In this episode, we discuss a new law being introduced in Germany, a Finnish study on fearfulness in dogs, the most bizarre Letterbox question we could have ever imagined, an English company putting their own unique spin on canine nutrition, and we celebrate yet another truly remarkable Wagtastic Woof.
How much exercise is appropriate for your dog? We consider a new German law that proposes a mandated minimum activity for the country's 9 million-plus canine population. Is it a great leap forward or simply another example of bureaucratic idiocy?
In keeping with our health theme, we examine a new study that has found some surprising links between canine anxiety and lifestyle. Can a puppy's life chances be influenced by its formative experiences? And does your dog's breed have any bearing on its mental health?
Our Letterbox features a question that we never expected to receive. Our dog nerd was severely tested!
In Gadgets, Gizmos, and Gastronomy we take a look at the sometimes perplexing world of canine nutrition. One English manufacturer, that has recently expanded, has caught our eye with its rather unorthodox approach.
And finally, this episode's Wagtastic Woof is an utterly remarkable example of a canine carer. Tune in to find out more.
In this episode, we discuss a new law being introduced in Germany, a Finnish study on fearfulness in dogs, the most bizarre Letterbox question we could have ever imagined, an English company putting their own unique spin on canine nutrition, and we celebrate yet another truly remarkable Wagtastic Woof.
How much exercise is appropriate for your dog? We consider a new German law that proposes a mandated minimum activity for the country's 9 million-plus canine population. Is it a great leap forward or simply another example of bureaucratic idiocy?
In keeping with our health theme, we examine a new study that has found some surprising links between canine anxiety and lifestyle. Can a puppy's life chances be influenced by its formative experiences? And does your dog's breed have any bearing on its mental health?
Our Letterbox features a question that we never expected to receive. Our dog nerd was severely tested!
In Gadgets, Gizmos, and Gastronomy we take a look at the sometimes perplexing world of canine nutrition. One English manufacturer, that has recently expanded, has caught our eye with its rather unorthodox approach.
And finally, this episode's Wagtastic Woof is an utterly remarkable example of a canine carer. Tune in to find out more.
Hello, and welcome to Talk2ThePaw, a podcast that celebrates dogs for simply being wagtastic. I'm Caroline Bartley, and in each dogcast, I, along with canine nerd, Scott Andrews, will bring you the latest pooch related news and research as well as discussing how and why these fabulous animals make such a huge contribution to our lives. Like a puppy intent on discovering what that intriguing and strange smelling object in your garden really is, we're bonding enthusiastically into our third episode. So clickers and treats at the ready let's dive in and unwrap the first of our regular features. It's the Twilight Bark So what news story has caught our eye for this episode? Well, the Guardian reports on new legislation to be introduced in Germany, which means dog owners will by law, have to walk their animals twice a day. The Dogs Act, drawn up by the country's agriculture ministry has been drafted in response to findings, which suggested Germany's 9.4 million dogs weren't getting the exercise or stimulation they need. Under the new regulations owners will have to exercise their dogs for at least an hour every time they venture out for the mandated twice daily walk. Agriculture Minister Julia Klockner justified the legislation citing scientific evidence which showed dogs need a, and I quote, sufficient measure of activity and contact with environmental stimuli. The law will prohibit dogs being left home alone all day and being tethered on a chain or a lead for long periods. And the authorities in each of the 16 German States will be responsible for the new legislation's enforcement. So Scott, on the subject of enforcement, how can this be tackled on a practical level?
Scott Andrews:It's going to be very difficult as enforcement brings its own problems. When you consider Coronavirus, for example, in many countries people are being asked to wear face masks before they enter shops or enclosed spaces, and they're not doing it. And the primary reason they're not doing it is because there's nobody there to enforce it. Now with this law, it's slightly more complicated, as in Germany, there are 16 states, 16 federal states that are responsible for governing themselves. When this law has been enacted, these states will be responsible for enforcing it themselves. Now, there isn't an organization solely responsible like the RSPCA. It would fall on the individual decisions of 16 separate regional parliamens I suppose, and that's where things could get extremely sticky.
