Anna the dog

[BLD]

There's good money in it I hear.

[Joe 90]

That's worst than Loopers weighing scales reflection!!

[Reg Dingle]

That's worst than Loopers weighing scales reflection!!

How rude... thats my gardener you're talking about.

[Reg Dingle]

Bladdy hell Chitty, maybe he's got a job with these guys?

Just finished all my spring cleaning too

Do they mind if you lay there on the sofa in the same clobber whilst pulling the head off it?
Asking for a friend

[Mendip]

^ No, they are cool with that.

... I would imagine.

How rude... thats my gardener you're talking about.

Well, kudos to you mate. You feed your gardener a lot better than I feed my mine.


Anyway, to get this thread back on track... while I was tucked up early in bed in my Bangkok hotel room last night the daughter called to say that Lola was whining and missing me. This made me a bit sad and I realised that I missed being at home and had I been in a fit state to do anything constructive, I would have maybe checked out and got a taxi back to Korat there and then.

I Whatsapped with Lola a while and she cheered up and started wagging her tail. I've noticed before when having video calls with dogs that they don't seem to recognise your face but they do recognise your voice.

[DrWilly]

while I was tucked up early in bed in my Bangkok hotel room

[CalEden]

Through The Eyes Of Your Dog

Owners who want to better understand their canine companions must recognize that dogs see the world from a different visual perspective. The differences begin with the structure of the eye. We have a good idea what dogs see because we know the make-up of the retina of a dog’s eye.

The retina is the light sensitive portion of the eye. This structure is located in the back of the inside of the eyeball. The retina contains two types of light sensitive cells; rods and cones. Cones provide color perception and detailed sight, while rods detect motion and vision in dim light. Dogs have rod-dominated retinas that allow them to see well in the dark. Along with superior night vision, dogs have better motion visibility than humans have. However, because their retinas’ contain only about one-tenth the concentration of cones (that humans have), dogs do not see colors as humans do.

Dogs see like a color-blind human. Many people think that a person who is red / green color blind cannot see any color, but there are variations of color blindness. Most people have vision that is trichromatic (three-color variations). People who are red / green color blind are dichromatic (two color variations). Dogs’ retinas can distinguish two colors. These colors are blue-violet and yellow. Dogs can also differentiate between shades of gray. Dogs are unable to recognize green, yellow, orange, and red.





Dogs use other cues (such as smell, texture, brightness, and position) rather than relying solely on color. Seeing-eye dogs, for example, may not distinguish between a green or red stoplight; they look at the brightness and position of the light. This, along with the flow and noise of traffic, tell the dog that it is the right time to cross the street.

How a dog’s eyes are set determines the field of view as well as depth perception. Prey species tend to have eyes located on the sides of their head. This gives the animals an increased field of view and allows them to see approaching predators. Predator species, like humans and dogs, have eyes set close together. Human eyes are set straight forward while dog eyes, depending on the breed, are usually set at a 20 degree angle. This angle increases the field of view and therefore increases the peripheral vision of the dog.

Increased peripheral vision compromises the amount of binocular vision. Binocular vision occurs where the field of view of each eye overlaps. Binocular vision is necessary for depth perception. The wider-set eyes of dogs have less overlap and less binocular vision (thus less depth perception). Dogs’ depth perception is best when they look straight ahead. This is not an ideal situation as their nose often interferes. Predators need binocular vision as a survival tool. Binocular vision aids in jumping, leaping, catching, and many other activities fundamental to predators.




In addition to having less binocular vision than humans have, dogs also have less visual acuity. Humans with perfect eyesight are said to have 20/20 vision. This means that we can distinguish letters or objects at a distance of 20 feet. Dogs typically have 20/75 vision. What this means is that they must be 20 feet from an object to see it as well as a human standing 75 feet away. Certain breeds have better visual acuity. Labradors, commonly used as seeing-eye dogs, are bred for better eyesight and may have vision that is closer to 20/20.

