-grasp and often hilarious first-person adventure featuring some of the most lively pups in gaming.
- [Link] [Video]