Caroline Bartley:I guess what you're saying is the legislation is not only unwieldy. It appears to be quite impractical as well.
Scott Andrews:Absolutely. Now it is impractical for a lot of ways, but the, you know, the first thing to consider is you're introducing this law, telling people what they should do, but you're not creating a method by which you can manage it, maintain it and enforce it.
Caroline Bartley:I must admit when I first looked at this, I do have some issues with it. To me, this legislation appears to be quite ill thought out. Now I know what it is they're trying to do. And I know that it's coming from a good place, but exercising your dog for two hours a day. To me, that seems a little bit extreme, but maybe that's just me any thoughts on that?
Scott Andrews:I find that oddly specific. Now you must take the dog out twice a day, one hour, a day, each time. What happens if people take that literally there might have been dogs that get four walks a day, you know, for example, dogs that live in apartments that need to go out to do their business, so to speak quite regularly, then suddenly they're being dragged on long walks or take, for instance, if you've got a Chihuahua at home.
Caroline Bartley:I can, I'm just thinking an, hour long walk twice a day with there teeny tiny little Chihuahua, it'll be absolutely destroyed.
Scott Andrews:It will be a massacre of tiny dogs, you know? And then take for example, you know, God forbid if Germany is having a summer, I know where we are we don't exactly have them.
Caroline Bartley:No, that's summer. What is that? We hear about this. We're not exactly sure what it is.
Scott Andrews:When you think seriously, summertime, so you're going to take your dog out twice a day and you have to take it an hour at a time. You're going to be making dogs very, very unwell all. Yeah, if you've got an elderly dog. Yeah. I know your own dog,yYou mentioned in the last episode, Caroline,
Caroline Bartley:God bless her, you know, I mean, she just about at the moment, is making it to the, to the top of the drive and back down again. I mean she's 17 now her next birthday in September, there is no way she would manage two hours of exercise a day. not no way.
Scott Andrews:And then for example, you might have people who have water dogs like poodles or Spaniels, or that often go swimming, but where does that stand? Is it a two hour walk or do they have to then swim for two hours? Obviously common sense dictates that there are a lot of questions raised by this law in itself.
Caroline Bartley:Yeah that was one of the points that I was alluding to earlier. The fact that yes, it is incredibly specific. And you know, there doesn't seem to be any allowance made for individual circumstances.
Scott Andrews:It seems to be a one size fits all. And that, in my opinion is where the problem lies. You know, the idea behind it is wonderful. Let's get our dogs out more. Let's walk with our dogs more. Letting your dogs out to actually be dogs is one of the most beautiful things you can do. And you can learn so much about them. The trouble is, I don't think you or your dog, especially the tiny Chihuahua going out in the middle of winter when it's minus 22 outside and snowing, I don't think it's going to make you any closer.
Caroline Bartley:A couple of other things that, um, I want to get your thoughts on. The minister has said that dogs need, and I'm quoting here, a sufficient measure of activity and contact with environmental stimuli. From a lay person's point of view, I'm not too clear on what she means there. Do you have any ideas? Can you clarify for us what you think she means?
Scott Andrews:I do believe we may well have spoken about this once or twice before. Dogs see the world through their nose, they live through their nose. So when a dog goes out for a walk, it is almost an attack on the senses. There are so many different sniffs. There are so many different smells passing by allowing your dog to sniff is letting your dog almost become one with the environment, or to become one with nature.
Caroline Bartley:Yeah ok, that is something that they do naturally, you see your dog even just out in the garden,
Scott Andrews:Your dog does that naturally the problem is the dog owners often prevent the dog from doing that.
Caroline Bartley:Yeah.
Scott Andrews:I'm pretty sure every one of us has been guilty of this. It may have been getting up a little late for work or not getting out with your dog early enough.
Caroline Bartley:Absolutely, yeah.
