FurBabies Place

Many people with overweight dogs seem oblivious to the fact that their pet is, indeed, fat. It’s a trend that as loving, caring pet parents, we urgently need to reverse.

There are probably several reasons for this epidemic of fat-blindness, one of which is that because so many pets today are heavy, overweight dogs have become the new normal. In fact, I know pet parents with lean, fit dogs who are now being told by the misguided that they’re “starving” their animals!

In addition, pet parents, especially if they’re overweight themselves, have a tendency to make the dangerous assumption that they have all the time in the world to get the extra pounds off their dog. To be blunt, they’re lying to themselves. The canine lifespan, compared to ours, is short, and the aging process is greatly accelerated.

The damage that extra fat does to dogs’ bodies is instantaneously debilitating and causes the same obesity-related diseases humans acquire. Last year, pet health insurer Nationwide reported the following top obesity-related conditions in dogs:1

Some of these conditions are clearly linked to excess fat, but others, such as liver and kidney disease, are less apparent, but no less deadly. It’s simply a fact that excess weight is disastrous to dogs’ health and shortens their already abbreviated lives. This is all doubly tragic when we realize our dogs aren’t doing this to themselves — it’s entirely the fault of their human caretakers. There are no fat dogs in the wild.

How to Determine if Your Dog Is Overweight

Since there’s an increasingly distorted view among pet parents of what constitutes an overweight dog, it’s helpful to look down at your dog while standing over him. Can you see a tapered-in waist, or is he oval-shaped, indicating he’s probably too heavy? Another clue — you should be able to feel his ribs and the bones near the base of his tail. If you can’t, he’s probably overweight, and if so, you’ll also see excess fat on his abdomen, hips and neck.

Also compare your dog to this body condition chart provided by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA):

>>>>> Click Here <<<<<

The goal is a body condition score of 5. If you’re still not sure whether your dog is overweight, ask your veterinarian for his or her opinion.

Why I Never Recommend High-Fiber Diets for Weight Loss in Pets

Research published in 2017 by a processed pet food manufacturer and touted as the largest global study of weight loss in dogs, involved 926 dogs in 27 countries.2 For three months, the dogs ate a high-fiber, “high-protein” diet — either one of two dry diets or a canned diet, all made by Royal Canin. The dogs also increased their activity level.

The study was a success for Royal Canin, since the dogs lost an average of 11 percent of body weight, and they can market their results on a global scale. But in my experience, there’s a much healthier and longer-lasting approach to helping your dog lose excess pounds and maintain a healthy weight, and it starts with biologically appropriate food, which the diets in the study definitely are not.

The first five ingredients in one of the dry formulas used in the study, Royal Canin’s Satiety Weight Management Canine, are powdered cellulose, chicken by-product meal, corn, wheat gluten and wheat.3 These ingredients are all kinds of awful, and in addition, the formula contains a whopping 18.8 percent fiber, which is about twice the amount in your average bag of grain-free dog food.

The first ingredient, meaning the ingredient that makes up the majority of the Royal Canin formula, is powdered cellulose, which is actually — I kid you not — wood pulp. Yes, sawdust is the main ingredient in this kibble.

Dogs Do Best With Very Small Amounts of Species-Appropriate Fiber

Powdered cellulose has a tremendous amount of insoluble fiber, and too much of it can interfere with your dog’s ability to digest and assimilate important nutrients like protein and minerals. High levels of cellulose can also rob cells in the colon of critical fuel, like butyrate, due to reduced fermentation.4

In addition, excessive powdered cellulose in your dog’s food will cause him to produce a bigger volume of poop. Too much fiber acts as a mechanical barrier, preventing trace minerals, vitamins and antioxidants from getting to and through the walls of your pet's gastrointes­tinal (GI) tract. Fiber may make your dog feel temporarily full, but he's not being nourished at the cellular level.

It’s important to remember that wild canines have no physiologic requirement for the plant fibers used in most processed pet food. The fiber they eat is primarily derived from the already digested stomach contents of their prey, plus fur, tendons and ligaments.