If you’re silently standing across the field from your dog, don’t expect him (her) to recognize you. He’ll recognize you when you do some sort of motion particular to yourself. He (she) may also recognize your presence by his outstanding sense of smell and / or hearing. Because of the large number of rods in the retina, dogs see moving objects much better than they see stationary objects. Motion sensitivity has been noted as the critical aspect of canine vision. Much of dog behavior deals with posture and appropriateness. Small changes in your body posture mean a lot to your dog. Dog owners need to modify training based on this fact. If you want your dog to perform an action based on a silent cue, we suggest using a wide sweeping hand and arm motion in order to cue your dog.





When dogs go blind, owners often wonder if the dogs’ quality of life has diminished to the point where they are no longer happy. Humans deal well with being blind, and humans are much more dependent on their eyes than are dogs. Blind dogs lead happy lives as long as they are comfortable. The owner may need to make some adjustments in the pet’s environment. Some of these adjustments include fencing the yard, taking leashed walks, and not leaving unusual objects in the dog’s normal pathways. Obviously, most blind dogs cannot navigate stairs very well. When blind dogs are in their normal environment, most people don’t know they are blind.

[Joe 90]

Interesting read and info, cheers.

[Joe 90]

had I been in a fit state to do anything constructive,

We've all been there mate.
Some more than others

[Mendip]

This morning Yogi kept looking out at the back gate wagging his tail. I checked it out and discovered that Lola's brother and sister had sniffed her out and were peering under the gate.



I took Lola out to say hello and the whole family turned up for a very happy reunion. Her mother, sister, brother and two fathers. It's a strange family set up... like something out of inner city Birmingham.



Father number two is on the left of the picture (father number one is just right of the mum). Number two is also our Tommy's brother which makes Tommy, Lola's uncle. We'll have to be careful when Lola has her first season, although it's usually Yogi who alerts us when the seasons start, deviant that he is.

A lovely reunion was had but it was the two sisters who really hit it off.



It was also nice to see that Lola was happy to come back home to her new family. She has completely won over every member of our pack apart from Anna. There's no problem there, but Anna just isn't interested.

Here's Lola deliberately splashing water on our pack leader, Max. It was amazing how he put up with it.

[Bonecollector]

Their coats are looking amazing Mendy, have you been treating them?

I love ridgebacks and it seems to be quite a common trait throughout Thailand's dogs.

[Mendip]

^ No treatment BC but just a good diet. I still contribute a lot of food to Lola's 'outside' family and they are doing well. Our dogs at home regularly eat fish (tuna) and I think that helps their coats.

Three of our dogs have prominent ridges running down their backs and I think they look lovely. The ridge gene must be a strong one as it seems to regularly crop up. None of Lola's family have a ridge yet she has a very distinctive one.

[Bonecollector]

^ No treatment BC but just a good diet. I still contribute a lot of food to Lola's 'outside' family and they are doing well. Our dogs at home regularly eat fish (tuna) and I think that helps their coats.

Three of our dogs have prominent ridges running down their backs and I think they look lovely. The ridge gene must be a strong one as it seems to regularly crop up. None of Lola's family have a ridge yet she has a very distinctive one.

Well they are looking great whatever! well done. Yea the ridge is really strong throughout the Thailand, almost every other dog I see seems to have it or a vague hint of it. We are thinking about get a Rhodesian Ridgeback when we get to the UK but it is a toss between that and a Border Collie.

[Mendip]

^ The Rhodesian Ridgeback is one of my favourite dogs. I had a mate in WA who had one... a great temperament and great looking as well.

I've always fancied getting a purebred Thai Ridgeback here but we always seem to be full of the waifs and strays from the street.

[Bonecollector]

^ The Rhodesian Ridgeback is one of my favourite dogs. I had a mate in WA who had one... a great temperament and great looking as well.

I've always fancied getting a purebred Thai Ridgeback here but we always seem to be full of the waifs and strays from the street.

