Communication between Dogs- Interrelationships

Communication between Dogs- Interrelationships

Exact methods of communication between dogs have long since been a mystery. For example: properly socialized dogs meeting for the first time can soundlessly evaluate each other in a short time. They can do this through an exchange of glances which will also decide if they will be friends or enemies. Dogs do this without any sophistiated verbal language. Dogs use various body parts to communicate with each other: various postures, and facial expressions. In most cases facial expressions and body language complement the impact of vocals (i.e. barks and growls). Odor also plays a signifiicant part in dogs' recogniton and interaction.

Body Language.

Dogs communicate Dominance by:

Humping.
Looming Over.
Urinating by lifting leg.
Lifting Tail.
Resting head on another dog's back.
Placing paws on another's back

Dogs communicate Deferrence and Submission by:
Urinating by Squatting.
Rolling Over
Tilting (or turning away) neck/head.
Hanging head.
Tucking in tail

Other gestures inlude:

Caution: Wagging tail (slowly) in horizontal motion.
Fear: Tail is held low or tuked
Content: Tail is relaxed (and stationary).
Excitement: Randomly wagging tail .
Threat: Tensing muscles and raising hackles
Invitation to play: Head low with elevated rump.

Facial Expressions.
Dogs exhibit different kinds of facial expressions. These expressions can be understood by other dogs of thesame and different species. To intimidate another, a dog would stare with it's eyes wide open, ears pointing forward, and teeth bared. A dog in a relaxed mood will have its eyes in a more relaxed mood ears relaxed (flopped), having an expression somewhat like a smile: mouth open, lips slightly back, and tongue hanging flabbily from the side of the mouth. In an anxious state, the dog would glance away and its ears may fall to the side of the head or may be flopped. While clenching its teeth, the dog's lips will be rigidly drawn back. Its tongue may or may not be exposed (depending on if it is lip-liking). If afraid , a dog would either stare forward or away with widely dilated pupils and ears pressed (back close to the head). The dog may also pant or breath hard (mouth may be slightly open or tightly closed); meanwhile, the sinews show in the cheeks through tensing of its jaws. They communicate their moods and intentions through combinations of these. Dogs' expressions may often appear undecided. It may be a mixture of completely different expressions.

Odor.

Odor communiation between dogs is fairly ambiguous. Dogs have an exquisitely powerful sense of smell. There is a likelihood that they learn about other dogs from smell. This may acount for their random sniffing habit. It is unclear what sort of information passes between dogs via this medium. It is well known however, that intact male dogs typically smell "male” (because of male sex pheromones) and that neutered males do not have this characteristic smell. The neutering process involves changing the olfactory signals the dog emits and therefore other dog's perception of it. It is possible that the "non-male" smell of neutered dogs may be thesame as that of the interval between heat periods (diestrus) or that of a neutered female dog. Odor causes differences in interactions between dogs. For example a meeting between an intact and a neutral male may not be confrontational because the intat dog does not pereive a rival- he may believe the nutered dog is female!

Dog Pattern

BRISKET: The Chest of the dog

BACK: The mass body seperating the loin from the withers.

LOIN: :Located on both sides of the backbone; the loin is situated between the ribs and hips.

HIPS: Joint- at the uppermost part of the hind leg

WITHERS: Located behind the neck, the top of the shoulders

CARPALS: The wrist and all bones of the pastern joint.

DEWCLAW: The fifth claw, very small and placed above the others.

FLEWS: Part of the upper lip (which hangs).

THIGH: The upper part of the hindlegs, below the hip.

FOREFOOT: Dog's front feet

HINDFOOT: Dog's back feet

PASTERN: Located at the topmost part of the hind legs

STIFLE: The Dog's knee- located (as that of most mammals), above the ankle, on the hind leg

HOCK: Totality of bones that make up the dogs ankle and heel (behind the ankle).