Dogs fed processed commercial diets very often benefit from the addition of a small amount of the right kind of fiber, which is fiber that closely mimics the GI contents of small prey animals. However, when your pet consumes unnecessary fillers, like wads of fiber, it inhibits digestion and absorption of many vital nutrients.

A small amount of fiber is very important, but a diet loaded with fiber is very detrimental. If you're feeding your dog a nutritionally balanced, species-appropriate diet with appropriate supplementation, including pet probiotics and digestive enzymes, and she's easily producing small, firm stools, she's getting all the fiber she needs.

How to Get Your Dog’s Weight Under Control

For the sake of your overweight furry best friend, I recommend you do the following:

1. Use this calorie calculator to determine how much food your dog should eat each day to reach his ideal body weight. This is probably the most overlooked step in weight loss success.
2. Feed a nutritionally balanced, species-appropriate diet to your dog. Regardless of her weight, she still needs the right nutrition for her species, which means food that is high in animal protein and moisture, with low or no grain content.
3. Practice portion control — typically a morning and evening meal, carefully measured. A high-protein, low-carb diet with the right amount of calories for weight loss, controlled through the portions you feed, is what will take the weight off your dog. And don't forget to factor in any calories from treats.
4. Regularly exercise your dog. An overweight body gets back in shape by taking in fewer calories and expending more energy. Daily exercise, including a bare minimum of 20 minutes of consistent aerobic activity, will help your dog burn fat and increase muscle tone.

The key to keeping your dog at a healthy weight and nutritionally fit at the cellular level is a high-animal protein, moisture-rich diet fed in controlled portions, and augmented with plenty of physical activity.

Moves away when you pet his head

He may not like the way it feels. This is also a signal of dominance to a dog. Most dogs prefer to be pet on their chin, front of chest or side of the face.

Walks in a circle before lying down

Her ancestors did this to flatten down grass and make a cozy nest. Your dog is acting on her evolutionary instincts.

Barks at mail carriers, even those he knows

The mail carrier reliably leaves every time your dog barks, so he continues to bark to exert his authority over the situation.

Grunts

Dogs grunt when they’re feeling content and happy.

Whines

Dogs, especially puppies, whine when they’re feeling cold, hungry or lonely. Soothe her by covering her with a warm blanket, feeding her or giving her attention in regular intervals.

Blinks

Your dog may be contemplating whether to follow a command you’ve just given him.

Yawns

Dogs yawn when they’re tired, but more often it’s because they’re feeling stressed and yawning displaces the stress or inner conflict.

Licks his lips

Lip licking is a sign of nervousness, anxiety or submission.

Licks you

Your dog is seeking your attention and/or a positive reaction. In some cases, dogs lick to establish dominance.

Insists on climbing up onto the couch

Even if you’ve told her not to, your puppy may try to reach a higher location in a show of dominance. Or, it could be she just prefers cushions to the floor!

Paws the ground after peeing or pooping

He’s marking his territory by leaving behind a visual sign (disturbed soil) and scent (likely from sweat glands on his paws).

Eats poop

This is known as coprophagia, a species-typical behavior common in puppies. In older dogs, it may have a medical or behavioral cause and can be a sign of stress.

Rolls around in disgusting stuff

Rolling in stinky stuff on the ground allows your dog to advertise where he’s been. It could also be an ingrained behavior from his wild ancestors, who may have rolled in messes to mask their scent to avoid predators.

Eats grass

She might be trying to make herself vomit to relieve tummy discomfort. Or her body might be telling her she needs some additional greens for nutritional balance.

Sniffs (and sniffs and sniffs) before peeing

Your dog is taking in the other scents in the area before deciding where to leave his own. He may also be looking for a spot that hasn’t been urinated on by another dog.

Sniffs other dogs’ behinds

Pheromones secreted from glands around a dog’s anus let other dogs know his identity.

Pants

Your dog pants to help regulate her body temperature; she may also pant when she’s feeling anxious.

Acts happier around dogs of the same breed

If your dog has had pleasurable experiences with siblings and other dogs of his breed, he may expect that to continue in new dogs who look like them (and him).