You mean the smooth haired ones? they usually come in grey.

Interesting

The other existing breeds of ridgeback dog are the Rhodesian Ridgeback from Africa and the Phu Quoc Ridgeback from Vietnam, which is somewhat smaller than the Thai Ridgeback.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is partly descended from the southern African indigenous Hottentot Khoi dog, a known ridge-bearing dog. The gene that causes the ridge has been inherited from a common ancestor: "The geographical origin of the ridge present in Ridgeback dogs is still a mystery, thus solid proof has now been provided that the ridge mutation in Ridgeback dogs is identical by descent and the likelihood of parallel mutations occurring in Asia and Africa (Epstein, 1937) can therefore be rejected."^[2]

[katie23]

^the ridge probably didn't cross the sea (or travel via the land bridges) since I haven't seen the ridge in any of the local/ soi dogs here in PH. First time that I've seen a ridgeback dog (or heard mention of it) was here on TD. I think what's more common is the muddy brown coat among street dogs - main coat color is brown but with streaks of black/ gray in it.

Interesting that Lola now has two families. I'm glad she's settling in well. Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl...

[Bonecollector]

Well Homo Sapiens arrived in Thailand about 20000BC. We had already domesticated dogs by then, so, it is possible they were brought here from Africa. I have seen graves dated 10000BC in Lopburi with dogs buried with their owners. I do not think there is any way to tell the breed but my friend seems to think ridgebacks were prominent back then.

[Bonecollector]

This is a cave drawing I saw on a hike in Uthai Thani, it's authenticity is definitely disputed but that is not what we are talking about here. Just wanted to cover myself from any petulant passive aggressive attacks from others on this site. Anyway, even if this is copied, it is probably been copied from similar drawings that are actually real. The left dog appears to have a ridge on its back. I never actually realised this but I was just looking through my photos for the burial pics and saw it again.

[DrWilly]

This is a cave drawing I saw on a hike in Uthai Thani, it's authenticity is definitely disputed but that is not what we are talking about here. Just wanted to cover myself from any petulant passive aggressive attacks from others on this site. Anyway, even if this is copied, it is probably been copied from similar drawings that are actually real. The left dog appears to have a ridge on its back. I never actually realised this but I was just looking through my photos for the burial pics and saw it again.

drawing some tenuous links there.

[Mendip]

Well Homo Sapiens arrived in Thailand about 20000BC. We had already domesticated dogs by then, so, it is possible they were brought here from Africa. I have seen graves dated 10000BC in Lopburi with dogs buried with their owners. I do not think there is any way to tell the breed but my friend seems to think ridgebacks were prominent back then.

Interesting stuff BC... a lot of pre-history seems to stem from Africa. If my mother-in-law was still alive I could have asked her about the ridges... I believe she came over to Thailand in one of the early waves.

Many years ago in the UK my family used to keep basenjis... an ancient dog breed originally from Africa and a favourite among the ancient Egyptians. You can see them in hieroglyphics in Egyptian pyramids.

^the ridge probably didn't cross the sea.

Interesting that Lola now has two families. I'm glad she's settling in well. Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl...

I'd be remiss not to mention the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It's usually not easy to get geological jokes into threads!

And yes, Lola is a little star and we all love her to bits. Even the wife softens a bit when Lola's in a playful mood. I go away for a month or so next week and I'll miss her like crazy but she will be left in good hands with the daughter and the rest of the pack.

[Bonecollector]

[QUOTE=Mendip;4492412]Interesting stuff BC... a lot of pre-history seems to stem from Africa. If my mother-in-law was still alive I could have asked her about the ridges... I believe she came over to Thailand in one of the early waves.

Many years ago in the UK my family used to keep basenjis... an ancient dog breed originally from Africa and a favourite among the ancient Egyptians. You can see them in hieroglyphics in Egyptian pyramids.



Anthropology fascinates me, more so than Archeology. Homo Sapiens did pretty well to concur this planet and all from a small enclave in East Africa, took them 50000 years mind you. They might have encountered Homo Erectus when they arrived in SEA but some say they had already died out.