NOSE: Olfactory- the sense of smell, located at the tip of the muzzle. Used (as in all animals)
to recognize smell.

STOP: The depressed part of the skull- located between the eyes.

TAIL: Located at the rearmost part of the backbone. It is set on the rump of the dog.

Behavior and Foods Habits of Dogs

Excluding the days of menstruation of our dear Askal “Cutie” she is like a normal dog as I could observe. She wags her tail every time we get home from work. She run with the motorcycles trying to chase the motorist. She crawl under the sofa and she eats whatever we eat. Many says she has a breed of a pig because she is I think overweight and slightly obese. But she still runs fast and jumps high about 3 feet tall. Her ears are upward which means she is a natural barker which I tried to tell myself during wee hours when people on the streets makes bragging noise. She sniffs food very fast. I notice that when I get home with some meriendas and her eyeballs are staring at it. From my research these are some additional informations:

Behavior
Domestic dogs are similar to their ancestors, wolves, in that they are both pack animals with a complex set of behaviors related to determining the dogs position in the social hierarchy and their mood. There is only one leader in a pack, and often there is a struggle between members of the pack to determine who the leader is. The struggle ends with one animal on top of the other, with the submissive animal lying on its back. The dominant animal places its paw on the chest of the submissive one, and until the submissive animal looks away from the eyes of the dominant animal, the struggle continues. As soon as the submissive animal averts his eyes, he has admitted defeat and the leader of the pack has been determined. Dogs exhibit characteristic postures that reveal their states of mind. The neutral position is when a dog is calmly observing things in the environment. The mouth of a dog in this position may be open or closed. In the alert position, the dog's mouth may be open or closed, depending on the excitement level and environmental temperature. The hairs along the back and shoulders may raise without any intent of the dog to attack. The dog has simply focused his attention on some object and is curious about it. Offensive threat posture: hair raised, teeth showing, nose wrinkled, and growling may be heard. The tail is upright, although it may be wagging. A dog in this stance is ready to attack. Defensive threat: although the dog may be growling and snarling, the ears are laid back, which is a sign of submission in normal dogs, and the tail is hanging down. Greetings: relaxed face, mouth slightly open, loosely pulled back ears, tail wagging. This is the posture dogs assume when playing with family members or other dogs. Play invitation: lowered front part of body while keeping the rear end up. A dog may bark in this invitation to play, but it does not growl excessivly. Submission: body low to the ground, as compact as possible. Ears are drawn back, tail is tucked tightly under body. Submissive dogs pull the corners of their mouths back but do not show their teeth (submissive grin). Some submissive dogs assume the most vulnerable position known to dogs, lying on the backs, exposing their undersides. This position admits ultimate defeat in the struggle of dominance between dogs.

Domestic dogs can be active at any time of the day or night. Feral domestic dogs maintain home ranges that they defend against others and may move around throughout the year.

Food Habits
Puppies have different feeding habits than older dogs. A puppy needs twice as much protein and 50% more calories per pound of body weight daily in order to meet its growth requirements. A rapid change in a puppy's diet may cause gastrointestinal upsets. Puppies must feed 4 times daily until the age of 3 months, 3 times daily until 6 months and twice daily for the rest of its life. Older dogs' feeding habits are different in a couple of ways. The average size dog requires about 30 calories per pound of body weight per day. Interestingly, larger breeds need only 20 calories per pound of weight, while smaller breeds need about 40 calories per pound of body weight. A dog's diet should consist of balanced porportions of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and, of course, water. A dog can go days without food and lose 30% to 40% of it's body weight without dying, but a 10% to 15% water loss could be fatal. All-meat diets are not recommended for dogs due to the lack of calcium and iron found in meat. Diet supplements should be avoided. Human foods that can be fatal to dogs include moldy cheese, onions, and chocolate. Feral domestic dogs will eat a variety of foods including animals and fruits.

reference:
Dewey, T. and S. Bhagat. 2002. "Canis lupus familiaris" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed September 14, 2008 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_lupus_familiaris.html.