Play bows

If your dog sticks her behind in the air while “bowing down” with her head and paws close to the ground, she’s feeling happy and playful.

Chases his tail

Dogs with a high predatory drive and no outlet tend to tail-chase. In some dogs, the behavior can become compulsive, leading to anxiety and medical issues.

Nurses on soft items

Puppies weaned from their mothers too early may continue to suckle on soft items like blankets or stuffed toys.

Sticks her head out the car window

She does this because it’s fun and the air whizzing by is full of interesting smells. It’s a bad idea, however, because she can be hurt by flying objects or worse.

Barks at other dogs with his head held high

This is a sign of dominance, especially when paired with direct eye contact, tense body posture and an erect tail.

Barks at other dogs with his ears pressed to his head

This is a sign of fear or submission, especially when paired with a tucked tail and eyes that dart from side to side.

Digs fast and furiously in dirt, her bed or your bed linens

This can be a redirected predatory instinct (think terriers digging for burrowing prey).

Takes food out of his bowl and eats it elsewhere

A dog lower in the pack order might do this to protect his food from a more dominant dog (real or imagined).

Hides treats instead of eating them immediately

She’s following her natural instinct to stash food for later to ensure there’s some available if needed.

“Runs” in his sleep

He’s dreaming, perhaps about running to catch a squirrel or other creature.

Wags her tail fast or slow

The speed of your dog’s tail wagging is like an energy indicator. If she’s very excited, her tail will wag fast. It will wag at a slower pace when she’s interested but not 100% committed.

Tucks his tail between his legs

This is a sign of submission, uncertainty, anxiety and/or fear.

Holds her tail upright

This is a sign of interest, dominance and confidence.

Chews socks or slippers

She may lack appropriate chew toys (made of materials she prefers). P.S. If you chase her around the house to get your belongings back, she’ll probably think it’s a really great game.

Sniffs people in the groin area

The nose knows. A dog can tell a lot about a person from one hit of pheromones coming from that part of the body.

Shakes toys furiously in his mouth

Your dog is doing what he would have done in the wild, which is shake his prey at the neck to kill it.

Has her back hairs up (piloerection)

This occurs when your dog’s fight-or-flight stress response is triggered and releases epinephrine, causing muscles to contract that raise the hairs.

This post is sponsored by Assisi Animal Health

I’m excited to announce that the new Assisi Loop Lounge™ is now available! Featuring the same pain control of the Loop via targeted pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (tPEMF™,) the Loop Lounge™ is the only therapeutic pet bed backed by scientific research.

What is targeted pulsed electromagnetic field therapy?

tPEMF, which was first studied in the 1970s and is FDA-cleared for use in humans, uses low-level pulses of electromagnetic energy to stimulate the body’s own healing mechanisms to help relieve pain and swelling.

Few safe options for feline pain management

Assisi Animal Health is proud to have created a technology that works especially well on a large variety of feline ailments, especially when other treatments can either fail or come with serious risks and side effects. The Assisi Loop technology offers a non-pharmaceutical, non-invasive treatment. Cats tolerate it much better than many medications. Not only that, but a lot of cats really enjoy receiving Loop treatments. Because the Loop stimulates the body’s own healing process, rather than introducing a new substance (like a medication), even a sensitive cat body can handle it easily.

The only therapeutic pet bed backed by scientific research

A two-year double blind study at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine looked at using the Loop as part of pre-to-post-operative treatment to reduce pain and accelerate recovery in dogs undergoing spinal surgery. The results of this study undeniably show the Loop’s ability not only to reduce pain, but also to help the injured nerve tissue recover faster.

How the Assisi Loop Lounge works

The Loop Lounge has been designed for use with the Sleepypod Air and Atom carriers. The Loop Lounge covers the entire bottom of the carrier, providing a complete care base. With the depth and height of the field, the cat will receive a complete body treatment up to 10 inches away from the pad.

The Loop Lounge can be used as a stand-alone device, or in a different pet bed or carrier, but they cannot contain any metal components (e.g. door, frame, or floor) that could disrupt the patented Loop signal and diminish product efficacy.