Scott Andrews:Or having an urgent appointment and thinking, you know what, I'll just pop out round the block with my dog before I go. And of course, that's the day your dog chooses to spend 20 minutes sniffing around the first lamppost he sees. And you don't get more than 10 feet from your door.
Caroline Bartley:Absolutely. And you have one eye on your watch thinking, please, God, I love you, but hurry up.
Scott Andrews:You ended up dragging your dog. Well dragging's a hard word, but I mean,
Caroline Bartley:Gent-gently encouraging Fido to move a little quicker.
Scott Andrews:Yes, that would be a better way of phrasing it. As opposed to letting your dog enjoy the environment.
Caroline Bartley:Letting your dog be a dog.
Scott Andrews:There are other types of environmental stimuli that your dog encounters on a walk. So there may be other people that may come and say, hello, or may not want to say hello. They might be jogging, riding their bike. Your dog may also encounter other dogs, cats, ducks. Really it's dependent on where you live. Yet, all of these experiences can be almost emotional. They're sensory experiences for us.
Caroline Bartley:Yep.
Scott Andrews:So when you've got four legs, you're not able to speak, and your belly's a bit closer to the ground. They can be a lot more exciting. So what I suspect the minister is trying to say is that it's not merely a case of taking your dog out for a jog or riding your bike for an hour, with you dog running up after them. That's not enough. You need to allow the dog to engage with its environment. And honestly, this will give you a happier, more contented dog.
Caroline Bartley:So the minister is talking about, it's not just physical exercise for the dog. It's, um, it's mental stimulation. It's emotional stimulation for the animal as well.
Scott Andrews:Stimulation. It's essential for all of us. A lot of behavioral problems stem from the fact that dogs are bored. You go back, oh, even as I suppose, as recent as a hundred years ago, most dogs had jobs.
Caroline Bartley:Okay.
Scott Andrews:As they become more domesticated that aspect disappeared. But it means that dogs that were bred for very specific things, for example, retrieving or hunting, they're not able to do these things anymore.
Caroline Bartley:Yeah.
Scott Andrews:So these dogs are bored, they don't have the stimulation. Now there is more you can do to stimulate your dog which I'm sure we'll cover in another episode. It's important to remember when you go outside, it's your dog's opportunity to engage with this environment and for a dog it's not just about going to use the bathroom. It's about sensory experience. It's about engaging with other animals that are in the neighborhood, unfortunately via the medium of urine markings. Um, but still that's what they're doing. And I think this helps bring a sense of comfort and security to some dogs, for others it might make them even more anxious.
Caroline Bartley:Are there any other positives that you think this legislation will bring?
Scott Andrews:Well one aspect that is sneaking under the radar in the media reports is the fact that this Dogs Act, I believe it was called.
Caroline Bartley:That's right.
Scott Andrews:Is introducing a ban on chaining dogs or tethering dogs.
Caroline Bartley:That's right, yeah.
Scott Andrews:Now this is extremely important for a number of reasons. Primarily, if you go back a good few years, there was a book written called the Pitbull Placebo. Now this book studied dog attacks in the United States over about a 70 year period. One of the key findings in this research was that in cases where the dog attack proved to be fatal, by and large the dog had almost always been chained up. So this is proof that there is a clear link between chaining your dog and dog aggression. And hopefully this law is going to tackle that head on.
Caroline Bartley:I think it's quite important to come back to this issue about exercise and what is the right amount of exercise for your dog? Because obviously everybody's situation will be different and every dog is different.
Scott Andrews:Now this is a question for the ages, because, many people have had different theories on it, but there's never been any research that directly tells you whether they right or wrong.
Caroline Bartley:Yeah. And I think this is really where some of the confusion abounds and is necessarily going to arise from this specific piece of legislation, which is why I'm coming back to it.
Scott Andrews:One of the most common problems we have is that we tend to over-exercise our puppies and we under-exercise our adult dogs.
Caroline Bartley:Yeah.