Reproduction of Dogs

Although our pet named “Cutie” is still a certified virgin (no joke!), she still have a working reproductive system which is evident when she has monthly menstruation. From my own observations, she is like a normal human female during her menstrual periods. My Titas normally notice her change in mood from very active and hyper from a ‘dalagang Filipina’ drama. She just sits under the sofa all day and she doesn’t even want to go out and bark at other people and try catching motorcycle riders which she usually does.

One thing that also amuses us is the also discharges red fluid from her vagina. We concluded that it’s her menstruation. When these times happen I could see my Titas looking very pity. They would normally say if only there are sanitary napkins for dogs they would surely buy some. The only things they could do is follow the tracks of red ‘blood’ from the floor Cutie left.

Well these are other important information about the reproduction of Dogs both male and female. I hope these would help some amateur people gain knowledge that would help them out in taking good care of their loved askals:

Reproduction

Breeding interval

Domestic dogs can reproduce at approximately six month intervals, though usually less frequently.

Breeding season

Breeding can occur throughout the year.

Number of offspring
1 (low); avg. 6

Gestation period
63 days (average)

Age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
6 to 12 months

Age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
6 to 12 months

Reproduction in domestic dogs is generally manipulated by humans. Feral males tend to compete amongst themselves for access to receptive females. Some feral domestic dog populations have reverted to ancestral habits where a single male and female pair (the alpha animals) dominate mating in a small, family group, or pack. Other pack members help to care for the offspring of the dominant pair.

Mating systems:
monogamous ; polygynandrous (promiscuous) ; cooperative breeder .

Domestic dogs have a gestation period of 9 weeks, after which anywhere from 1 to dozens of puppies can be born, depending on the breed and nutritional status of the mother. Average litter sizes are from 3 to 9 puppies. Male and female dogs usually reach puberty between 6 and 12 months of age; however, the time that a dog actually breeds depends on many social factors, ranging from size of breed (larger dogs need more time before they are ready to breed) and level of confidence a dog must attain before being ready to breed.

Most breeds are seasonally monocyclic, showing signs of heat every 6 months or so. The reproductive cycle has four stages: anestrus, proestrus, estrus, and diestrus. The anestrus period lasts about 2 to 4 months. Proestrus is the time when a bloody discharge first appears in a female. This is the beginning of "heat," a period that usually last 9 days but that can last up to 28 days. The end of this period is marked by the female's acceptance of a male partner. Estrus is the period when the female is sexually receptive and breeding can occur. Ovulation occurs about 24 hours after the acceptance of the male. Ova survive and are capable of being fertilized for about 4 days after ovulation; therefore it is possible for a female to mate with more that one male. Diestrus follows estrus in the nonpregnant cycle, characterized by a state of "pseudopregnancy", which is followed by a return of the uterus and ovaries to the anestrus, resting state.

Key reproductive features:
iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous .

Females nurse and care for their puppies until they are weaned at about 8 to 10 weeks of age. In feral domestic dog packs, puppies are cared for by all members of the pack.

Parental investment:
altricial ; male parental care ; female parental care

reference: Dewey, T. and S. Bhagat. 2002. "Canis lupus familiaris" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed September 14, 2008 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_lupus_familiaris.html.

Complaint letter to friendster

hi everyone! just last week i found out that one of my former student had been snatching my pictures from my friendster profile and using it as his primary photo. of course without my consent! he is now transfered to a nearby town catholic school (i think) and i do not (honestly) remember if i had treated him that bad or even said something that might upset him or anything else. actually me and his mother are in very good terms. we usually greet each other when we get across the streets of lumban. i think this kid has a serious phsychological problem that needs to be address.