The Assisi Loop Lounge™ is rechargeable. Just like the Assisi Loop, it requires a prescription from  your veterinarian.

The Assisi Loop Lounge at the AAFP Conference

Thanks to Assisi Animal Health’s generous sponsorship, I was able to attend the annual conference of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) last month, and got to see first hand just how excited the veterinary community was about the Loop Lounge. With so few safe pain control options for cats available to veterinarians, this was not surprising to me, but it was still exciting to see the crowds of people around the Assisi booth in the exhibit hall.

I was also delighted that Assisi Animal Health received an award from the AAFP to recognize their contribution to advancing the practice of outstanding feline medicine.

Karolynne McAteer, Assisi Animal Health

For more information about how the Assisi Loop or the Assisi Loop Lounge can help your cat, visit http://www.assisianimalhealth.com or contact Assisi Animal Health at [email protected], 866-830-7342.

*FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, which means that I was compensated to feature this content. Regardless of payment received, you will only see products or services featured on this site that I believe are of interest to our readers.

The never-ending quest to learn what makes canine companions tick has produced a brand new study of dogs’ understanding of human words, or more specifically, the connections they make between objects and the words we assign to them.1 Let’s say your dog’s favorite toy is a small stuffed bunny. Whenever you ask, “Where’s bunny?” your dog cocks her head and moves in the direction of her toy basket.

What, exactly, is she responding to? Is your tone of voice telling her something good might be about to happen? Or does she actually form a mental image of her fuzzy pink bunny? This is the kind of question researchers at Emory University set out to answer. Despite the fervent belief of many dog parents that their pet knows the meaning of certain words, there’s no real science to confirm it. According to Emory neuroscientist and dog lover Dr. Gregory Berns, senior author of the study:

“We know that dogs have the capacity to process at least some aspects of human language since they can learn to follow verbal commands. Previous research, however, suggests dogs may rely on many other cues to follow a verbal command, such as gaze, gestures and even emotional expressions from their owners.”2

Experiment Shows Dogs Associate Certain Words With Certain Objects

For their study, Berns and his team recruited 12 dogs of varying breeds who were already comfortable lying still in a fMRI scanner. Their owners were instructed to train them to retrieve two different objects, based on the objects’ names.

Each dog was given a soft object such as a stuffed animal, and an object with a different texture, such as rubber, to help distinguish the two. The training involved asking the dogs to fetch one of the items and receive praise or treats as a reward. The dogs were considered trained when they reliably retrieved the object their owners asked for when both items were presented to them.

Once in the lab, each dog lay in the fMRI scanner while the owner stood directly in front of him at the opening of the machine and repeated the names of the toys at predefined intervals, then showed the dog the corresponding toys. As a control, the owner then spoke gibberish and held up a new object.

The scanner results showed greater activation in auditory regions of the dogs’ brains to the gibberish words compared to the words they had been trained to associate with the objects. This was a surprise, since studies with humans show greater neural activation in response to known words versus novel words.

It could be that dogs show greater neural activation with new words because they sense their humans want them to understand, and so they try to. As Berns observes, “Dogs ultimately want to please their owners, and perhaps also receive praise or food.”

Dogs 'Appear to Have a Neural Representation for the Meaning of Words They Have Been Taught'

Interestingly, half the dogs in the experiment showed increased activation for the novel words in one area of the brain, while the other half showed activation in other brain regions. This could be the result of variations among breeds, sizes and cognitive abilities. Dogs’ brains across breeds vary widely in both size and shape.

“Dogs may have varying capacity and motivation for learning and understanding human words,” Berns says, “but they appear to have a neural representation for the meaning of words they have been taught, beyond just a low-level Pavlovian response.”

Rough translation: This study shows that dogs do indeed seem able to form mental pictures that correspond to words they’ve been taught. So the dog in my earlier example, when asked about her bunny, actually sees some version of her toy in her head when she hears the word “bunny.”

