Ball State University: Rethink "dog people and cat people" sterotypes
From Ball State University:
New study could lead to improvement in placement of companion animals
companion animal attachment, said Lucinda Woodward, a professor of psychological sciences and personality researcher.
"We've long had this perception that cats think of themselves as being the center of the world, but dogs are happy to be around their masters, sharing in all sorts of social activities," Woodward said.
"Many people perceive themselves as being either 'cat people' or 'dog people.' These people often think they relate to their pets because they share similar personalities."
"Yet, not all dogs and cats have traditionally perceived personalities," Woodward noted. "There are friendly cats that want to be around their guardians all the time and dogs that don't crave constant attention."
The study found:
- Cats were rated by their owners as significantly more independent or distant than dogs.
- Dogs owners found their canine companions to be significantly more friendly than cats.
- Dog owners rated themselves as more friendly and less submissive than cat people.
"The dynamics of the human-animal relationship are quite complex," she said. "Our study leads me to believe that 'cat people' should seek independent pets that are also low on submissiveness while 'dog people' should seek pets high on friendliness and low on dominance."
Woodward said the next step is to develop a behaviorally based checklist that will enable shelter workers to assess the personality types of different dogs on the dimensions of dominance and friendliness in order to optimize the partnering of humans and their pets. Such measures already exist for humans but are not yet available for dogs or cats.
Woodward is seeking participants to help in the development of the Pet Attribute Work Sheet (PAWS) for dogs.
"We hope to use the survey responses of a large national population of dog owners to develop a checklist that can be used to classify dogs on the key personality traits of dominance/submission and friendliness/independence," she said.Dog owners interested in participating in the development of this measure may complete a survey at www.Rate-Your-Dogs-Personality.com, and enter to win one of three $25 gift certificates for PetSmart.
Feline Rage Mirrors Human Anger
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News reports:
Jan. 25, 2008 -- Feline defensive rage, the aggressive cat behavior that recently led to the death of a California zoo visitor by a tiger that felt threatened, is comparable to human rage, both in the way that it emerges and unleashes in the brain, suggests a new study.
Because scientists are gaining a better understanding of the mammalian brain's recipe for rage, violent behavior in humans and other mammals may one day be quelled with improved drug therapies.
For cats, such a drug could prevent the hissing, back arching, ear retraction, claw extensions and fur standing-on-end that are typical indicators of feline defensive rage. In humans, related anger reveals itself with road rage, an impulsive form of anger that involves little or no thought.
"In road rage, the person never thinks about what he is doing but just acts in the way he does because he feels that he has been threatened by someone else and the impulsive behavior represents a way by which he can protect himself from such a threat," co-author Allan Siegel told Discovery News.
"In reality, his actions are usually much more dangerous to him than to the person whom he perceived cut him off on the road," added Siegel, a professor in the Department of Neurology & Neurosciences at New Jersey Medical School in Newark.
Prior studies have suggested that anger is centered in the medial hypothalamus region of the brain, more colloquially known as the midbrain's gray matter. Siegel and his team can even artificially induce anger in cats by electrically stimulating this brain region.
The researchers suspected that certain proteins help to control the process, so after electronically creating feline defensive rage in 10 adult female cats, they introduced a protein, called an interleukin, into the anger region of the cats' brains. As predicted, it fueled the felines' rage.
Siegel explained that the protein somehow attaches to a serotonin receptor. Serotonin is a critical neurotransmitter that helps inhibit everything from sleep to vomiting to sex and hunger in humans.
For anger, the interleukin reacts with the serotonin, causing the neuron to which the serotonin is attached to discharge. Before long, many neurons in the region start to discharge at a high rate, causing the individual to fall into a rage and behave defensively.
The findings have been accepted for publication in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
Since scientists now have a better understanding of how anger manifests in the brain, the researchers can focus on developing drugs that prevent the rage process from erupting in the first place.
Illegal drugs like cocaine, however, may stimulate the development of anger in the brain, as may alcohol. In both instances, the substances cross the blood brain barrier that normally keeps infectious and dangerous things away from the brain, but isn't impervious to all materials.
Tumors or other brain disorders affecting the hypothalamus can also lead "to spontaneous and impulsive acts of violence and rage," according to Siegel, who added that he thought "there was nothing wrong with the brain of the tiger that attacked the teenagers."
Because wild cats are very territorial, he believes the zoo tiger felt threatened and acted aggressively in response, as it would have done in the wild if faced with intruders.
Hreday Sapru, director of Neurosurgical Laboratories at the New Jersey Medical School, who did not participate in the research, agreed with the findings outlined in the new study.
Because of these determinations, Sapru agreed "there is a possibility that new targets for therapeutic management of aggressive behavior in humans can be developed."
"In addition," Sapru added, "this discovery may provide a basis for future studies that will unravel the underlying mechanisms of aggression and other related behaviors in animals."
Petfinder.com's Top 10 Most Popular Pet Names in 2007
Petfinder.com reports:
Topping the charts as the No. 1 names for our country’s 260,000 adoptable pets on Petfinder.com in 2007 are Buddy for pooches and Smokey for felines, with traditional pet (and people) names following close behind.
Top 10 Dog Names 
Buddy (712)
Max (552)
Sadie (445)
Jack (428)
Daisy (416)
Lucy (406)
Lady (385)
Charlie (382)
Rocky (369)
Duke (358)
Top 10 Cat Names
Smokey (291) 
Lucy (284)
Oreo (260)
Midnight (260)
Shadow (260)
Patches (256)
Princess (248)
Tigger (243)
Molly (239)
“Pet parents find special comfort and companionship in their pets that cannot compete with anything else,” said Betsy Saul, co-founder of Petfinder.com. “The name Buddy shows how dogs are truly ‘man’s best friend,’ while people also love tough, powerful names like Rocky and Duke.”
With names such as Smokey, Midnight, Angel and Princess, the top 10 cat names prove that animal lovers envision their felines as no-less-than-perfect, mysterious creatures. “People put their animals on pedestals,” Saul said. “They put as much thought into naming their pets as they would their children.”
While the most popular names for 2007 remain similar to years past, some individuals decide creativity is key when naming their animal companions. 2007’s Top 10 Most Unusual Pet Names leave some things to the imagination:
2007’s Top 10 Most Unusual Pet Names
Not Pants
Zhivago
Fat Alice
Barney Google
Cinderella Cookiedough
Ditto Dippin’ Dots
Fizzleboom
Miss booty-q
Bubba Big Foot
Partly Cloudy