as soon as my another student posted a comment for me notifying me about what Jordan (the name of my former student) has been doing on the net i huriedly look up his profile on the net and shockingly found my pictures realy set as his primary display image. i even browse through his accounts and finding some people saying profanity to him when all they are seeing is my solo picture. it was a horryfiying moment to me. another thing that shocked me was when i look into his photo album. there were two of my pictures there together with a nude picture of a man! (pennis picture to be specific) i realy felt embarased and harrased that moment. i never did realized that this thing could happen to me. and what suprised me was it is my former student. so i did what a teacher should do! i immediately send a report to friendster community that exact day.
the following days i check out how friendster has been doing regarding my complaint but only zero unread message appears on my inbox. then i thought if more people will complaint then maybe the friendster manager would me alarmed and they would prioritize my complaint so thats what i did. the following day i recived this email from them:

This message is a warning from Friendster's Customer Support department. We have received one or more complaints about your account for the following reason(s):

- Other reasons.

***This is not a Warning***

You have suspected Jordan (User ID 64168300) as impersonating you. After my investigation I could not find conlcusive evidence that they are you. I looked through your profile and could not find a matching picture. If you have more information that you can give us to help your cause then please email our support staff. Thanks

This is a violation of Friendster's Terms of Service. Please take steps to correct this. If this is not corrected, or if we receive further complaints, we reserve the right to suspend this account.

If you feel you have received this message in error, please feel free to reply to this message at custservice@friendster.com.

i realy upset about their response. what i understand about their letter is that i am the one who is making the wrong report! so this is my complaint reply:

dear Friendster Community,

i would like to clarify my complaint to JORDAN BUERANO (User ID 64168300) for using my pictures as his primary photo or display image under the following URLs:
http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/60/68/5048606/1_361300153l.jpg
http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/60/68/5048606/1_940491633l.jpg

the pictures i am refering was not grabed from my photo albums but it was, i think, copied or saved then he uploaded it himself without my consent.

attached herewith are the original pictures i am reffering to. you could check the original date of the file embed on the pictures.

as a matter of fact you could also see nudity in his uploaded pictures inside his photo album.

it was me who is insulted and being harased. As a matter of fact different people are using profanity in "Filipino" words to this person's name when it is my pictures they are seeing...

my image and personality is badly damaged. i am a public high school teacher and using friendster is my way of communicating with my students and friends. it was his profile that you should suspend not mine because it was me who is the victim of this all.


i could not imagine this degree of humiliation would happen to me. i have been using friendster for years, (i think you know that) and this is the first time that happed to me. i am very loyal to your company and you should also consider comparing JORDAN BUERANO's lenght of years using friendster than my membership for more than four years now. i think you should also compare the numbers of comments and testimonials posted on my profile to see my reputation as a good person.

i hope you thoroughly investigate again to see who's really telling the truth. i am looking forward for your reconsiderations regarding my complains. again it is me who is the victim and it is him who is violating your Terms of Service.


Sincerely,

Rolly B. Caidic

after two days i check out again Jordan's profile on friendster and its GONE! to my surprise! i even use his code number just to make sure he just dont change his name or sumthing but it was totally gone as in zero match found on search options.

then the next day friendster send me this email on my yahoo mail:

Re: Account warning message from Friendster.com [Incident: 081004-000638]Thursday, October 9, 2008 5:31 AMFrom: "Friendster Terms of Service" View contact details To: rollycaidic@yahoo.comRecently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.




Subject
Re: Account warning message from Friendster.com

Discussion Thread
Response (Cal) 10/08/2008 02:31 PM
Hello ,

Thank you for contacting Friendster Customer Support.

We apologize for the wording and the warning. Profile http://profiles.friendster.com/64168300 has been removed from our site. We appreciate your understanding and patience in this matter.

We hope this information helps and if there is anything else we can assist you with, please let us know.

