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Do Nicknames Confuse Our Pets?

By Julia Williams

Most people spend a good deal of time trying to come up with the perfect name for their newly adopted pet. We search names compiled in baby books and on the internet, read articles, ask friends for suggestions, and observe our four-legged friend to find the name that best fits them. Why then do so many of us seem to use nicknames for our pets more often than the name we decided upon when we first brought them home? And does it really matter? Is it okay to call your cat or dog by names other than their “official” one? Do multiple names confuse your pet, or will they learn to respond to the nicknames too?

In all the many years I've been owned by cats, I have used nicknames for them. Each cat has had their “given” name, and a slew of nicknames. I didn’t think two licks about this until the other day, when I happened upon a discussion on an internet forum for pet owners. I often feel compelled to surf the internet, and as a pet writer for this blog and other websites, I naturally gravitate towards sites that pertain to animals. Pet forums are not exactly a productive use of my time, but they can be entertaining. Or in this case, serve as inspiration for an article.

The topic that day was whether people should just stick to the name they’ve given their pet, or if it was alright to give them nicknames. The vast majority were all in favor of nicknames for pets. They said they used nicknames all the time, and that their pets responded to them just as much as they did their original name. One person really made me laugh when they wrote that their dog’s nicknames were “Hey!” and “No!” I think many people can relate to that.

But in any crowd, on any subject, there will be those who favor and those who oppose. So it was on this forum, where a few people stated that they felt giving nicknames to pets could confuse them, and that it was unfair to the pet. As I said, this wasn’t something I had ever questioned. I can certainly see where, if you are trying to teach a puppy his name, you would want to be consistent and not use nicknames. Not having ever owned a dog, I have no knowledge on whether nicknames complicate matters for an adult dog. I am, however, quite confident in my belief that nicknames do not confuse my cats. Still, I thought it only fair to conduct some research on the matter.

I turned to my friends, my family and my ever-growing number of Facebook “acquaintances,” and asked for their opinions. This produced near identical results to the pet forum, wherein about 95% said they gave their pets nicknames and didn’t see any problem with it.

In the end, this exhaustive research (ha!) and years of firsthand experience have led me to conclude that it's perfectly fine for pet owners to give nicknames to their dogs and cats. Dog owners report that their canine companions do answer to their nicknames, and everyone knows most cats only answer to humans when food is involved. I’m pretty sure there's no need to worry about whether pets with nicknames will suffer psychological ill effects. Therefore, we should all feel free to call our pets pretty much anything we want to, and no one will accuse us of not being responsible pet owners.

So… what cute nicknames have you come up with for your dog or cat? Do share!

Read more articles by Julia Williams

Social Media Has Gone to the Dogs... and the Cats too!

By Julia Williams

Not so long ago, it used to be frowned upon for people to give human characteristics to animals, which is known as anthropomorphism (how’s that for an unwieldy word!). Those who were against it said things like “animals shouldn’t talk” and “animals can’t think or reason” etc.

My, how times have changed. This public disapproval of anthropomorphism seems to have faded into oblivion. I suppose it’s to be expected, given that the age we live in is so vastly different now, technologically speaking. The internet is firmly entrenched in the daily lives of everyone from teens to seniors. Most of us check email at least daily and visit many different websites and blogs every week. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have become the new gathering spot. Moreover, humans aren’t the only ones using social media to communicate – now there are countless dogs with blogs, and cats that tweet! Not only that, they are doing it with great success.

Consider these impressive numbers:

● Surf Dog Ricochet, the inspirational canine who has raised over $20,000 surfing for charity, has nearly 5,700 Facebook fans. Surf Dog Ricochet also has her own website.

● Nora the Piano Cat apparently tickles more than the ivories – she has more than 1500 Facebook fans and 1600+ Twitter followers. The Piano Cat also has her own website and blog, both of which “she” updates regularly.

● Charlene Butterbean is a surrogate mama cat to kittens fostered by Laurie Cinotto, aka, The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. Ms. Butterbean (or “the Bean” as she is often called) has nearly 1,100 Facebook friends and the same number of Twitter followers.