I never even knew of the Basenjis breed, they look very sweet; must have pretty good hearing with those satellites. That is awesome your motherin-law came on one of the early swells! my grand father helped build some dams in Thailand back in the day.

Did your Geology degree include courses of Anthropology or Archeology?

[Bonecollector]

^the ridge probably didn't cross the sea (or travel via the land bridges) since I haven't seen the ridge in any of the local/ soi dogs here in PH. First time that I've seen a ridgeback dog (or heard mention of it) was here on TD. I think what's more common is the muddy brown coat among street dogs - main coat color is brown but with streaks of black/ gray in it.

I think by 20000BC the land bridges had mostly gone and I am not sure when Homo Sapiens in SEA or East Asia became seafaring, I seem to remember it was something like 10000BC or 8000BC but I could be wrong. Still, if my hypothesis is true, strange they didn't take the ridgeback! Maybe they thought Ill go first and come back for everyone else and just never came back....maybe keep more of an eye out when your in PH, usually when you are not looking for something you never see it, even though it is blindingly obvious.

[Reg Dingle]

Their coats are looking amazing Mendy, have you been treating them?

It's all that jizz on his bed that she's been rolling in

[Mendip]

^ FFS... is that really pertinent to the discussion at hand?

BC, my geology degree included no archaeology or anthropology, but did include modules on biology (which I preferred in many ways) and I spent some time on evolution. It's all related so some extent. I also find anthropology fascinating and have sometimes considered doing some kind of Open University anthropology/archaeology degree course but just don't have the time. It'll never happen, sadly.

One thought I have is this. A feature such as a ridge (forward growing hair along the spine) is a mutation which will occasionally show itself. I would have thought those immigrants 20,000 BC would have taken their dogs, some of which carried the mutation which would occasionally crop up. Maybe early humans liked this ridge and so started line breeding the feature, which is how all dog breeds first developed... thing of the poor pugs and bulldogs bred from a few flat-faced ancestors for human's vanity and which are now committed to lives of torture, hardly able to breathe.

Anyway, maybe once in Thailand this feature was bred, eventually resulting in the Thai Ridgeback. Purebreds may have bred the feature back into the overall population?

Dogs are an extremely successful breed in SE Asia... I think it was Stumpy who likened then to rats (another extremely successful species). On an individual level I abhor that comparison due to the close human-dog evolutionary bond, but on a species level it is spot on, which is I'm sure what Stumpy meant. There are dogs everywhere in SE Asia, as a species they are extremely successful, regardless of the awful lives the individuals often have. With such a huge breeding population I think that this ridge feature may seem more prevalent than it's true occurrence among he population. For example, we have seven dogs, three of which have ridges. Maybe I subconsciously chose these dogs to come and live with us?

Anyway, another interesting 'ridge' discovery... in order of age.

Here is Anna's six year-old closely-cropped ridge. Fitting I think as this is her thread.





Next up, Maya's two and a half year-old, splendid 'Mohican-like' ridge.





And finally, Lola's distinctive and unmistakable ridge.





I think they are great. And who has noticed...?

Every ridge starts at the shoulders with a kind of rosette, and for our three ridged dogs, every time it is a dextral rosette, starting from the right side of the shoulder. I would be fascinated to know if any members have a sinistral ridged dog? Does that happen?

Another strange thing... when my hair grows long I seem to develop some kind of ridge along the top of my head. I don't know if the ridge is dextral or sinistral, but I do know that when I had the daughter's DNA tested it came out as 2% Nigerian. Freaky or what?

Edit: forgot the pic!

[Reg Dingle]

Another strange thing... when my hair grows long I seem to develop some kind of ridge along the top of my head. I don't know if the ridge is dextral or sinistral

That's a Cows Lick ain't it?
Have you thought about asking one of your erm passport liason workers which way all that hair grows on your back?