I have always thought, that I know my four-legged fellows to their last hair, but there’s always something that manages to surprise me and there’s always a lot to learn from them. Some of the myths are so deep-rooted, that one doesn’t even fall upon the idea to think about their veracity. So, for example, since I was little, I have always heard that dogs see in black and white, or that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But what’s the reality?
I have recently read a very nice article which made it a point to fight against the most deep-rooted myths about dogs which circulate among people. And I thought it would be a pity not to share some of these with you. From these, I’ve chosen five of the most interesting statements about dogs.
Black and white sight
Well this belong to one of the most notorious dog rumours. Veterinary doctor MVDr. Jan Šíma, comments on dog sight: “Dog makes out a different colour spectrum than human. They see in colour, but their sight is only their third most important sense.” Contrary to people, dogs have only two eye cones. Their sight is dichromatic, same as in colour blind people. I believe, that this has led to the confusion that dogs actually don’t recognize any colours, instead of them not seeing only some. In reality, they perceive something as two colour “groups” and within these, they don’t distinguish individual colours and their shades. One is labelled as “yellow”, in which falls, for example, even orange, red or green, and the other one as “blue”. In comparison to humans and other primates with three cones, they are much better at recognizing outlines.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks
This folk saying is driving at, that sometimes we, people, like to hide behind excuses and established habits and even the ignorance instead of an effort to try to do something differently. And this can be related also to the care and education of our pet. With my first dog, where I didn’t have any experience, teaching some commands didn’t seem important to me, and only in time, I’ve found out, how helpful they could be. So we got back to training and I was surprised, how easy it went, especially when rewarding with treats. It is slightly more complicated to routine bad habits such as begging at meals. But with a bit of patience, not even this is an issue. (For this issue, I suggest the training video by Brit called “Begging”). Dogs don’t like to be bored and they will welcome distraction in form of learning at any age.
Puppies at least once in a lifetime
I hear this in conversations with other dog owners very often. I have dog girls at home (and I’ve always had), that’s the reason why I’m interested in what other owners think about this. It seems that the opinion that the bitch should have puppies at least once in her lifetime, is still taken as an infallible truth. When I ask about the reason, the person in question isn’t able to answer me saying, that it is simply a fact, or they claim that i tis good for the bitch’s health. Allegedly, it lowers the risk of inflammation of the mammary glands, cancer of uterus, false gravidity and the like. However, this myth has been strictly denied by the veterinarians (even though also not in majority). On the contrary, first labour of little dogs usually carries complications with it. As a prevention of these disease, neutralisation is usually recommended today, ideally after first heat, the risk will allegedly decrease significantly.
Dog fleas don’t get on humans
You are all for sure going to remember the classic Czech film Na samotě u lesa (Secluded, Near Woods) and mister Komárek with the sentence “Those are dog fleas, they don’t get on humans.” But he wasn’t completely right. Did you know, for example, that most cases of dog fleas are caused by cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis)? Since dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis) is relatively rare. Well, and the humans are stricken as well. Both by the more common cat flea and by the rarer dog flea. Mister Komárek managed to confuse many people. Fortunately for us, fleas prefer hair and they climb over to humans only in the case that the animal is flea-bitten to a high degree. However, if they can choose, a dog or a cat always wins.
Nose of a healthy dog should be cold and wet
I found out, that the roots of this myth go all the way to the Biblical story about the flood of the world. When Noah had a hole in the ship, it was exactly a dog, who blocked it with their nose and the arch didn’t sink. As a symbol of this help, God has given a wet and cold snout to the dog. When hunters would choose their dogs in the past, they usually tested them, whether their snouts are wet, so that they could be sure that they made a good deal. I have to admit, that I had been giving a lot of credit to this myth and whenever my dog had a warm snout, I would always worry that something was wrong with them. Only later did I found out, that this doesn’t need to be necessarily true and that the dog’s snout simply reacts to its environment according to its temperature and humidity. And if you really suspect a temperature, you’d better take his temperature using a regular thermometer put inside his anus or go see a veterinarian.
There’s a whole bunch of myths related to health and care for dogs and it would be enough for a thin book at the least. Which are the ones you encounter most often? And have you ever believed a dog rumour?
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