Regards,

Cal
Customer Support

thanks God the impostor is gone deleted evaporated as in DEAD!
thanks also to all my realy friends and my dear students who also help me report this incident to friendster. actually some of my dear students personnaly confronted Jordan because they know his house. haha!

lesson learned? never ever trust everyone on friendster. and never ever put personal things such as pictures and informations on public.
i posted this event because i wanted to help other people too. if you have complaints and some problem like this never hesitate to complain or report it to friendster community. yeah they are also people not computer! they will definitely help you out! good luck everyone!
this is the original copy of the picture i am talking about...

What are reproductive technologies?

I am a Roman Catholic and I am a science teacher as well. I think we, humans, can be dimensional. Meaning we have all the reasons to be equally identified into different forms depending on our roles in life. On one side I am a believer of God on the other side I am an advocate of science. I have full respect for both sides of me and it is not a big deal because it makes me what I am now. On the onset of our world’s battle cry for a better living, reproductive technology is on the edge for bioethical debates. Between the world’s leaders (Church and Politics) it’s still a matter of personal choice. It’s us who know and understand ourselves best. We may have different responsibilities and tasks in life but we only have one body. Do not let other people affect your decisions in life. Stand for what we believe and what is right for ourselves.

On Diagrams and Instructional Materials

rolly 2a
Originally uploaded by rollycaidic

“To see is to believe!”

I have lots of personal teaching experiences about diagrams. During my first year of teaching in public school, due to lack of enough resources like instructional materials and textbooks, I always ended up summarizing the lesson on a manila paper. Writing down important details of the topic could mean great deal of time and effort. I took for granted the importance of drawings and illustrations because I thought it could also eat most of my time facing my art materials. Until I realized that describing something to my students, which they don’t even have any single clue to what I am saying, is like talking to dogs. I really had a hard time convincing them that cells are real and cells really do exists in our body. Even internal organs are hard to explain if they do not see the organs itself. No matter how much I hardly describe it to my students I think I am just a mime artist to them, acting as if things were true.

That’s a lesson learned for me. Now I am giving equal attention to lectures and diagrams. These two comes hand in hand in teaching not only science but all fields of study. True enough seeing is believing! Words are not enough to convey our thoughts. Drawings, illustrations, graphics etc. these are the teacher’s friends. They bridge imaginations into reality.

There are lots of varieties of diagrams this maybe in a form of pictures, conceptual frameworks, graphs and charts. All of these are used to present ideas which are more appealing to the eyes especially of the learners. It’s a break from the sea of grays. Modern technology like computers nowadays could also be a good medium in presenting diagrams which are fascinating and educational. Likewise improvisation, creativity and resourcefulness could also create innovative educational diagrams even without modern technology. Like the famous quotation says “pictures are worth a thousand words”.

If you were a plant or an animal, what would you be and why?

DSCN3809
Originally uploaded by rollycaidic

If I were a plant I would be a SUNFLOWER. No flower can lift spirits quite like sunflowers can. Bright and cheery, bold yet comfortable, the sunflower is a warm and vibrant plant. With brilliant yellow petals that surround the flower's center, sunflowers have an unmistakable sun-like appearance that has made them a passionate flower choice for many. For a flower which reflects so many of the sun's positive characteristics, it is little surprise that it is an ultimate ideal choice for sending sentiments of cheerfulness and sunny thoughts.

I definitely wanted to be like SPIDERMAN. His super abilities include enhanced sight, the ability to jump farther than a normal human, web that shoots from his wrists and tiny hairs on his hands that enable him to climb walls. He also comes complete with a psychic "spidee sense."

Studious rolly

Studious rolly
Originally uploaded by rollycaidic

FMA 2

Honestly, the first time I tried to read Module 1 I felt bored. I thought chemical formulas plus biology is not a good recipe. Then I browsed through the pages, it shocked me seeing more and more tongue twisting scientific terminologies that even my brain could knot remembering it all. Well, this could be the dilemma of a non-major-student-majoring-biology. I told my self that its ok since I am not yet actually ‘fully-cooked’ in this field, and it is a must that I undergone this as the first part of the course.

