Latest news with #TexasA&MCollegeofVeterinaryMedicineandBiomedicalSciences
USA Today
19-04-2025
- Health
- USA Today
From tail wagging to lip licking: Decoding your dog's emotions
From tail wagging to lip licking: Decoding your dog's emotions Show Caption Hide Caption Excited dog gets a spring in his step when owner comes home In Peterhead, UK, an energetic pup named Broxi greets its owner by leaping up and down, whether he's been gone for five minutes or five days. Understanding a dog's body language can strengthen the human-animal bond and help identify potential health or behavioral issues. Dogs make a range of noises – from barking to growling and panting – to communicate. Much like their human owners, they also rely on nonverbal body language to convey their emotions. By listening to these cues, including tail wagging and lip licking, humans can deepen their relationships with their canine companions. 'When we learn to recognize our dog's communication, we can set them up for success within their boundaries and also identify situations where they may need more support or training,' Harmony Diers, a veterinary technician and project manager for the Dog Aging Project at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, said in a news release. Here's a few tips on how to read your dog's body language. Signs that your dog is content There is no single telltale sign that indicates whether a dog is feeling relaxed. Instead, the American Kennel Club recommends that pet owners look at all indicators across the dog's body, from the way it is moving its tail to the shape of its eyes, to decipher its mood. For instance, people often mistake a dog's wagging tail as a sign of happiness, but the American Kennel Club suggests that the wagging movement only indicates that the dog is emotionally aroused. A slower, side-to-side tail wag shows that the dog is relaxed, while a faster, twitchy wag might mean that the dog is experiencing negative emotions. If a dog is wagging its tail in a circular motion, Diers said it's a good sign that the dog is happy. A good way to confirm the dog's emotion is by looking at its eyes. If the dog is relaxed, it may have soft eyes, making it look like it is squinting, Diers said, according to the news release. More: The cost to own a dog or cat can be extensive. It's about to get more expensive. How to know when your dog is agitated Identifying an anxious or aggressive dog can be tricky, as negative and positive emotional indicators can often be confused. In her book On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals, Turid Rugaas notes that dogs yawn to calm themselves down in stressful situations, not because they're tired. She recommends that humans yawn back at dogs to provide them emotional support. Lip licking is another confusing signal from canines. It could mean they're hungry, or that their anxious, according to the American Kennel Club. Diers recommends looking for tense lips that are pulled back or lifted over the teeth. Those signs, accompanied by a menacing growl and a hard stare often suggest that the dog is feeling threatened. Red flags to recognize in a sick dog Reading your dog's body language can also help you identify potential health concerns. Sick dogs may sleep more and hide from their owners because they are feeling vulnerable. Other signs to look out for include limping, a tucked belly, tense posture and whimpering, Diers suggested. More: Adopting or own a senior dog? Here's how to help them live a long life 'Ultimately, if your normally active and happy dog starts to isolate and show lethargy and/or decreased appetite, this is a sign that something has changed with their overall health,' Diers said.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists make stunning discovery about bison in Yellowstone National Park: 'One of the greatest ... success stories of all time'
Scientists have made a fascinating discovery about the bison population in Yellowstone National Park. Researchers at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) found that the bison in Yellowstone are made up of a large, interbreeding population derived from multiple historic herds. Previous research showed there were two unique herds living within the park, but the new study, published in the Journal of Heredity, amended that information, showing that the genetically healthy singular population varies between 4,000 and 6,000 individuals. Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since the prehistoric age, according to the park's official website. They were hunted to near extinction as European colonizers settled into the western part of the country, with bison being targeted as part of the effort to remove Native American peoples from their land. By the early 1900s, they were nearly gone, with only 23 wild bison surviving. Conservation efforts began when Yellowstone purchased 21 privately owned bison and began interbreeding them with the wild population, finally reviving the herd to its current level. "In one of the greatest wildlife conservation success stories of all time, a small number of domestic bison from western Montana and the Texas Panhandle were introduced in 1902 to existing animals in Yellowstone in the hopes that they would create a stable and thriving population in the world's first national park," Dr. James Derr, a professor in the VMBS' Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, said. The restoration of the bison to healthy levels benefits the ecosystem of Yellowstone thanks to their grazing habits. They eat grasses at different heights, which provides nesting grounds for birds. Meanwhile, their wallows — or areas where bison roll around on the ground and pack down the soil — fill with rainwater and provide breeding grounds for amphibians and a drinking source for wildlife, per the World Wildlife Fund. Elsewhere, a study of Romanian bison has shown that their grazing behavior helps stimulate plant growth and secure carbon in the soil, potentially capturing 59,000 tons of planet-warming gases. American bison have similar effects on plant growth and cycles in the Great Plains, according to a BBC report. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
