Looking for dog photos...when somehow I landed at the Scientific Visualization Studio, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center showcase for its Land Satellite photos. I haven't even begun to explore Samizdata.net's blogs and links: a gazillion, it seems... and over the weekend, The Guardian UK Revealed: the dog poo in Britain's dirty, smelly streets "A new survey paints a bleak picture of Britain's public spaces as smelly, litter-strewn eyesores covered in dog faeces, gum and broken glass, and playgrounds blighted by dog faeces and broken glass..." [BBC UK] Newstoday's dog got injured and needs some cash for surgery on his knee.  Sales of the bowlingual dog interpreter are going through the woof: for the doggy language impaired owner, the translator promises to tell you whether your dog is bored or anxious... Bowlingual is supposedly compatible with more than 50 dog species, from Chihuahuas to German shepherds...

To alpha dog or not to alpha dog?  If you love your dog, you probably think you understand its motivations and how to relate to it  and that you and your dog  enjoy a happy co-existence together. What if everything you learned and thought about dog training was just plain wrong... What if your dog thinks it's your parent and not vice versa? What if your dog actually thinks it's the head of the household and you are its subordinate? 

Hmmm... impossible... well, some dog trainers are making waves by suggesting that we return to the notion of pack animals as our guide and change our behavior so that dogs clearly know their place. The Dog Listener is not a training book, per se, but rather Jan Fennell's philosophy about dogs and how to train them. According to Fennell, if you want your dog to behave, don't cater to it, let it cater to you. According to Brian Micklethwait, by ignoring a dog, you put yourself at the head of the alpha dog pack and thus, become the master of it: "When I arrived at the D&D household for the first time, I did exactly as Denis instructed: ignore them, go where you're going, don't go towards them, don't make eye contact, don't pat them, don't smack them on the body, don't, don't, don't - and I soon had the dogs behaving as if I was the boss..."  Naturally, Fennell has detractors, who say the 'pack animal' thing is way overdone and it may or may not be a happy accident that a dog is more obedient... [Samizdata.net]

Personally, I'd rather be spontaneously affectionate with our dog and ignore all such rules of 'alpha dog' behavior. In his case, that was what he needed, having been a withdrawn and undemonstrative dog to begin with. But when he tugs at the leash (a sure sign of alpha dog behavior), I ignore him and quietly let him obey me and he does ... he just gives up and comes along with gratitude...

Rabies kills dog bite victim...  IA A Cedar Rapids man has died of rabies, after being admitted to a local hospital after suffering an illness for three days. "A news conference that Buckley had been bitten by dogs at least twice. In one case … about two weeks ago … the dog also bit another person, was euthanized and tested negative for rabies, he said. In another case, the dog was still alive, but had passed the time period deemed necessary for quarantine and was found to be healthy."  Some victims are unaware of a rabid bat's bite, if it occurs at night while the victim is asleep. Rabies kills Cedar Rapids man [Cedar Rapids Gazette]

Rabies is fatal if not treated. Anyone coming into contact with a rabies victim's saliva (even sharing a cigarette) should receive treatment: a series of shots less painful than tetanus. From the Center for Disease Control: "Early symptoms may include fever and headache. As the disease progresses, symptoms may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation, difficulty swallowing and fear of water. Rabies is most often transmitted through the bite of rabid animal, primarily wildlife and bats. Human cases of rabies are extremely rare in the United States and usually occur in people who are unaware of their exposure." [Center for Disease Control]

Insurers increase  profits with ban on more dog breeds... Braunstein: Insurers weigh risk of dog breeds It's no surprise that insurance companies seek to minimize losses by determining risk and relying on statistics to do this. Perhaps that is why the list of dog breed bans by insurance companies is expanding. "Some dogs on Arabella's banned  list were no surprise: Dobermans, pit bulls, Rottweilers, wolf hybrids. But also excluded were German shepherds, huskies, Akitas, Dalmatians and Great Danes to name a few...." [MetroWest Daily News] (All dogs are not alike even within dog breeds. Quick fix attitudes don't help to stem the escalation of dog bites and maulings.)

Related: Toddler savaged by family dog (a cross-breed labrador); Girl, 5, bitten by rottweiler, Sisters recovering after attack by family dog; Dogs land Princess Anne in hot water; Dog bite lawsuit loses its teeth

A good Salon article, but the title doesn't fit the article... My past life as a dog recounts the life of one Buddhist nun, Tenzin Palm, a western woman who sought enlightenment and meditated alone for 12 years in a cave in Tibet. Never is a dog mentioned in the article, nor is the reference to a dog explained... At any rate, she was born a woman, a status perhaps a little above a dog, in the culture of many Eastern societies. Perhaps Tenzin Palm revealed to the Salon author that she thought she led a past life as a dog... all I know is that when an article's title misleads the reader, it's a disappointment and a lesson of what not to do ... the lesson of the article: wealth, status, power, and even relationships cannot create true happiness... and you don't have to live on a mountain for 12 years to find yourself... [salon.com]