It was enlightening for me to read the Reader Volumes provided by our professor. It made me felt the gravity of being ‘majors’ compared non-majors. I realized that it was a big deal for me as a DST Major in Biology to understand the very-most-lowest level or unit of all living organisms and the very thought of understanding the origins of life.

I agree with the article of Prof. Hidalgo, we, teachers should not rely on the recipe-type science experiments. These activities would not deliver science literacy and it would not strengthen student’s science skills in employing scientific method since we already expect the answers or the actual result. It’s a reality that teachers, personally speaking, do sometimes avoid questions that are not expected to come up and are hard or difficult to answer. That’s why I always resort to making guide questions which I know the answers and have restrictions. But knowing the three-folds of science education made me feel guilty. Funny, looking back to my past teaching escapades when I make a lot of shortcomings and realizing never to make those mistakes again.

Points of View: Content versus Process is also revealing to me. I think ‘processes’ should have more emphasis over ‘contents’. Although both of them are very essential in scientific literacy especially for my high school students I think ‘content’ are readily available around us. You surf the internet, visit a library, read science journals and other publications… contents are all you could get. But process is one thing that anyone could not dig up that easily. It takes a lot of time, effort and hard work to perform like laboratory activities. On the other hand let us also give emphasis on the ‘skills’ part. On my opinion, it is not a matter of who wins between ‘content’ or ‘process’ or ‘skill’. Let us not forget that those three are all essential in science education. This is the holistic nature of science. The thee-fold of science education is inseparable.

Analyzing the three-fold objectives of teaching science made me come up with this conceptual framework:

I compare Bloom’s Taxonomy also known as Taxonomy of Educational Objectives and it also falls under the three-fold of teaching science. I think the very aim of science literacy is also the same with all other subjects. But scientifically speaking, cognitive domain must be focus on knowledge content about science. Psychomotor domain in science is about performing and demonstrating laboratory activities, then affective domain in science emphasizes on the interests, attitudes and appreciation towards scientific method.


Perfect Timing!

The topic on Cellular and Molecular Basis of Life is just in time with my daily schedule of topics and the learning competencies I am following. It is related to the topic that I am going to teach this week. Actually, last school year after I discussed the cellular basis of life I jump to the topic on cellular respiration. Now I realized that it is also very important for my students to know the molecular and chemical basis of life. I remember my student asked me the question “Are humans and all other living organisms also made up of atoms?” Now is the right time for me to deeper their knowledge on atoms and chemicals.

I also like the clear explanations on the topic of Other Theories on the Origin of Life. The statement on special creation is well justified. With my past experience, my class usually has a debate between science and religion and I rather not talk about it before. My students would normally asks “Sir bakit po sa Bible iba ang sinasabi?” But now it’s clearer to me.

I compare our school’s textbook Functional Biology by Rabago and the Biology by Rivero and Cao on the topic on Origin of Life. I found the illustration on Figure 1-1 Synthesis reactions leading to biological evolution very understandable. For my students, seeing illustrative or conceptual representation is easier than reading all-text topics which are not on the book by Rabago. The video is also very fun and educational as well. If Prof. Hidalgo would allow me to use it for film showing to my class that would also be more exiting for my students!

On the other hand, the Manifestations and Characteristics of Life are very technical or strictly interpreted compared to the BIO A Principles of Biology by Barrion and Zafarrala which is categorized into different sections or topics. I think it would be hard to explain to my students the way the content is presented. Content-wise I choose BIO A book on this specific topic because it is the same with our textbooks in school and my other references in school.

I also like the tabular format on the Biology A Study Guide because it is easier to understand the same with my other reference books. I have a weak point on stuff about chemicals and its processes that’s why I would like to know more about the cellular respiration. I find it hard analyzing compounds and I suck explaining them. I hope I could learn more about it so that I can clearly discuss it to my students.

Bigat-10 Reunion Batch 97

our 10th anniversary reunion video-pictures. very fun!