Scott Andrews:It may surprise you to learn that the ideal advice for puppy exercise is that you exercise a puppy outside for five minutes per month of his life. Most dogs, their vaccinations aren't finished until they're 12 weeks. So at 12 weeks, that's three months. That's a 15 minute walk, no more than twice a day. Now this is the prescribed advice as it is. And that's remarkable because I have never met a dog owner who's had a 12 week old puppy who's exercised it that little.
Caroline Bartley:I think collectively, and I include myself in this, we are all hanging our heads in shame and thinking must do better.
Scott Andrews:And oddly, you speak with most vets or you read most of the advice online regarding adults dogs. The suggestion is a minimum 30 minutes a day, twice a day,
Caroline Bartley:Which would seem, sorry to interrupt, would not seem to be unreasonable really.
Scott Andrews:No, it's not, but when you consider that's the recommended exercise for a six month old puppy, not a five year old adult dog. There are inherent dangers of over- exercising puppies before they're fully developed. And that's why we should try to exercise them less. But by and large, it's a question of watching your own dog and examining the patterns within your own dog's behavior to try and determine whether you're exhausting your dog or whether your dog still has too much energy leftover. So we're in this remarkably precarious position.
Caroline Bartley:Are there any particular tips or strategies that you use to recognize if you're giving your dog enough exercise or if your dog has had enough exercise?
Scott Andrews:If you speak to any vet, they'll always tell you that you should be able to feel your dog's ribs, but not see them. Okay.
Caroline Bartley:Yes. I know because my vet has always said to me, there should be just the very slightest layer of insulation over her ribs.
Scott Andrews:That's a good way to measure precisely how fit or healthy your dog is looking. Personally, I'm loathe to admit this. I actually weigh my dogs on a home scale once a week.
Caroline Bartley:You weigh them once a week?
Scott Andrews:The reason I do this is because this enables me to get a clearer picture of their health, every breed of dog as a weight category, should we say that they should be in.
Caroline Bartley:Life being as it is now, I would guess that there are a lot of us who don't have the time to weigh our dogs every week. So if that is the case, do you have one or two little nuggets of advice that we can take away?
Scott Andrews:Pay attention to your dog's diet, pay attention to the amount your dog's sleeping. When you're out, remember is not just about walking around in circles. For your dog, it's the opportunity to interact with the environment. Let your dog sniff, let them sniff and they'll come home happier. And finally, if you're trying to work out, am I exercising my dog enough? Look to your dog's behavior for clues. The answer will be there
Caroline Bartley:Time for the Doppler effect, where we unleash our canine nerd for a look at the latest doggy related science and research. Our laboratory has been deep cleaned, and we're practicing the necessary government mandated socially distant protocols. Scott, what's under the microscope this time round?
Scott Andrews:Fearfulness in dogs.
Caroline Bartley:And take us through some of the findings.
Scott Andrews:There has been a recent study published in Science Daily from the University of Helsinki. The study itself is part of Professor Lohl's wider Academy of Finland project, which investigates a number of things such as canine behavior and environmental and genetic factors and metabolic changes, et cetera, et cetera. Now, the important part of this new study is that they've found that an active lifestyle reduces fearfulness in dogs. There are a number of fears that are very common that you can find in a vast array of dogs, such as noise sensitivity, fear of novel situations. And for example, fear of slippery surfaces and fear of heights, are all common behaviors among dogs. What the university of Helsinki did, was an enormous, incredibly impressive behavioral survey of nearly 14,000 dogs. And what they discovered was that these non-social fears are associated with factors relating to the dog's living environment, it's lifestyle and its breed.
Caroline Bartley:So does the survey indicate any common causes for fearfulness?
Scott Andrews:The major cause that they've identified is insufficient socialization in puppies. I don't know if you recall, but previously on our podcast, we've spoken about fear periods in dogs. Do you remember what age that was?
