Dog News

Interesting article about feral dog behavior in Moscow:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/628a8500-ff1c-11de-a677-00144feab49a.html. Pretty smart animals, these Russian dogs. They seem to be the chess players that their Rushkie human counterparts are.

I do know one thing from observing a host of dogs, particularly my own pet dogs through the years; they are master opportunists when it comes to food. My current ugly dog (pictured here on high alert) has expertly calculated any and all potential food opportunities as to time, place, particular human, and food source in question. Example; she understands that certain bowls, plates, etc. tend to mean certain foods that she does and does not like and will act accordingly as does the time of day and person involved. She knows that I'm in a hurry when I stop by at lunch time to grab something and will not bother to interrupt her midday break from security detail. At dinner, she knows who is more likely to "drop" something and is on the spot for rapid response. The greatest moments in her life are the rare occasions when she's gifted a bone and will not deviate attention away from it until she's communed and savored it for three or four hours--it's a big, big deal with her. Maybe that's one of the reasons people like dogs--they are immediately appreciative of food and the dining experience. Cats, they don't really give a lot of feedback in that regard. They will steal your breath, though.