www.msn.com
i found these on msn, it's kinda wierd
i think it's mean to give your dog a diaper
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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Dogs may no longer be the butt of their owners' jokes, thanks to Frank Morosky. Morosky, owner of Flat-D Innovations, has developed a product to reduce the odor of flatulence in dogs.

Just two years ago, Morosky, who runs the business with his partner, Brian Conant in Hawaii, developed a similar product for people. He said he could only laugh when people first asked if he could make it work for dogs.

"For a year, we said, 'No, that's stupid. Nobody would buy that for a dog,'" Morosky said.

But Morosky changed his mind after a customer asked him to custom make a pair of full underwear using his material. It was during that project that he realized making charcoal-lined panties for dogs might just work.

Morosky has developed two versions that will go on sale later this month. One, similar to a "G-String" will sell for about $20. The other, a denim diaper with a detachable charcoal pad inside, will sell for about $50.

Morosky doesn't have a dog, so he asked friends and neighbors to try them on their dogs. The product has been successfully tested on dogs as small as miniature terriers to as large as golden retrievers, he said.

Veterinarian David Graeff of Animal Care Hospital in Cedar Rapids said flatulence is common in dogs, but is not a medical problem.

"I think it would be great if they could find a way to keep them (the diapers) on," said Graeff, adding that many dogs won't wear a bandage without tearing it off.

Graeff said pet owners often jokingly blame their own flatulence on their pets.

"Unfortunately," he said, "the dogs do get blamed for this, no matter what."
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Dogs get their own toilet

Reuters — March 31, 2004

AMSTERDAM — Dutch dog owners can soon throw away their pooper-scoopers and plastic bags and instead walk their furry creatures to their very own toilet.

The developer of a new "doggy toilet," a small fenced-in patch of artificial grass, hopes the self-cleaning device will help rid towns of the mess left behind by man's best friend.

The first toilet is being tested in Zaltbommel, a small town in central Netherlands, but the developer has already been approached by government officials from as far away as London.

"This is only a pilot program, but we hope to roll out 200 to 300 of these toilets in one year," Hans van de Pos, who has patented the device, told Reuters Tuesday.
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someone might have already posted this one...i'm not sure

Report: Princess to send dog to shrink

Associated Press — Jan. 5, 2004

LONDON — Princess Anne will send her dog to an animal psychologist to avoid having it euthanized after it attacked a royal maid and fatally mauled one of Queen Elizabeth II's beloved corgis, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Psychologist Roger Mugford said he expected to begin work with Florence the bull terrier next week. Mugford said that he believed the attacks were related to an underlying medical factor.

"We are not talking about an inherently aggressive or dangerous dog," Mugford was quoted as saying in newspaper. "I am sure it is just a dog who is feeling a bit out of sorts about something, perhaps pain or old age, and is feeling a bit cranky on the day."

Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on whether Florence would be put down.

The royal maid, 55-year-old Ruby Brooker, was treated for a minor bite following Saturday's attack at the royal Sandringham estate in eastern England, the palace said.

The Mail on Sunday quoted Brooker's husband, David, as saying the queen had personally apologized to his wife over the incident.

Five days earlier, Florence attacked a corgi named Pharos at Sandringham, injuring him so badly that he had to be euthanized. Media reports had widely blamed another of Princess Anne's bull terriers, Dotty, for the corgi incident, but Buckingham Palace cleared her Tuesday and blamed Florence instead.

British media reported that Florence had no history of violent behavior, unlike Dotty, who bit two children in a park in 2002 and landed Princess Anne with an $880 fine.
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not sure i really agree with this

Study: Purebred dogs resemble owners

By Seth Hettena
Associated Press — March 31, 2004

SAN DIEGO — Those who think purebred dogs look like their owners are barking up the right tree, but matching a mutt to its master is another thing, a study suggests.

Research at the University of California, San Diego indicates that when people pick a dog, they look for one that, at some level, bears some resemblance to them. And when they get a purebred dog, they get what they want.

When given a choice of two dogs, judges correctly matched 25 purebreds with their owners nearly two out of three times. With mutts, however, the pattern went to the dogs.

"When you pick a purebred, you pick it specifically because of how it's going to look as a grown-up," said Nicholas Cristenfeld, UCSD professor of psychology and co-author of the study, which appears in the current issue of Psychological Science.

Cristenfeld said mutt owners such as himself make their choice on the spur-of-the-moment at a dog pound, not knowing what a puppy will look like.

Forty-five dogs and their owners chosen at random were photographed separately at three San Diego dog parks. The judges, some 28 undergraduates taking psychology classes at UC San Diego, were shown pictures of the owners and two dogs and asked to match the correct dog with the owner.

Out of the 25 purebreds, there were 16 correct matches and nine misses. For 20 mutts in the study, there were seven matches, four ties and nine misses.

"There is a certain stereotype of person from each breed," said Tracy Cavaciuti, a French Bulldog breeder in Connecticut.

So what kind of person likes the pop-eyed, pointy-eared, pug-nosed Frenchie?

"Actually, they're quite trendy and good-looking," Cavaciuti said, adding that they tend to strut on the streets of New York City's tony Upper East Side.

Hound people are a different story.

"You can spot them a mile away," she said. "They're very doggy."

How the aristocratic Afghan Hound or the otherworldly French Bulldog resemble their owners is unclear since the study found judges didn't use any one characteristic to make the matches. There were no significant correlation between dogs and owners on the basis of size, attractiveness, friendliness and energy level when considered separately.

"People are attracted to looks and temperaments that reflect themselves or how they perceive themselves," said Gail Miller, a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club. Miller, who has owned several bearded collies, described her "beardies" as gregarious, active dogs.

"I'm definitely like them - very outgoing, likes to have fun and get active," she said.