Caroline Bartley:I remember for German shepherds, it seemed to come in at around six weeks,
Scott Andrews:Close, five. As a general rule, most dogs experience this period at around eight weeks when these novel situations that used to be exciting, suddenly become quite terrifying. Additionally, there are a number of, um, fearful behaviors that have been identified with this insufficient socialization. Again, loud noises, different surfaces, transparent stairs. What they found was, if a puppy was insufficiently socialized and didn't have enough exposure to these different surfaces or situations, obviously they displayed fear, yet when they put another dog with that puppy, it reduced the occurrence, so they weren't so fearful.
Caroline Bartley:So was it almost a case of safety in numbers?
Scott Andrews:Yes, perhaps, perhaps, you know, there isn't a great deal of detail about this aspect of the study. But as I say, the important thing we can take away from it is that having a, an additional dog as a form of moral support can actually improve the behavior of a dog that is struggling with anxiety.
Caroline Bartley:So you talked about the fear of loud noises there, but what loud noises specifically are we talking about?
Scott Andrews:Well, obviously there are a variety of loud noises. When you think about cities, you have trucks and cars and trains and buses and sirens and all kinds. One key difference they did find that surprised me considerably was that urban dogs are considerably more fearful than rural dogs. Now, this is interesting because we actually have the same phenomenon in humans. Mental health issues tend to be more prevalent in cities where we're all living on top of each other than we are out in the country. Now, whether this correlates with noise, to be fair, it's not easy to say one specific noise they did look at was fear of fireworks. And they had the most unusual finding, that fear of fireworks was much more common in first-time dog owner's dogs. So you have these two specific elements that to some degree are clearly owner directed, you know, a first-time owner. It did mention fear of fireworks and oddly fear of surfaces, was something that come up with first-time owners. But the secondary consideration is that dogs struggle more in the city. Again, that could be noise, that could be surface, that could be smell. And one of the strangest aspects of the study altogether, regarded non-social fearfulness.
Caroline Bartley:What is actually meant by non-social fearfulness?
Scott Andrews:Non-social fearfulness is anxiety caused by activities that don't involve with meeting with other dogs or other people or other animals. It's your general anxieties, such as sound, such as texture, such as surface, such a smell. They found that non-social fearfulness was much more common in sterilized females and small dogs. They also found an unusual indicator that dogs that had fears of surfaces, be it slippery surfaces or cattle grids or staircases generally had a more fearful disposition, which suggests that dogs with surface phobias suffer from anxiety, much more than other types of dog.
Caroline Bartley:The survey spoke about inherited fears. Could you give us some examples of what it is that they actually found?
Scott Andrews:In the case of inherited fears they've made a very surprising discovery that there are significant differences between breeds. For instance, they found that Cairn Terriers are the most fearful, quite surprisingly, the least fearful dog in their survey was a Chinese Crested dog. I don't know if you've seen them.
Caroline Bartley:Those are quite small aren't they?
Scott Andrews:Quite small very often with funky punk rock haircuts.
Caroline Bartley:So are we talking about a little bit of small dog syndrome?
Scott Andrews:Well quite the opposite because if small dog syndrome was a generalized thing, Chinese Crested D. ogs should be fearful. Now, I don't know if it's because they've learned Kung Fu or their Mohicans give them strength, but they are amongst the least fearful dogs. Now there are some variances in the non-social fears in individual breeds. For example, the Queen's favorite,
Caroline Bartley:The Welsh Corgis?
Scott Andrews:Yes, and they are unusually fearful of noise, but have almost no fear of surfaces.
Caroline Bartley:Surprising. Any indication why?
Scott Andrews:No, it might be because they're so much closer to the ground than other breeds of dog that it doesn't really alarm them as much. They also found that Mini Schnauzers, Chihuahuas and Labradors were much more fearful of surfaces, but less so of noise. So you have these different breeds, displaying different aspects of fear. And what they suppose, is that the differences in breed support the idea that fearfulness is inherited.
