Pit Bull Saves Woman With Brain Aneurysm, Given 'Neighbor Of The Year' Award (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post
Laura Hibbard

When John Benton tried to leave for work one morning back in July, he was surprised to find the family pit bull, Titan, running around in circles, barking and blocking the door out of the house, CBS Atlanta reported.

"He'd run up a few flights of steps and run back down just to keep me from going, to let me know something was wrong. And that's when I followed him up the stairs to see what he was trying to tell me," Benton told the station.

It turns out John's wife Gloria had suffered a brain aneurysm and fractured her skull after falling down. Had Titan not alerted Benton of Gloria's peril, she may have not survived, the station reported.

Now, the pup is being awarded with "Neighbor of the Year" by the Vintage Pointe Neighborhood Association, making him the first canine to ever receive it.

Pit bulls don't always get a good rap in the news. In January, parents of a boy who was mauled to death by two pit bulls proposed legislation that would make it a felony to own a pit bull in the state of Texas.

The bill ignited furious debate over the breed.

Dog trainer Michele Crouse told NBC that it's not the dog's breed, but rather the dog's owner that determines the animal's aggression. "It's all upon the responsibility of the owner and not what dog they have. It doesn't matter if they have a 2-pound Chihuahua or a 200-pound mastiff."

Earlier this year, another dog became a hero when he alerted rescuers to a pup who was trapped in a drainpipe.

WATCH:

Super clever Jack Russell dog exercising himself

Uploaded by wattsjones on Oct 12, 2011

 

Super clever Jack Russell dog plays fetch with himself up and down some steps in London, UK. The dogs name is Sid Russell. Sid drops a ball at the top of the steps, chases it as it drops, takes it back to the top then lets go again. Sid really enjoys doing this!

Sid is owned Roland Muldoon.

Static Cling Dog Looks Like White Porcupine

From: http://blogs.discovery.com/

What do you get when you combine super dry air, a fluffy white dog [ a Maltese? a Coton?], a synthetic fiber blanket and a monotone voice-over narrator? A bit of YouTube gold is what you get! Watch this ridiculous video as people go into hysterics when their dog transforms into what looks like a Hungarian Puli [the dog Mark Zuckerberg has] when they give it the old rub-a-dub with a blanket.

As the narrator suggests, this dog needs a good groooming or perhaps some good conditioner?

Enjoy!

First there was the glow-in-the-dark cat... Now meet Tagon, the world's first glowing dog

By Daily Mail Reporter
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

By day, Tagon looks like any other beagle.

But under the cover of darkness, she can glow an eerie green.

South Korean scientists say they have created a fluorescent dog using a cloning technique that could help find cures for human diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

 

Before and after: Tagon's paw is like any other dog's in daylight, but glows bright green under ultraviolet light when she is given a special antibiotic

The breakthrough comes three years after U.S. boffins made a glow-in-the-dark cat by modifying its DNA, also in the hope of treating a range of conditions.

 

Tagon, who was born in 2009, was found to beam bright green under ultraviolet light if given a doxycycline antibiotic. 

Researchers from Seoul National University (SNU)'s College of Veterinary Medicine, who completed the two-year test, said the ability to glow can be turned on or off by adding a drug to the dog's food.

Glowing with pride: Tagon feeding her puppies at Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine, where she is helping with vital research

Lead researcher Lee Byeong-chun said: 'The creation of Tagon opens new horizons since the gene injected to make the dog glow can be substituted with genes that trigger fatal human diseases.'

He said the dog was created using the somatic cell nuclear transfer technology that the university team used to make the world's first cloned dog, Snuppy, in 2005.

Glowing ginger tom: Mr Green Genes of New Orleans was created by US scientists in 2008 to help find cures for diseases like cystic fibrosis

The scientist said that because there are 268 illnesses that humans and dogs have in common, creating dogs that artificially show such symptoms could aid treatment methods for diseases that afflict humans.

The latest discovery published in Genesis, an international journal, took four years of research costing roughly 3.2 billion won ($3 million) to make the dog and conduct the necessary verification tests, Yonhap news agency said.

In 2008, scientists created Mr Green Genes of New Orleans - the country's first glowing ginger tom.

They adapted the six-month-old's DNA to see if a gene could be introduced harmlessly into an animal's genetic sequence.

The gene in question, known as green fluorescence protein, expressed itself in mucous membranes - causing his mouth and ears to radiate.

Because the fluorescence gene will go alongside the cystic fibrosis gene, it will make it easier for experts to spot the condition.

FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS AMERICANS KNEW PIT BULLS FOR WHAT THEY DID BEST. BABYSITTING.

by YWGROSSMAN
from http://www.ywgrossman.com/

Astoundingly, for most of our history America’s nickname for Pit Bulls was “The Nanny Dog”. For generations if you had children and wanted to keep them safe you wanted a pit bull, the dog that was the most reliable of any breed with children or adults.

