PUTTING THE FUN INTO READING

What is Your Dog Thinking?

Dogs are loveable and wonderful friends and there's lots of evidence to suggest that they have feelings just like you and me. Take my dog Pernod for example ...

He was a cross-whippet that I rescued from a shelter. I didn’t like to board him when I went away from home in case it brought back unhappy memories of his sad start in life. However, I was lucky to have a friend who would look after him.

I missed him a lot when we were apart and apparently he missed me too. He would show it big time when I came to collect him. The moment he saw me, he would leap on me, his tail wagging fast enough to cause a hurricane. Then he would cover my face with big slobbery kisses.

But when we got home, his attitude completely change. For a few hours, whenever I spoke to him he could turn his head away and ignore me. He was in the huff and was letting me know that he was't happy that I'd left him. Once he was satisfied he had punished me enough, we were best buddies again.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Have you heard the phrase to dog someone’s heels? Meaning to follow them very closely. Well, that’s what he did. He dogged my heels for days. Whenever I turned around, I tripped over him. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom, without him following me. He refused to let me out of his sight.

That kind of behaviour sounds very human. Here's some other examples of our four-legged friends behaving like we do:

Dogs Get Jealous

Experts believe that dogs get jealous if their owners give too much attention to someone else. A University of California study found dogs didn’t seem to be too bothered when their owners ignored them, but when the owner showered attention on a stuffed dog that could bark and wag its tail the real dog got jealous. Read More

Dogs Are Smart

You might think your dog is as daft as a brush at times, but they are pretty smart. In fact, they’re as smart as a two-year-old child is. Researchers have found that they can understand up to 250 words and gestures, can count up to five and can perform simple math sums. Border collies are the cleverest canines, followed by poodles, German shepherds, golden retrievers and dobermans. Read More

Dogs Dream

Have you ever noticed a dog twitching, growling or snapping in their sleep? That’s probably because it is dreaming. Researchers found dogs have similar sleep patterns and brain activity as we do. Smaller breeds tend to dream more than larger ones. Read More

Dogs Curl Up To Keep Warm

If you are cold, do you hug yourself, or if you are in bed, do you curl up in a ball? Well, dogs do the same, They have an instinct inherited from their ancestors that lived in the wild to keep themselves warm and to protect their vital organs while they sleep. Read More

Dogs Pant To Keep Cool

When you get hot on a sweltering day, spare a thought for your pet. Not only are they wearing a fur coat, but also their body temperature is higher than yours is. A human's normal body temperature is 37C, but a dog’s is 38C. When we get hot, we sweat through the pores in our skin, but dogs only sweat through the pads of their feet, which is a small area. So they take in cooler air through their mouths by panting. Read More

To find out what my fictional dog Rufus gets up to in WOOF, A BOY'S BEST FRIEND, read a sample HERE 
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Have fun reading. Bye for now.​