Caroline Bartley:We want this dogcast to be as interactive an experience as possible. So please get in touch. You can talk to the paw on Facebook, www.facebook.com/talk2thepawpod, Twitter@talk2thepawpod, email info@talk2thepaw.co.uk. All the podcasts are available to listen and download on Apple podcast, Spotify, and Google podcasts. Dropping through the letterbox at Paw HQ this time round is a question from one concerned listener. And quite frankly, I'm sure it's something that every dog owner has pondered at some stage. Lee from Northern Ireland has contacted us via Facebook with this. Have you ever come across talking dogs? I nearly getting my wee dog to say sausages. So Scott, talking dogs, how do you rate Lee's chances of success?
Scott Andrews:Um, well the main problem that Lee faces is that dogs don't have the right equipment. You know, they don't have the vocal chords, the mouth shape, the lips. Realistically, they're not built to talk.
Caroline Bartley:But it feels like dogs understand us when we talk to them. So they're obviously exhibiting a level of language comprehension. Would that be fair to say?
Scott Andrews:Well, are they understanding the words? And you know think about this, for example. Very often someone will get home from work, maybe five, half five, sit down, have a cup of tea, then put their shoes on, put their jacket on, stand up from the sofa, walk near the door. Are the dogs understanding the word walkies? Or are they understanding the fact that every single day when you take them out, you go through exactly the same routine at the same time?
Caroline Bartley:Dogs are not just, I'll, I'll phrase it this way, not just interpreting the language, but they're using a variety of other cues to anticipate what it is that you're going to do.
Scott Andrews:Yes, they are indeed. So they're using our body language. Dogs also have a sense of time. They also have a memory for routines. So they are looking at the complete picture and not only the words that we use.
Caroline Bartley:If I can play devil's advocate, are you telling me then that dogs can't acquire language?
Scott Andrews:No, no, no, no, no. Don't get me wrong. Dogs do acquire language and remarkably, they do it in a very similar way to children. Have you ever heard the term fast mapping?
Caroline Bartley:I'm not familiar with that. No.
Scott Andrews:So when babies or small children learn language, they don't sit down and look through a dictionary or they don't go to a classroom. They're put in a wide variety of situations where they have to try to infer or interpret what we're saying. For instance, the first time you might be actually telling your child who's grabbing at the remote control, you might be pointing at the object saying, give me the remote control. Now, I'm pretty sure that your child to 15 months, maybe 18 months doesn't know what a remote control actually does. Yet they learn the meaning of the word from that experience. There was a study done by a lady called Julia Kaminsky and the study was called word learning in domestic dogs, evidence for fast mapping, where she encountered the most remarkable dog. How many words do you think a dog could learn?
Caroline Bartley:I would reckon off the cuff, she picks a number out of thin air, 15?
Scott Andrews:15. The reason this dog was so remarkable, his name was Rico. The owner contacted Julia Kaminsky because Rico had learned, wait for it, drum roll please. 200 words.
Caroline Bartley:Two hundred? Now hold on, hold on a minute. When she claims that Rico had learned 200 words, what exactly did she mean?
Scott Andrews:Right, no, no. That question is fair enough and I'll tackle that head on. Okay. Obviously Rico didn't become a, a conversationalist. He didn't have the vocabulary within himself to discover the ins and outs of existential philosophy. But what the owner did do is teach him separate labels for 200 objects. So for instance, in his toy box, he might have a yellow ball, blue ball, red ball, yellow octopus, pink octopus and so on and so forth. When Julia was contacted by the owner, she decided the first thing she needed to do was test this and prove it. And the way they did it, was very, very interesting. Eventually they actually tested him on all the toys he knew, but primarily the tests focused on taking him to one room, whether it be 10 toys. 8 of the toys belonged to Rico, which he knew the labels to. And there were two new objects that he'dd never encountered before.
Caroline Bartley:Okay, two new ones, okay.