The Nanny Dog is now vilified by a media that always wants a demon dog breed to frighten people and LHASA-APSO BITES MAN just doesn’t sell papers. Before pit bulls it was Rottweilers, before Rottweilers it was Dobermans, and before them German Shepherds. Each breed in it’s order were deemed too vicious and unpredictable to be around people. Each time people wanted laws to ban them. It is breathtakingly ironic that the spotlight has turned on the breed once the symbol of our country and our national babysitter.

In temperance tests (the equivalent of how many times your kid can poke your dog in the eye before it bites him) of all breeds the most tolerant was the Golden Retriever. The second most tolerant was the pit bull.

Pit Bull’s jaws do not lock, they do not have the most powerful bite among dogs (Rottweilers have that honor) they are not naturally human aggressive (in fact pit bull puppies prefer human company to their mother’s two weeks before all other dogs), and they feel as much pain as any other breed (accidentally step on one’s toe and you’ll see).

The most tolerant, patient, gentle breed of dogs is now embarrassingly portrayed as the most dangerous. It would be funny if the new reputation did not mean 6,000 are put to death every day, by far the highest number of any other breed euthanized.

That’s a lot of babysitters.

(Pictured: As you’ll see, from the richest to the poorest and everything in between, in America the pit bull was the dog for kids. Don’t miss the little boy in the goat cart at the end. He’s priceless.)

The Bulletproof Dog That Stormed Bin Laden's Lair

BY Elbert Chu
FROM http://www.fastcompany.com/

If you see this dog coming for you, run. Thanks to his extensive training--and customized body armor that can cost upwards of $30,000--he's bulletproof, can hear through concrete, and can record high-def video of missions, even in the dead of night.

149diggsdigg Since the moment it was revealed that the "nation's most courageous dog" [Update: named "Cairo"] served alongside the 80 Navy SEALs who took out Osama bin Laden, America's fascination with war dogs has hit a fevered pitch. And while the heart-tugging photos of these four-legged heroes are worth a look, so is the high-tech gear that helps them do their job.

Last year, the military spent $86,000 on four tactical vests to outfit Navy Seal dogs. The SEALs hired Winnipeg, Canada-based contractor K9 Storm to gear up their four-legged, canine partners, which it has used in battle since World War I. K9 Storm’s flagship product is the $20,000-$30,000 Intruder, an upgradeable version of their doggie armor (you can check out the full catalogue here). The tactical body armor is wired with a collapsible video arm, two-way audio, and other attachable gadgets.

"Various special ops units use the vest, including those in current headlines," says Mike Herstik, a consultant with International K-9, who has trained dogs from Israeli bomb-sniffing units to the Navy SEALSs. "It is much more than just body armor."

The big idea behind the armor add-ons boils down to a simple one: the key to any healthy relationship is communication. Each dog is assigned one human handler. To operate efficiently in a tactical situation, they need to be connected.

So how much high-tech connectivity does a dog get for $30,000 anyway?

Using a high-def camera mounted on the dog's back, handlers can see what the dog sees, using handheld monitors. Jim Slater, who cofounded K9 Storm with his wife Glori, says footage is stable because the entire module is sewn into the vest. With unpredictable light conditions, like middle-of-the-night missions, the camera adjusts automatically to night vision. The lens is protected by impact-resistant shielding. And since we're talking about SEALs notorious for amphibious assaults, the system is waterproof.

In Abbottabad, the patented load-bearing harness would have enabled a Navy SEAL handler to rappel from the helicopter with his dog strapped to his body. Once in the compound, the dog could run ahead to scout as the handler issued commands through an integrated microphone and speaker in the armor. The proprietary speaker system enables handlers to relay commands at low levels to the dog. "Handlers need to see and hear how their dog is responding," said Slater. "In a tactical situation, every second counts." The encrypted signal from dog to handler penetrates fortified barriers like concrete, steel-fortified ships, and tunnels. That translates to standard operating ranges up to four football fields.

The armor itself protects against shots from 9mm and .45 magnum handguns. Slater is a veteran police dog trainer and built the first vest after a prison riot. He realized he wore full riot gear, while his K9 partner, Olaf, was basically naked. So he started making vests. The weave technology catches bullets or ice picks like a mitt wrapping around a baseball; knives and sharpened screw drivers wielded by prisoners require tighter weaves.

Keeping the armor strong, but light, is a priority. "Every gram counts for our clients. So we prefer advanced fibers and innovative textiles," said Slater. "The entire communication module is 20 ounces." The average armor weighs between three to seven pounds, depending on the size of the dog and the level of protection.

