Dogs never cease to amaze us. This week, we’ve heard how they can help people with diabetes and seen how skilled they are at tennis (well, sort of!) – it’s this week’s The Scoop Pupdate.
1. Diabetes detecting dogs
Dogs can be trained to detect chemicals on our breath and warn us if our blood sugar is dangerously low, researchers in Cambridge have announced.
Claire, who has diabetes, has been helped by her dog Magic, a very fitting name, we think. “We’ve been together for just over two and a half years and in that time he’s alerted more than 2,500 times, which is amazing considering he’s only doing it for a biscuit,” says Claire. More proof, if it were needed, that dogs are our best friends.
Magic can alert Claire in the middle of the night, and throughout the day, meaning she can get a good night’s sleep, and there’s less need for her to prick her finger to test quite so often.
Magic, you’re a breath-sniffing hero and we salute you.
2. No dogs allowed… on the flag…
A few folks on the other side of the pond got a bit flustered when they spotted some pooches with their posteriors on the stars and stripes. Official US government guidelines state that the flag shouldn’t touch the ground, or be sat on, apparently.
Actress Kaley Cuoco, you know, of Big Bang Theory fame, had her patriotism questioned after her pups were spotting celebrating Fourth of July on her dog sitter’s Instagram. She’s since apologised and had the offending photo removed.
Controversial photos aside, the real good news here is that while Kaley enjoyed a party, her dogs were having a swell time with a great sitter. Which is something you can do, too, with a little help from DogBuddy. (Wink, nudge.)
3. “Fido, pass the remote!”
If this product takes off, family TV watching is at risk of becoming even more competitive. Designers at the University of Central Lancashire have developed a prototype remote control that’s suitable for dogs. The large yellow buttons account for a dog’s red-green colourblindness, and their lack of opposable thumbs.
Our dogs haven’t complained about watching Game of Thrones with us yet, so we’re pressing paws (sorry!) on this for now.