● Giant George, a blue Great Dane who is the world’s tallest dog according to Guinness World Records, has more than 40,000 Facebook fans.

Compare some of those numbers to the Facebook fans of world renowned writers such as Anne Rice (60,000) or J.K Rowling (58,000) and you can’t help but be impressed. Truly, the following these canines and felines have amassed in just a few short years is a testament to the power that pets have to touch our hearts.

In addition to all of the Facebook pages and Twitter accounts purportedly manned by canines and felines, there are many other technological pet inventions that indicate we are in a new era. Take for example, the Twitter-enabled dog collar from Mattel called Puppy Tweets. When the collar’s tiny device detects barking or movement, it randomly posts one of 500 phrases to the dog’s Twitter page. According to the Huffington Post, there’s also an intriguing new app from Japan called BowLingual, which supposedly analyzes your dog's bark and translates it into one of six emotions. It syncs the phrase, which can then be tweeted through your dog's Twitter account.

Last year, the aforementioned Charlene Butterbean wore a “Cat Cam,” a collar with a tiny camera attached that automatically snapped photos every 15 minutes. The pictures were then uploaded to the IBKC blog so readers could log on to see what the Bean was doing throughout the day – mostly sleeping, eating and kitten wrangling (but please don’t ask me how I know that).

The “Shiba Inu Puppy Cam” became an internet phenomenon in 2009. This website featured a live-streamed webcam focused on six adorable newborn Shiba Inu pups doing all of the things that puppies normally do. I confess to getting my daily virtual puppy fix, although I usually only watched for a few minutes because it seemed like every time I tuned in the puppies were asleep. Those puppies eventually went to their forever homes, and now there is a new Shiba Inu Puppy Cam with five more fluffballs the public can fawn over via their computer monitor.

Should dogs blog? And what of tweeting cats? Should people put their puppies on a virtual display for the world to view whenever they want? I don’t see why not. If one chooses to pretend that a dog can type and is sending them a message on Facebook, that’s their business. If one considers it cool to get an email from a cat (ahem…that would be me), why should anyone else care? There’s no harm done to the animals, who are probably asleep in a corner of the room while their designated “PR agent” types away to their adoring fans. Intelligent people do realize that dogs and cats can’t type. Right?

Read more articles by Julia Williams

Who Won the CANIDAE Facebook Pet Photo Contest?

Most people love taking photographs of their beloved pets and showing them off to the world. But when this includes the chance to win a one-year supply of premium pet food from CANIDAE, all the better!

The moment many of our readers have been anxiously waiting for, is finally here. It’s time to announce the winners of our recent Facebook photo contest, and show you the prize-winning pets. We received hundreds of great photos, depicting everything from family vacations, children hugging their dogs, cats sunning in windowsills, dogs walking along the seashore, and beautiful shots of some of the cutest pets on the planet.

After narrowing the field down to the top 50 pictures, the entire CANIDAE staff voted for their favorites. Everyone had a lot of fun looking at, and voting on, all of the wonderful photos. Many pet owners attached touching stories to their pictures as well, relating how they rescued an injured or abandoned pet and brought them back to health. Often, they said that our premium pet food was part of the recovery process. “That always puts a big smile on everyone’s face around the office,” said CANIDAE employee Jason Castillo.

Dog Category Grand Prize Winner

Kristi M. of Broadview, Montana won the dog category with the adorable photo of her Fawn Boxer and Australian Cattle Dog mix jumping in the air to catch snowballs. Kristi wrote, "Our dogs and cats are more than just pets, they are family; and as such their health and nutrition are very important to us. Thank you for making such wonderful foods."

Kristi’s dogs Laila and Viktor both endured hardship before coming to live with the family. Laila had been neglected, left chained to a shed to be a "guard dog" and was underweight. Viktor had been thrown from a car window and suffered from a broken shoulder as well as having other signs of abuse. Both dogs are now happy, well-cared for members of the family.