Dogs Listen Not Only to What We Say, but How We Say It

A 2016 study concluded that our four-legged friends are listening not only to what we say, but also how we say it.3 When you praise your dog, her brain’s reward center perks up if your words match your tone of voice. These findings suggest the ability to process words evolved much earlier than was originally thought. According to Phys.org:

“It shows that if an environment is rich in speech, as is the case of family dogs, word meaning representations can arise in the brain, even in a non-primate mammal that is not able to speak.”4

Attila Andics, Ph.D. of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and lead researcher of the study, published in the journal Science, explains:

"During speech processing, there is a well-known distribution of labor in the human brain. It is mainly the left hemisphere's job to process word meaning, and the right hemisphere's job to process intonation.

The human brain not only separately analyzes what we say and how we say it, but also integrates the two types of information, to arrive at a unified meaning. Our findings suggest that dogs can also do all that, and they use very similar brain mechanisms.”5

Dogs Also Tune Into Our Posture, Gestures and Eye Contact

Despite your dog’s ability to understand some of the words you say, there may be more effective ways to communicate with her, such as visually. Your posture, gestures and eye contact can speak volumes, and your dog pays attention to these cues closely. In fact, dogs can follow our gaze much like a 6-month-old infant, but only if we convey the intention of communication, which suggests they’re quite tuned into our communicative signals.6

There are many theories as to why and how dogs developed such strong responsiveness to human gestures. It could be simply that they spend more time around humans than other species, or that they quickly learned paying close attention might get them more rewards (like food). As reported in the journal Behavioral Processes:

“Dogs are more skillful than a host of other species at tasks which require they respond to human communicative gestures in order to locate hidden food. Four basic interpretations for this proficiency surface from distilling the research findings.

One possibility is that dogs simply have more opportunity than other species to learn to be responsive to human social cues. A different analysis suggests that the domestication process provided an opening for dogs to apply general cognitive problem-solving skills to a novel social niche.

Some researchers go beyond this account and propose that dogs' co-evolution with humans equipped them with a theory of mind for social exchanges.

Finally, a more prudent approach suggests that sensitivity to the behaviors of both humans and conspecifics would be particularly advantageous for a social scavenger like the dog. A predisposition to attend to human actions allows for rapid early learning of the association between gestures and the availability of food.”7

How Does Your Dog Communicate With You?

While we use speech as a primary form of communicating, your dog may “talk” to you using different forms of communication, such as tail movements. Dogs display submission by tucking their tails and lying on their backs. They display dominance by staring, raising their fur and baring their teeth.

Further, dogs tend to wag their tails to the right side when they encounter something pleasant (like their owners). When they see something threatening, for example a strange dog exhibiting dominant behaviors, they wag more to the left side.8 Certain species of canines also use their eyes to communicate, and the fact that your dog will make direct eye contact with you may be one important feature that distinguishes him from wild dogs, or wolves.9

The “alpha” or “top” dog is a concept that has been incorrectly applied to the human-dog relationship. The term “alpha” came from the idea that wolves have an alpha wolf or so-called “head honcho” that calls the shots for the rest of the pack. The true meaning was to be designated to a breeding pair of wolves, who maintained control over life-sustaining resources and reproductive rights in regards to a specific, related pack of wolves. This idea was then transposed to inter-dog relationships and, further, to human-dog relationships. Recent studies of packs of unrelated dogs show that they do not form stable linear hierarchies as was originally suspected. Free-roaming dogs do not hunt or rear young cooperatively, and therefore do not even fit the definition of a true pack. There is not this struggle to get to the top of the hierarchy, despite the popularity of this concept. A better explanation is that dogs are a social species and do, indeed, live in groups when given the opportunity. They will defend their familiar territory against intruders (unless, of course, there is room for an additional member for breeding purposes), and major fights between social group members are infrequent. Sources of contention between familiar dogs include valuable resources, such as mates, food, and key shelter or resting areas. It is evolutionarily normal for dogs to defend such resources, and some are more effective than others at protecting them. When resources are plentiful, the need for competition or fighting is low. When resources are scarce, and survival is at stake, aggression levels may rise. Intelligent dogs will learn what level of aggression is necessary to protect valuable resources without putting themselves at risk of injury. Dogs learn from experience when an aggressive act is effective and tend only to use it when resources are scarce. Some dogs have a genetic predisposition to resource-guard more than others. In a free-roaming environment, these dogs won’t last long, as they are likely to be injured more severely and waste precious energy on fighting. 

