Most pet owners will probably have a tail (ha ha!) or two to tell about their animal’s crazy antics, so we’ve compiled a list of a few of the silliest mishaps and happenings we can find! If you know of any more ridiculous animal tales than these, why not let us know all about it and you might find your story featured right here!

Though this first tale isn’t entirely of the pet variety depending on how you choose to look at it, we thought it would make a nice little introduction. Meet Zorro, a six year old zebra shark desperate for a new love. He was shipped off to the Seal Life London Aquarium on Valentine’s Day with hopes he would get together with their resident female sharj Mazawabee. In order to encourage some lovin’, marine experts have been attempting to encourage some underwater activity by playing seductive tunes like Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. Sadly, as of yet there have been no signs of any action, but research does suggest that fish can both hear and appreciate different tunes and melodies! Sh(ark!)ocking!

This next one is particularly mad! At the Bremerhaven Zoo, Germany, the introduction of a group of female penguins to a flock of male penguins was dropped after gay rights groups protested splitting up ‘homosexual’ penguin couples. Zoo director Heike Kueck insits there was never any intention to forcibly separate the penguins and even if they wanted to, they couldn’t force them to be interested in females!

Now we’ve mentioned heroic pets before, but this particular pooch really deserves an extra special mention. A pet dog rooting around in the forest in search of food for her puppies apparently stumbled upon an abandoned newborn, picked it up, carried it across a busy road, through a barbed-wire fence and laid it beside her own puppies. According to the dog’s owner, the dog lay beside the baby and took care of it until it was spotted by someone. The baby was later taken to hospital.

So there you have some fascinating pet stories to remind you why we love our crazy animals so much!

Body language obviously isn’t exclusive to humans. Animals don’t have the luxury of being able to communicate so thoroughly using words. You may think you know your pet pretty well, but there might be one or two hints of NVC (non-verbal communication) that you weren’t aware meant anything at all. You may even recognise a few; cats kneading, dogs cocking their heads, rabbits stomping. If you’ve ever owned any of these three pets, you’re bound to have seen this behaviour at least once. They’re not the only ones that do it, too – every animal on the planet has a unique way of communication, including rats, ferrets and reptiles!

Over the new few weeks, we want to clear up some mysteries and help you to understand your pets needs and emotions a little bit better with a breakdown of some common and uncommon bits of behaviour from a few of our furry friends.

This week is the turn of man’s best friend, the canis (or simply ‘dog’ to you and I).

Dogs

1. Tail between its legs – everyone should know this one, but just in case you don’t, a dog holding its tail between its legs is usually frightened or nervous. It may also arch its back, bend its legs and its ears will likely lie flatter. A dog that shows these signs is likely to snap at someone or something it’s are afraid of. Its pupils also tend to dilate.

2. Wagging tail, panting, erect ears – these indicate the dog is a very happy, relaxed and confident pooch that is probably having fun.

3. Lifted paw and flattened ears – this often suggests fear and submission.

4. Twitching or pricked ears, tail low – the dog is likely to be listening for something so is attentive, but not necessarily frightened. Dogs tend to be curious about every little sound they hear, especially if it’s new to them.

5. Tail erect or curled – this is a sign the dog is confident, happy and relaxed. Its ears will probably also be erect or pricked, though it is difficult to tell with some dogs.

6. Rear end in the air, upper body to the floor – this is called ‘baying’ and dogs normally exhibit this behaviour when feeling playful and happy.

7. Rolling over - a dog that exposes its belly is often being submissive to either another dog, or to you. It doesn’t  want to show any aggression.

8. Maintains eye contact, ruffles fur, stands tall, growls – this behaviour suggests a show of dominance either directed towards another dog, or to a person. It can be dangerous for both if not handled with care. Any dog exhibiting this behaviour towards a person should be dealt with cautiously. The dog may also start to bear its teeth and lunge. Experts suggest you maintain eye contact and calmly back away.

Stay tuned for next time when we’ll tell you all about cat communication!

According to research carried about out by Nicholas Christenfeld and Michael Roy from the University of California, dogs and their owners often have a tendency to look alike (minus the furry muzzle and walking on all fours – as far as we know, at least. There are always exceptions).The full study appears in ‘Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners’ in the journal Psychological Science. The catch here is that it is only purebred dogs that seem to resemble their owners.

Now, after a quick whip around the adflyer office for desired breed of dog to own, we’ve heard ‘husky‘, ‘belgian shepherd‘ and ‘daschund‘. Does that give you a decent picture of the type of people we have working here? Do you think any of us would share the looks and personality of each of those dogs? Does ‘husky’ bring to mind a silver haired individual with bright blue eyes and an excitable personality? Does ‘Belgian shepherd’ make you think about striking locks and a loyal, calm temperament? Does ‘daschund’ conjure the image of a short, stout person with black hair and chocolate brown eyes, always walking quickly?

Christenfeld and Roy’s study involved a number of volunteers being shown a selection of photographs; half of dogs, the other half of their owners. There was a mixture of purebred pedigrees and cross breeds amongst the dog photographs. 16 of the 25 purebred photos were correctly matched purely based on physical resemblance. This was theorised to be due to the owner subconsciously choosing a puppy that closely resembles themselves, rather than the dog eventually growing to look similar to their owner. The look of a pedigree puppy is much easier to determine than that of a cross-bred dog, eliminating the possibility of cross breeds resembling their owners and explaining why they don’t share this unusual symmetry.

Safe to say, the study didn’t go into great levels of details and no conclusion was reached about whether people naturally prefer a dog that shares their personality traits or looks. Either way, from now on we’re probably going to be closely observing owners and pets from now on just to determine how true the study results are.

Is it only dogs that resemble their owners though? Maybe you have a pet cat, pet rabbit or pet rat-like friend or relative… We wouldn’t mind seeing pictures!