Dogs 'mimic movements of owners'

Dogs "automatically imitate" the body movements of their owners, according to a study.

This automatic imitation is a crucial part of social learning in humans. But Austrian researchers report that the phenomenon - where the sight of another's body movement causes the observer to move in the same way - is evident in many other animals. They say that it reveals clues about how this type of learning evolved.

The study, which was led by Dr Friederike Range from the University of Vienna in Austria, also suggests that the way in which people interact with and play with their dogs as they are growing up shapes their ability to imitate. "It's not a spontaneous thing," said Dr Range. "The dogs needed a lot of training to learn it." She and her colleagues investigated this imitation with a series of trials using a simple door-opening test. The team built a box with a sliding door on the front that could be opened with a knob. The owners demonstrated how to open the door by using either their hand or their mouth. "When the owners used the hand, the dog had to open the door with its paw to get a reward," Dr Range said. When the owner opened the door with their mouth, the dog had to use the same technique.

Dr Range explained to BBC News: "A second group of dogs had to learn the alternative method - if the owner used their hand, they had to use their mouth, and when the owner used their mouth, they had to use the paw."

'Mirror neurons'

The study suggests that the capacity to imitate is forged as a dog learns.The dogs that had to imitate the same action as their owner learned their task far more quickly. This showed that the dogs had a predisposition to imitate their owners' hand/paw and mouth/muzzle movements. She noted that, because dogs have a very different body shapes to people, they also had to interpret what they saw.

"This type of learning has obvious evolutionary advantages for animals," Dr Range said. "They can learn about certain aspects of life without having to learn by trial and error, which always comes with some risk."

The new evidence supports a theory of learning which suggests that a system of "mirror neurons" and the capacity to imitate are forged as an animal learns and develops, rather than this system being inborn.

By Victoria Gill

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Train Your Dog like a Hollywood Star Pet

When you were watching that film last night, you'll have seen a stumpy Tail Cattle Dog or an achtelhund or a tiny Siberian Husky. The question that you thought about is - 'Is my Pumi ready to be in the movies? ' Ok, your veterinarian tells you that your pooch is just the best dog they have ever seen. This dog even can tell how and when to rob for camera shots, a regular scene steeler with a personality that would have given Lassie a good run for her cash.

Ok, but you have got to think about this. If you want your dog to become the next star canine in a real Hollywood flick, your pooch can't just like cameras. Your dog will need to be well trained and know, not just the basics, but 1 or 2 great tricks for the auditions.

The majority of the scenes you see dogs doing on the big-screen look so neat because Hollywood has a way of putting the dog's tricks in the best light and making the shots work. They combine them as a collection of tricks into a final production that works for a particular scene very well.

It's the basics that are going to affect the casting director. There are lots of enterprises that offer the schooling important to teach your puppy the skills that are required by canine actors.

Almost all of what dogs do in the movies are straightforward tricks. The majority of the common or garden tricks the dogs must do on cue are bow, wave, crawl, hide your eyes, find it, play dead, speak on cue, sneeze, back up, roll over, touch the target, turn out the light and whine.

Having your dog learn all of the abilities could be the easy part of training for the movies. The hard one for lots of dogs to adapt themselves to is working with strangers all around and a large amount of diversions. Also, mostly, your dog will have to obey the set's dog coach, not you. These are some real Problems for some dogs and their owners.

If you can teach your dog all of the tricks, but also the Hollywood basics of working with strangers on TV sets without losing their cool, you might just have a dog like Sure Grip's Rattler, the american Bulldog that played the task of Chance in Homeward Bound : The Incredible Journey.

Alright, so your baby dog is willing and able to go to the movies. What do you do now? The thing that may make your dog stand out is to form a compelling portfolio for your dog. All of the latest photographs, his list of abilities and tricks, coaching and with a little luck some great videos of your dog doing some of his best tricks.

Plenty of the training colleges for TV dogs will show exactly how to get your dog into the industry. Don't forget there is a lot of ad work and commercial work for your expectant mongrel to shoot for also.

Now for the last detail. Your dog loves you a lot ( hopefully, the feeling is mutual ). If your dog does not enjoy acting and doesn't want to be a Hollywood star, your dog will tell you about it. Listen to your pal and keep things fun for her.

By Charles White

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How to handle pets in parks continues to dog city commission

Mayor Kenneth Bradley urged city commissioners Monday to finally "let a sleeping dog lie."

But just when it seemed as though the matter of dogs in city parks had been settled, commissioners agreed to revisit it again at their Aug. 9 meeting.

The issue has been tossed around for a couple of years. An ordinance voted down 3-2 Monday night would have banned dogs from Mead Garden, Kraft Azalea Garden and Dinky Dock Park.

The city's parks and recreation commission recommended the changes, which were proposed in October. Blair Culpepper, committee chairman, said the advisory committee was trying to protect the environment in the parks.

"We just felt like there were too many dog violations," Culpepper said.

But dog lover Joseph Brock, a board member and legal adviser to Friends of Fleet Peeple's Park, praised the commission's vote. And resident Rosan Calabello said she thinks environmental concerns — notably raised by Commissioner Beth Dillaha — were overblown.

"I think her argument is very wrong in cause and effect," said Calabello, who lives across the street from Mead Garden.

The decision appeared to be final, but then Commissioner Tom McMacken suggested considering an idea by city staffers. It would prohibit animals from streets next to Central Park when they are closed as part of a special park event.

The current ordinance specifies that dogs can't be on streets, rights of way or sidewalks next to Central Park that are closed to vehicular traffic during special events.

"At what point do we give this up and talk about something else?" Bradley responded.

Not immediately, it seems. Dillaha also said she remains concerned about the damage dogs could do to wildlife.

"Maybe there is a solution that is a win-win," she said.

By Susan Jacobson

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