Information Library > Rescue Interest Articles > Human Behaviour

How Much Is That Dog Dress in the Window?

This Christmas, America's pets will be tearing open $5 billion worth of presents, making them luxury consumers in their own right.   Read more...

Dog lovers spend £36M on pets' birthdays

British dog lovers spend more than £36 million a year to pamper their pooches on their birthdays, according to new research. One-in-10 owners put celebrating their dog's birthday on a par with celebrating their child's - and 38 per cent say that they love their dog more than some of their relatives.   Read more...

Working like a dog

New York: Putting man's best friend in the office could make him work like a horse, according to a recent survey. The majority of dog owners, near two-thirds, said they would spend more time in the office if their pet was sleeping under the desk.   Read more...

Pet dumpers' litany of lame excuses

Rescuers - you know them by the plastic airline crates in their hatchbacks, and the Milk-Bones in their glove compartments - are in the non-profit business of cleaning up the messes people make with the sentient beings they've brought into their lives. With big hearts and tiny budgets, they grit their teeth as clueless, oftentimes obnoxious owners hand over the leash - or cage, or tank.   Read more...

UAM: Socialisation, training and pet owner competencies

The largest cause of death of puppies under one year of age is said to be euthanasia due to behavioural problems. Indeed, most dogs do not live to their full age potential with the average age of dogs in Australia estimated to be only 3.5 years. In fact, behaviour problems are now considered to be the number one reason for euthanasia in pets, regardless of age.   Read more...

US - hoarding of animals research consortium

Animal hoarding is an important, misunderstood, and under-recognized community problem that affects both human and animal welfare.   Read more...

Pooch pedometers help humans pound pavement

Encouraging dog owners to exercise their pets more could be a way to make people healthier as well, a researcher believes. In an experiment at the Charlottetown school, Dr. Cathy Chan has been fitting overweight dogs with pedometers.    Read more...

Desperate dogs

Like most other vocations, dog behaviour work has its ups and downs. Some cases are very rewarding with really positive results. Then others can be very upsetting. For example, when a dog is suffering emotionally the owner is unwilling or unable to do anything to help the animal.    Read more...

Bad excuses abound for ditching pet

Rescuers are in the non-profit business of cleaning up the messes people make with the sentient beings they’ve brought into their lives. With big hearts and tiny budgets, they grit their teeth as clueless, oftentimes obnoxious owners hand over the leash – or cage, or tank.   Read more...

Pets die as owners downsize

Thousands of cats and dogs are killed in Queensland pounds and shelters each year as distraught pet owners move into retirement communities and rental units.   Read more...

Giving every dog its day

It's the thought of their fear that troubles him most. Homeless dogs are Randy Grim's passion. Whether caged in shelters or running wild on the street, the dogs consume most of his waking hours. At night, he says, he often can't sleep because, their faces haunt me. They're afraid almost all the time, Mr. Grim says.   Read more...

Heads they win, tails they win

These days our pampered pooches just can't lose since their rank in the human 'pack' has never been higher. Many pet owners - scratch that - pet guardians, see their pets, and dogs in particular, as surrogate children.   Read more...

Students lost without furry friends

Some Dickinson students cannot handle the separation from their family pets and admit to adopting substitute companions against college policy while at school.   Read more...

It's a dog's life in Japan

According to pet food manufacturers, nearly one out of every two pet pooches living in Japan is over 7 years old--a "senior citizen" in dog years. With the birthrate dropping in the human world, pets have less competition for doting extravagance.    Read more...