/oss/taxonomy/term/1424/all en /oss/article/health-you-asked/should-you-let-dog-lick-your-hand-if-you-used-hand-sanitizer <p>There is a “warning” making the rounds that hand sanitizer “has the same ingredients as antifreeze” and that you should not let dogs lick your hands. This warning is based on chemical ignorance. What they are talking about is propylene glycol which is used here as a humectant, meaning it holds in moisture to prevent the hands from drying out. Propylene glycol is indeed found in some antifreeze, particularly in ones that are promoted as being environmentally friendly and having a low toxicity.</p> Fri, 27 Mar 2020 20:16:54 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8201 at /oss /oss/article/health/my-dog-ate-chocolate-and-he-was-fine-so-whats-big-deal <p>If you ask a dog owner what dogs cannot eat, they’ll list some foods like onions, garlic, rhubarb, grapes and chocolate. (As an aside, if they say grains, <a href="/oss/article/health-nutrition/feeding-dogs-theyre-human-raw-grain-free-and-vegan-diets-dogs">don’t listen to them</a>.) Dogs' inability to safely consume chocolate is common knowledge, but thanks to their proclivity for eating anything they can get their mouths on, many dogs are nonetheless treated for ingesting chocolate every year.</p> Thu, 22 Aug 2019 15:48:08 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7878 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition/feeding-dogs-theyre-human-raw-grain-free-and-vegan-diets-dogs <p>Given the breadth of commercially available dog foods it can be tricky for dog owners to make informed decisions on how to feed their pets. Add into the mix the wealth of websites and books advocating for specialized dog diets and feeding your dog well can seem like a monumental task.</p> <p>In <a href="/oss/article/nutrition/what-should-i-be">a previous article</a> I addressed what owners are able to know about a type of food, and what they aren’t, based on the package.</p> Wed, 20 Mar 2019 18:19:25 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7657 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition/what-should-i-be <p>If you have a dog, you don’t need me to tell you how important food is to their happiness. But even if you realize how much your dog loves food (the speed with which they gobble it up is a good clue) you may not realize how complex dog foods can be. There are upwards of <a href="https://www.dailydogstuff.com/us-pet-ownership-statistics/">60 million dogs in the U.S.</a>, and all of these dogs need to eat.</p> Fri, 01 Mar 2019 23:08:50 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7620 at /oss /oss/article/history/westinghousing-kind-experiments-would-never-take-place-today-thank-goodness <p>In the late 1880s the two giants in the burgeoning field of electricity, namely Thomas Edison and Georges Westinghouse, squared off in what has been called The Battle of The Currents. Edison was the champion of transmitting electricity by direct current, whereas Westinghouse thought that alternating current was a far more efficient way of delivering electricity since it could be transformed to higher voltages, which meant a lower loss of transmission over distances.</p> Thu, 06 Dec 2018 17:12:26 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7479 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/little-dogs-are-trying-look-tough-when-they-raise-their-leg-really-high-pee <p>Female dogs opt for less yoga-like squatting postures than their male companions, who can sometimes be seen with their leg so far in the air they seem about ready to topple over. It turns out that the height to which male dogs raise their leg has a lot to do with their body size, where they are, and who’s around.</p> Wed, 08 Aug 2018 15:57:47 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7221 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/nasa-and-spacex-owe-their-accomplishments-dog-named-laika <p><span>In the late 1940’s both Soviets and Americans began investigating the expanse of space by </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_in_space#1940s">sending animals</a> up, up and away. It began with fruit flies in 1947, grew to include monkeys in 1949 and mice in 1950, but no animal actually entered orbit until November 3rd, 1957, when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika">Laika</a>, a Soviet trained street dog, made history.</p> Wed, 20 Jun 2018 17:27:02 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7148 at /oss /oss/article/technology-quackery-you-asked/can-dog-rocks-help-stop-my-dog-staining-my-lawn <p>“Dog Rocks” are supposed to solve the problem of grass dying from dog pee. <a href="/oss/article/you-asked/why-does-dog-urine-stain-grass">Urine contains a variety of nitrogen compounds</a>, mostly metabolites of protein in food. These are effective fertilizers, but in the case of urine, they supply too much nitrogen relative to other nutrients and grass suffers the consequences. Drinking water also contains naturally occurring nitrates that can eventually show up in the urine.</p> Thu, 07 Jun 2018 14:07:05 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7128 at /oss /oss/article/quackery/homeopathic-dilutions-amount-concentrated-nonsense <p><span>The story about how Anke Zimmerman, a naturopath in Victoria B.C. treated a young boy’s behavioural problems with a homeopathic remedy concocted from the saliva of a rabid dog has “gone viral.” A deluge of comments have expressed outrage about this nonsensical treatment, mostly focusing on the crazy use of the saliva of a rabid dog. There should be outrage for sure, but it should be redirected.</span></p> Fri, 20 Apr 2018 03:19:56 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7027 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/rats-nose <p>The dog has been called man’s best friend, but rats certainly have never been referred to in that endearing fashion. Yet, they can save lives as well as dogs; maybe even better. How? By using their remarkable sense of smell. Dogs of course have a great sense of smell. A woman's dog had been known to save her life by constantly sniffing at a mole on her leg, which turned out to be a malignant melanoma. It seems that unusual protein synthesis as happens in such tumors is accompanied by unique odours. Indeed, the fact that diseases have certain smells has long been known. The ancient Chinese s</p> Tue, 09 Jan 2018 01:52:19 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6875 at /oss /oss/article/you-asked/why-does-dog-urine-stain-grass <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?attachment_id=3220" rel="attachment wp-att-3220"><img alt="urine burn" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2012/11/dog-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>Most homeowners let their dogs use the backyard as their own personal toilet. Often after a winter of such potty practice, when the snow melts, you’ll often find your lawn speckled with unsightly yellow patches.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">First of all, what causes these patches? Dog urine contains a variety of nitrogen compounds. Too much nitrogen will burn the grass and create yellow patches. But appropriate concentrations of nitrogen can actually be beneficial to the lawn, which is why you’ll often see rings of thick dark green grass around the yellow patches. This makes sense, since the main ingredient in lawn fertilizer is nitrogen.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2012/11/17/why-does-dog-urine-stain-the-grass/">Read more</a></p> Sun, 18 Nov 2012 04:19:26 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1795 at /oss