Scott Andrews:So she then took him to another room where she asked him to retrieve one of the toys. In the beginning she only chose familiar toys. So it might be Rico fetch the red ball. Now the first two times she asked him to get toys that he knew, the reason being this ruled out the possibility of him bringing back new toys, because he was attracted to them, because you know, they were novel they weren't toys that he'd interacted with. And then they would ask him to bring one of the new toys, using a new label, a new formation of words that he hadn't experienced. So it could be Rico, bring me the red helicopter. It, maybe it didn't have a helicopter or maybe he did, but not in red. And he had to look through the remaining toys to try to assess, or workout what toy was he being asked to bring?
Caroline Bartley:Okay. So there's an element of problem solving and trying to gauge if that particular word or combination of words was already in his lexicon?
Scott Andrews:Yeah, yeah. In a similar respect to the small child I was talking about, that had to work out that the remote control was the remote control because you were pointing at it without knowing the word, the dog had to use similar reasoning, like this inferential reasoning to actually decide which object he was being asked to bring back. The funny thing was, he was retested 10 minutes after with the new objects and he remembered them no problem. After four weeks he still remembered most of the new objects. He was a completely remarkable pup.
Caroline Bartley:That proves a level of comprehension, which in Rico's case was remarkable. I don't think anybody could argue with that. But going back to Lee's question, is there any evidence that you know of that dogs can actually produce language?
Scott Andrews:Yes. Now have you ever seen a dog play a keyboard?
Caroline Bartley:I've watched the Muppets and Ralph the dog. I know I'm showing my age when I make that reference. And there, there are probably many people, many of our younger listeners who are thinking, what?
Scott Andrews:I wasn't actually talking about, that kind of keyboard was I'm a Brazilian woman, Alexandra Rossi. She taught her dog to use a keyboard, a specially made keyboard. The keyboard had six symbols, only six buttons. So one button was for walk, food, water, a toy, play and her crate. So anytime the dog pressed one of the buttons, a voice would say food or play or the corresponding...
Caroline Bartley:But that's not a dog producing language in what I guess we would call the conventional sense, and I think it's certainly not in the sense that Lee means it
Scott Andrews:Well contextually the dog was using the keyboard correctly. So if the dog got a new toy or was offered a new toy, the dog would run to its keyboard and press toy toy. Now, if the dog was hungry, it would run to the keyboard and press food, food, food.
Caroline Bartley:But how do we know that, that the dog just wasn't wandering around just pressing these buttons randomly?
Scott Andrews:Because the dog never did it when it was alone,
Caroline Bartley:Okay.
Scott Andrews:Which demonstrates that the dog understood the communicative element of the keyboard.
Caroline Bartley:So it wasn't interested in the keyboard at all when it was on its own?
Scott Andrews:No.
Caroline Bartley:Okay. Okay. That's interesting.
Scott Andrews:The most remarkable aspect of this story is when the owner of the dog brought home a Guinea pig and introduced it to the dog, the dog ran to its keyboard and it pressed food. So although he was communicating.
Caroline Bartley:Perhaps too effectively, in that case.
Scott Andrews:It may well have been. Going back to Lee's question. Sadly, dogs cannot speak. I would love them to, it would make my life infinitely easier, but the fact is they can't. However, I hope I've at least given you some examples that show that dogs do use language in interesting and surprising ways.
Caroline Bartley:Lee, thank you very, very much for your question. Keep trying. And if you happen to have any success, let us know. The pet food industry is a booming market and figures show that for 2018, it contributed a mammoth 2.7 billion pounds to the United Kingdom coffers alone. Dog food manufacturers are understandably keen to get a portion of the lucrative sector. But for us as consumers, choosing and buying food for your pooch can be incredibly confusing. So what should you look for in a good nutritious dog food? Well, we've dragged our canine nerd away from his snuffle mat to try and get some answers. But Scott, I gathere there's a player in the dog food industry that's set your tail wagging. Tell us more.
Scott Andrews:So the name of the company is Butternut Box. They've been operating for four years and they've recently bought a 150,000 square foot manufacturing plant on the Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire border in England.