In a home environment, resources are typically abundant, and most dogs take no issue with owners removing food items or disturbing them when in a valued resting place. There are some dogs, though, who have a proclivity to overprotect such resources and may use aggression towards people as a means of maintaining possession of what they perceive to be valuable. Obviously, dogs who are malnourished or have a history of starvation are likely to defend the food available to them. If they learn that aggression is an effective means of holding on to such items, they are likely to use that behavior again, and the behavior tends to get worse with each incident. Some dogs may also perceive seemingly benign interactions with people — such as bending over, reaching for, petting, and staring — as threatening and, therefore, use aggression to defend themselves. This is likely due to a genetic predisposition for anxiety or a lack of appropriate early socialization to human body language. Remember that we are asking them to live in our world, and we have to teach them early on what to expect and what is safe.

There is inherent miscommunication between human and dog body language: humans tend to show friendliness with forward-facing, direct gestures, while dogs tend to approach each other from the side and avoid direct frontal body or eye contact. Most dogs learn at a young age to habituate to such direct, frontal body language from people, but others do not. Here lies the major issue. Dogs that feel threatened — for example, by someone taking their valued resources away or approaching them with what they feel are threatening gestures — are likely to defend themselves. We humans then assume this defense is some sort of insubordination or an attempt to be alpha. In reality, these dogs tend to be quite insecure and are often fearful in many situations. A DESIRE TO BE ALPHA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! 

If we can teach our canine companions when they are young to trust human body language and interactions as safe and predictable, the chances of their feeling threatened are minimized, and their motivation to be aggressive is greatly reduced. You can see, then, why forceful or even covert means of dominating dogs can lead to a worsening of behavior, an increase in aggression, or in some cases, complete emotional shutdown. Dogs are not trying to lead; they are not trying to dominate or be the alpha to their lower-ranking human companions. They don’t see people as other dogs, but rather social companions of a different species. We don’t secrete the same pheromones, we don’t mate with them, we don’t hunt with them, so why on earth would we assume they want to outrank us? If we are not consistent or predictable with our interactions and do not teach our dogs to trust that what we ask of them is in their best interest, they are not likely to comply with our requests. And in some cases, they may be prompted to use aggression, if they perceive we are a threat to their safety or the resources they view as essential to their survival.

Meghan E. Herron, DVM, DACVB, Clinical Associate Professor — Behavioral Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University

http://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/behavioral-medicine

By Andrea Powell

Dogs teach us way more than we teach them. This is especially true of abandoned, neglected and special needs dogs. They show us unconditional love and to never give up.

A stray dog was found lying in a ditch in Eastern Kentucky with two broken legs. The outlook was not good, but the resilient pup refused to let his misfortune get him down.

Jean Gibowski, Deuce’s foster mom, initially thought that Deuce would be euthanized on the following Monday after he was found. She planned the best weekend for him, but he proved otherwise. “His will to survive was just so incredibly strong,” she tells The Dodo. His foster mom realized that he was walking and jumping on furniture without using his broken legs.

Screen Shots: YouTube/The Dodo

When she returned to the vet, she told them how he was not using his broken legs. He had his two infected and broken legs removed, since the vets told his foster mom they could not be repaired. Three days after the surgery, Deuce was running. He is missing his left front and hind leg, but can still miraculously run and play. The sweet pup defied the odds and is the happiest dog. His tail is constantly wagging and he offers kisses to everyone.

“It’s still a mystery as to how he can balance as well as he does. Never seen anything like that,” states his foster mom.

Once she rehabilitated him, she wanted to find the perfect forever home. His story was posted on social media and caught the attention of a man who understands how special two-legged dogs are. Domenick Scudera is the proud dad of two dogs that are two-legged, Lucky and Cyrus. Aside from those amazing pups, he has three other dogs and three cats, so a full house. However, when he saw the video about Deuce he fell in love with his spirit.

