The Urban Wolf

This female wolf has made a living for herself in Brașov, Romania– a major urban center. Source. I post this video to tear apart this poorly considered theory, which holds that domestic dog isn’t derived from the wolf. The crux of that theory is that wolves cannot live near humans without causing trouble. And while [...]

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Black-eyed Bitch

I had hamster called the Black-eyed Bitch, because she was a black-eyed cream- -just like the hamster in the photo above. And she would bite, even when she was “tamed” she would bite. Golden hamsters bite. I’ve never known one not to try it. But I’m being told that there are hamster strains now that [...]

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Italian water rescue retrievers

The “Labrador” jumping from the boat isn’t a Labrador. Source. There are two interesting aspects of this clip. The first of these is I see no Newfoundlands. I thought Newfoundlands made up the mainstay of these working dogs. All I see in this clip are Labrador and golden retrievers. The other interesting thing is they [...]

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Extinct wild dog

Can you ID it? Epicyon.

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What’s the deal?

Why is it that one of my top search terms is “dry mouth St. Bernard”? I have written about St. Bernards. But not dry-mouthed ones. Are those the ones that don’t drool? I didn’t think they existed.

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Giant lions

These are not ligers. These are male lions that have been castrated and fed a lot. Source. Their caretaker is very well-informed about Jacobsen’s organ. I know where my vestigial Jacobsen’s organ is located.

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Thylacoleo– one strange predator

Source. Nothing like this exists today. And nothing like it has ever existed in this hemisphere. Extinct Australian megafauna is always fascinating. With the exception of things like the muskox or the pronghorn, most of our species have been shared with Eurasia. Australia’s mammals have evolved in isolation, which is why so many truly unique [...]

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Native Afghan hound photos

Jess at Desert Windhounds has post on them here. These are in Pakistan. The shaggy Afghans are found in both countries. Yes. They still exist in the mountains of South Asia. That “classic mountain type” is a nice looking dog.

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Württemberg pointer

The Württemberg pointer was a German gun dog, a derivative of the old Spanish pointer, which still exists today. These heavier pointers were the first of the index dogs. The Spanish pointer is most likely the oldest variety. In fact, although the term “spaniel” is thought to reflect the Spanish origin of those dogs, it [...]

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Meeting of the Gun Dogs Society (1904)

Most of the dogs in this George Earl painting are (English) pointers. A few English setters and one Irish red setter are in attendance.

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