They’ve even gone stealth. A silent hardware system prevents any metal to metal contact--you won't hear any jangling or see any reflective give-aways. K9 took the average 150-gram V-ring and developed a 5-gram version made of a Kevlar, poly-propylene, and nylon fiber blend. "It’s actually stronger, rated to 2,500 pounds. Completely silent, and ultralight," said Slater.

Of course, these systems don't come cheap--and it's the dogs themselves that are the real investment. The Navy’s first Master Military Working Dog Trainer (a trainer of other dog trainers), Luis Reyes emailed from Afghanistan: "There are many products that help MWDs [military work dogs] and many are ‘cool’ but not necessary. No amount of money can replace the life of a canine that saves the precious lives of our troops in harm's way."

Although new tech is the buzz, what put K9 Storm on the map is dedication to customization. Its mainstay dog armor is the more-affordable $2,000-$3,000 base model. Each vest they make is custom sized for the dog. "The fit has to be perfect or it will flop around," said Slater. That hinders mobility, or worse, can cause injury.

Clients can measure dogs themselves, or Slater will fly out for dog fittings. They’ve done 15-pound West Highland Terriers--which look like playful white puffballs but were bred to scare badgers out of holes, and are helpful in drug raids with confined spaces like air ducts. On the other end are St. Bernards, which push 240 pounds.

K9's client list spans 15 countries, from China to Switzerland. Buyers include SWAT teams, police and corrections agencies, security firms, search and rescue units, and border patrols. Slater and 12 employees spent years developing a proprietary computer-assisted design program to translate measurements into accurate patterns, which are hand sewn. However, it's as much a tech company as it is an armor manufacturer.

The next phase of development includes plans for remote-delivery systems and enhanced accessory functionality. They describe a system that would help dogs transport medical supplies, walkie-talkies, or water into constricted areas like rubble. They're also planning new appendages like air-level quality meters for mines.

No word on mounting mini heat-seeking missiles just yet. So, for now, bad guys will only have to tussle with highly-trained fangs exerting 700 pounds of pressure per square inch.

Follow @fastcompany on Twitter.

[Image courtesy K9 Storm]

53 Pictures of Boo, The Cutest Goddamn Dog You’ve Never Seen

Submitted by Brotha Jonze

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Boo, check out the official facebook fanpage of the most retarded Oprah loving dog you’ll see today.


Here are some pics of Boo.

Click here for the Full Gallery:  http://www.bannedinhollywood.com/53-pictures-of-boo-the-cutest-goddamn-dog-youve-never-seen/

World's Smartest Dog Knows More Than 1,000 Words

From:  http://www.foxnews.com/

Mark Olencki

A border collie named Chaser has learned over 1,000 words -- more than any other animal

If you thought Rover or Sparky was smart, think again: Chaser just took him to school.

A border collie named Chaser has learned the names of 1,022 individual items -- more than any other animal, even the legendary Alex the parrot. But it's all in a day's work for these researchers. 

Psychologists Alliston Reid and John Pilley of Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., wanted to test if there was a limit to the amount of words a border collie could learn, so they taught Chaser the names of hundreds of toys, one by one, slowly and patiently, for three years.

"We put in a lot of work on it," Pilley said in a conversation with FoxNews.com. While border collies are an especially smart breed, he said, the research doesn't allow them to conclusively call it smarter than, say, pit bulls or dachshunds.

"We can't say anything definitive about this, but there is agreement among breeders," he said, citing decades of breeding for herding that makes the dogs particularly attuned to learning words. "The hypothesis is that they do have a special propensity to language, they listen to the farmer."

Chaser the border collie's mountain of toys -- all 1,022 of them -- and a group of Wofford College students.

Pilley stressed that the training technique more than anything resulted in the incredible skills of the dog.

"In the first experiment where we talk about the learning of proper nouns, the procedure we use is one where she was taught in a way that she couldn't fail," Pilley said. "We would place the object right on the floor, somewhere the dog couldn't miss." 

Then after a period of several months, Pilley and Reid would work with a different object, slowly training the dog on each one.

"Most people when they try to teach a dog, they put too many objects on the ground. That's called simultaneous training," Pilley explained. "Our method was a successive technique."

The pair regularly tested Chaser on her vocabulary by putting random groups of 20 toys in another room and having her fetch them by name. Chaser, now 6, never got less than 18 out of 20 right, in 838 (!) separate tests over three years.

It takes 16 plastic tubs to hold all the toys.

Watch Pilley give Chaser some impressively complex commands -- combining three verbs with three nouns -- in the video below. She understands the verbs “nose,” “get” and “paw.” Her reward is playtime with “Blue,” a little ball she chases across the room. For a whole collection of Chaser videos, click here.

She learned common nouns that represented categories, such as “ball,” and she learned to infer the names of objects by their association with other objects.

Rico the border collie, from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany, was previously top dog — he had a vocabulary of about 200 words. Chaser’s feats are chronicled in the journal Behavioural Processes.

Popular Science contributed to this report.