Gunther, the material dog ... living in a material world Meet Gunther IV, a pampered German Shepherd who has the best of all worlds. He lives with a family of humans specially selected:

'in order to raise the quality of a dog's life is for the dog to live without a specific "owner." Rather, the animal should live together with young euphoric people. These youngsters should be as dynamic, joyful and clever as possible. The experts contend that the company of young, joyful and sexually very active people operates to increase the drive, mood, alertness and other cerebral processes of the dog .' [ Gunther Dog via me3dia.com]

Dogs sense danger in the 'weirdest place on earth' UT Is a remote ranch in northern Utah haunted by 'skinwalkers' , UFO, and aliens?... Nobody knows, but plenty of strange events have taken place over the years. 'UFOs, balls of light, cattle mutilations, animal disappearances'... were tolerated, but then strange dreams, nightmares and apparitions ruined a family's farm life. 'UFOs, Sasquatch, cattle mutilations, psychic manifestations, creatures that aren't found in any zoos or textbooks, poltergeist events. You name it, residents here have seen it.' Dogs sense the danger and hide in their dog houses... [Las Vegas Mercury]

Man's best friend more likely to bite MD Mankind may have domesticated dogs, but he hasn't tamed man's best friend nearly as well. Last year the number of licensed dogs increased by only 2% but dog bites increased by a whopping 40%. 'Of the almost 5 million bites each year, about 1 million need medical attention and 12 end in death... Of the  55 million licensed dogs in the U.S., a minority account for dog bites, but the rise in ownership of potentially dangerous dogs may affect dog bite's statistical bottom line... [WBAL-TV MD]

Dog bite statistics can't be trusted because not all dog bites are recorded and many dog bite incidents are not broken down by breed. Most dogs are mutts. What we do know is that if a dog is trained for aggression or abused or neglected, it may dangerous. Neutered dogs are less likely to bite. Humane Society US statistics reflect that dogs that have not been spayed or neutered are up to three times more likely to be involved in a biting incident than neutered or spayed dogs. Dogs that haven't been properly socialized, receive little attention or handling, or are left tied up for long periods of time frequently turn into biters. Related: Dog Bite Law - Dog Bite Statistics, Dog bite Prevention

Home alone for month: dog survives, home destroyed NZ 'A stray dog has survived being locked in an empty Taupo holiday home for a month - but the house has not been so lucky.'  The dog survived by turning on a water tap for drinking water (dogs can die from dehydration in just four days); the house was subsequently flooded and much of it destroyed... [New Zealand News]

Chewing... not choking... on the rawhide Every Christmas, some well meaning dog lover somewhere will give a dog its last present ever. That gift, given with heartfelt love, will become the dog's last memory, its last experience, its last moment on earth... The rawhide dog chew, the kind tied in a bow, may be an appealing treat for your dog, but a dog left unsupervised with a rawhide treat may eventually fall victim to the chew's ability to choke and kill.

I learned this from bitter experience. I used to give our dog rawhide chews which he delighted in devouring. He could spend hours chewing them to a nice gooey consistency and then swallowing them. One fateful day, I heard him choking, gasping and turning blue. I had to reach down his throat and pull a very long chew, which had made it down his throat but was too long to be swallowed. Had I not been there, my dog would have died a gruesome, undeserved death... don't let this happen to you. If you give your dog any kind of chew, be there to supervise... just in case the unthinkable happens. Related: Should your dog get that bone,  Dog treat dangers: salmonella threat prompts health warning [The Marion Star]

Dog-human play shaped dogs' genes   ' 'We have created the dog in our own image,' said developmental geneticist Jasper Rine at the University of California at Berkeley.'According to Harvard University anthropologist Brian Hare, ' dogs are tailored to fit the human mind, like a glove to the hand.' Further, his study concluded the dog's uncanny 'social skills does not come from training or experience, but from genes shaped by human contact,' and passed on to 'every contemporary canine.' The Harvard study also concluded: all dogs descended from just 5 female wolves in East Asia. Moreover, the dog species originated more recently than thought: 15,000 years ago and not 100,000 years ago... [Hark the Herald] (The message to mankind: don't like your dog?... You have only  yourself to blame.)

Psychic Dogs: scientists say dogs can practically read your mind Scientists 'suggest that dogs may be able to think about the thoughts of others, which thus far only humans and possibly some non-human primates are known to do,' says the journal Science, describing the Harvard project and two other canine studies published today...' Another study, conducted at the University of California,  concludes  that domesticated dogs arrived in America with ancient humans at least 12,000 years ago. [National Post] (Most trainers agree that dogs are better at reading people than vice versa.)

Dog News suspected dogs have supernormal senses all along and in August asked the question:  'We know that dogs have supernormal hearing. But is it also possible that dogs can sense brain waves? Just what are the limits of a dog's senses; has science seriously investigated the outer limits of a dog's ability to perceive its environment? Several articles published recently illustrate the supernormal abilities of dogs to predict immediate events, via their supernormal senses:' more 

Related: 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.

Princess and her dog ordered to see dog shrink  UK As part of the judgment in Princess Anne's guilty verdict (allowing her dog to bite a child), magistrates have ordered Dotty, the princess's bull terrier,  to get retraining by a dog psychiatrist. The dog will receive training planned by Dr Roger Mugford, the Queen's official dog trainer.  As for the princess, 'she is going to have to be trained in skills to deal with the dogs and to recognise what behaviour needs close attention.'  [icWales]