Cat Category Grand Prize Winner

Amy R. of Farmington, MN won the cat category for her charming picture of best feline friends Attis and Arley snuggled close to one another. Amy wrote, "We've had Attis and Arley for about two years now. We feed them FELIDAE Grain Free because Attis is an Egyptian Mau and I read that grain free is best for his sensitive tummy. He does really well on it. They are such cute cats. They look out for each other and they love to play."

Dog Category Second Place Winner

The votes were so close in the dog category that a second place prize was created and awarded to Diane S. for her photo of Rain, an 8 week old Aussie mix puppy she helped to rescue after it had been discarded by the side of the road. Diane is affiliated with Paw Safe Animal Rescue in Virginia and will receive a 6 month supply of CANIDAE dog food.

We want to thank everyone who submitted their photos for this contest. It was so nice to see all of your cherished pets and read your heartwarming stories – and so very difficult to pick the winners! Even if you didn’t win the contest, your dog or cat could still get a little taste of fame – many of the photos and stories will appear on the CANIDAE website or in a special Facebook Fan Page photo album.

We may even feature the photos here in our Responsible Pet Ownership blog. We created this blog to provide helpful tips and advice for caring pet owners, and strive to offer insightful articles on virtually every aspect of pet care. We hope to see you here in the future, and on the CANIDAE Facebook page too!

Win Free Pet Food for a Year!

By Julia Williams

Every pet owner I know (including me) takes scads of photographs of their beloved animal companions. Every time we see them doing something cute, funny or heartwarming– which is pretty much every day, isn’t it? – we can’t resist snapping their picture. I enjoy showing them off to my friends and family; I even made a photo scrapbook once, dedicated to all the pets I’ve known and loved.

Well, now’s your chance to win something wonderful from one of those photographs. Your favorite pet picture could net you a year’s supply of free CANIDAE dog food or FELIDAE cat food! How cool is that? I mean, what dog or cat owner wouldn't want to win a year's supply of super-premium pet food? Even better, the food is all natural and good for your pet, because it contains no corn, wheat, soy, grain fractions or fillers, and it’s naturally preserved.

So what do you have to do to win a year’s supply of CANIDAE All Natural Pet Food for your dog or cat? First, become a fan of the CANDAE Facebook page. If you don’t already have a Facebook account, you’ll need to sign up for one (it’s entirely free) at www.facebook.com. Then choose your best photo of your dog or cat, and email it to facebookphotos@canidae.com. Include a brief description of your pet, their name and a little information about them, such as what you love most about them or how they came into your life.

Two Grand Prize Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges at CANIDAE Pet Foods. One winner will be selected in the Dog category, and one winner in the Cat category. Both winning contestants will receive a free one year supply of the CANIDAE or FELIDAE formula of their choice. (A year's supply of pet food is defined as the nutritional requirement for one medium size dog or one domestic cat).

About Your Entry

Some photos and emails will be selected to appear in a special CANIDAE Pet Foods Facebook page photo album, and on the CANIDAE website. Please limit your entry to one JPEG image, no larger than 2MB; other types of images will be rejected. The judges will select the winning entries, one dog picture and one cat picture, based on which two pictures they determine to be the most visually attractive in each category.

Official Rules

No purchase necessary. Only one entry per household and email address allowed. Winners must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of the United States or Canada, and a registered fan of the CANIDAE Pet Foods Facebook Page. Contest ends November 13, 2009. Odds of winning depend on number of entries. Winner will be contacted via email and must respond within 48 hours or, at the sole discretion of CANIDAE Pet Foods, the prize will pass to the next runner up.

Contest void where prohibited by law. Selection of winner is subjective and at the sole discretion of CANIDAE Pet Foods. CANIDAE is not responsible for entries lost due to any technical difficulties including any that might occur with Facebook, the Internet, or email.

Entrants agree to receive the CANIDAE Pet Foods Newsletter and grant CANIDAE permission to publish their information and photos. To protect your privacy, last names and email addresses will not be published. Judges decisions are final. Employees of CANIDAE and its vendors are not eligible to enter.

Read more articles by Julia Williams