Caroline Bartley:How did you hear about these people? And I take it that this is something that you're already using for your own dogs is it?
Scott Andrews:Oh no, no it isn't. Butternut Box they don't deliver to my location at the moment.
Caroline Bartley:And if I can just chip in, in the interests of transparency, until you mentioned the company haven't been aware of them either. Tell us more about them.
Scott Andrews:The thing that caught my attention is that their meals are prepared from fresh ingredients using 60% meat, 40% veg, lentils and minerals.
Caroline Bartley:But I thought that all dog food was meant to contain our certain percentage meat constituent, or maybe I've been living under a misapprehension for all this time.
Scott Andrews:Unfortunately for a dog food to be labeled as with chicken, it only needs to contain 4% chicken,
Caroline Bartley:4%?
Scott Andrews:4%, you know that is something quite astonishing.
Caroline Bartley:I think most of us would find that quite woeful, actually.
Scott Andrews:I certainly wouldn't eat that for dinner. Jumping back to Butternut Box. So, they are actually veterinary approved. Their meals are grain-free. So when you order the food it comes frozen in a little bag that you can pop in your freezer or defrost straight away.
Caroline Bartley:So hold on, the, the food is frozen. I'm not entirely sure that I would be comfortable with the concept of giving my dog defrosted food.
Scott Andrews:If it's defrosted you can keep it unopened in your fridge for up to seven days. And you can use the food two days after you open it.
Caroline Bartley:So is it really necessary to give a dog fresh food? I mean, to me, that seems like a terribly expensive concept that the company has come up with.
Scott Andrews:Well according to the Butternut website, their costs range from one pound thirty-one per day. In that regard that doesn't really sound too expensive. And you have to consider in regards to serving your dogs, um, fresh food, that dog food only appeared in the mid to late 19th century. Prior to that dogs were eating our scraps and eating warm food most days. And this is what excites me about this product is the fact that these meals are designed to be able to be served warm to your dog,
Caroline Bartley:But why on earth would you want to serve a dog warm food?
Scott Andrews:There've been blind studies that have shown that dogs do prefer warm food from other choices. For the simple reason that when food is heated, it spreads the scent further.
Caroline Bartley:Many people like me who will have stood in the supermarket and pet food shops for what seems like hours on end scanning the shelves, wondering what food to pick. A lot of manufacturers now are marketing their product on the basis that it's high meat content, it's grain free. So what is it specifically about this offering that you like so much?
Scott Andrews:They have the ability to actually tailor their food to the age of your dog, the sizer your dog and the weight of your dog. As I alluded to earlier when we were talking about exercising your dog enough. One thing that really most of us don't do is pay careful attention to the weight of our dog. By enabling us to manage our dogs weight more closely, Butternut Box are acting more like a dietician for hire. And this could be very, very helpful to many, many people in their homes.
Caroline Bartley:And again just to clarify, this is not an endorsement, it's simply an opinion and other branded dog foods are available. At Talk2ThePaw we love to bring you stories about those extra special dogs who've gone above and beyond to enrich our lives. And the wagtastic woof we're celebrating in episode three is an absolute star. Assistance dog Udo works alongside his owner Toni Jane, who suffers from an incredibly rare and debilitating genetic condition. The two year old yellow Labrador is a pillar of support to Toni Jane, whose condition means she's confined to a wheelchair and copes with constant, severe fatigue and dislocating joints. Udo helps around the house with a variety of tasks, including carrying the mail, emptying the washing machine and stripping the bed sheets and his grateful owner freely admits this handsome boy has utterly transformed her life. So for you, dedicated doggy Udo and for your fellow assistant dogs everywhere, a very well-deserved round of applause. Remember you can nominate your own wagtastic woof. Get in touch and tell us all about that very special dog who's made a difference to your life. Contact us on Facebook or Twitter, talk2thepaw pod, email info@ talktothepaw.co.uk. Your stories and comments, questions, and suggestions are all welcome. That's all for now. Thanks so much for your company until next time. Goodbye.