All his friends encouraged him to adopt Deuce. He went and visited the adorable dog and fell in love. A welcome party was arranged with some of his close friends and family. Deuce immediately fit into the family. He got along with all the people and animals.

“He was very friendly and very calm and sweet. And I think that impressed all of us right away and has been impressing us every since,” states Scudera.

He strolled into the house and met his new fur siblings. His big brother, Lucky, was the first to welcome him. He took on a parental role with Deuce. “So he has been watching Deuce to make sure he’s ok.” The two are inseparable and even sleep together. They run and play like any other dogs, just on two legs.

His new dad says, “it’s as if he’s always been there.” Deuce will join his other two-legged brothers in becoming a therapy dog. His positive outlook on life is something he can share with the world.

Watch the touching video below.

Proper ARS animalrescuesite_abovevideo

Terrified Pit Bull With Broken Leg Rescued By Patient Man: Click “Next” below!

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In 2019, Britain's most ​favored names for our ​four​-legged friends are names we​'d​ give to our children, like Charlie, Max, Bella and Luna. But go back hundreds of years and things are radically different. Why call your dog Max when you could go with Magastomo, meaning big mouth?

​We explore how names have changed over time and what this says about our relationship with them...

Medieval

Dogs in the Middle Ages were less for petting and more practically used for hunting, herding or put on guard duty. Their names were often just a description of their physical attributes, but we can see that female lapdogs were doted on as much as they are now.

​​​​​Male: ​Holdfast, Magastomo, Nosewise, Ringwood, Sturdy, Whitefoot

​Female: ​Bellina, Clenche, Dyamant, Purkoy, Terri, Venus

"I speak to my hounds as I would to a man... And they understand me and do as I wish better than any man of my household, but I do not think that any other man can make them do as I do."

​–14th century hunter Gaston, Comte de Foix​

1600s

Many of the breeds we know today can be traced to this time. King Charles I was so devoted to his​ ​span​iels, that a variety were named after him. Given names were less about a dog's occupation or appearance and more about their personalities.

​Male: ​Bangor ​, ​Blue​-man​, Chante​r​​, ​Drunkard​, ​Thunder​, ​Tickler​, ​Rapper​, ​Spanker 

​Female: ​Beauty​, ​Countess​, Daphne​, Darling, Duchess​, ​Jenny​, ​Juneau​, ​Moxie

"​B​ulldogs are adorable, with faces like toads that have been s​at on. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind; so ​flew'd so sanded​; ​their heads are hung with ears that sweep away the morning due..."

–​William Shakespeare​

Victorian

The Victorians practically invented the modern idea of the dog as the member of the family and this was reflected in the popular names. this was the age when animal rights began, with the founding of the RSPCA in 1824 and ​Bettersea Dogs Home in 1860.

​Male: ​Albert, Arnold, Cyril, Dante, Ernie, Ezra, Fletcher, Owen, Ruben, Wyatt

​Female:​ Ada, Arabelle, Ariella, Clara, Cordelia, Gertrude, ivy, Lucinda, Myrtle, Rosetta

​"​The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven not man's​"

Mark Twain​

2019

​T​hese days, dogs are such a part of the family that we've started to give them names we consider for our children. Names like Alfie and ​Ollie ​appear both in popular dog names and most popular baby names.

​Male: ​Charlie, Max, Archie, buddy, Ollie, Milo, Oscar, Bailey, Alfie, Cooper

​Female: ​Bella, Luna, Ruby, Molly, Coco, Daisy, Lucy, Rosie, Lola, papi

​O​ver hundreds of years, dogs have evolved from working companions to family members.

But even now a new generation of our ​four-legged friends are finding new roles, supporting our emotional well-being.

To find out about how therapy dogs are helping people with mental health issues visit​ audleyvillages.co.uk/audley-stories​

News gets old, memes become irrelevant, but dog snapchats (part I, part II, part III, part IV, part V) are immune to ageing. They've successfully cemented themselves on the internet like Mona Lisa in the Louvre, attracting huge crowds of curious visitors every day. Here at Bored Panda we're familiar with their power to brighten even the darkest of days, so we're happy to present to you another refined collection of some of the funniest and cutest we've found!