At my doggie day care job we all have to wear a uniform: a bright red t-shirt with blue or black jeans. On my very first day of work it became obvious why: the dogs recognize the uniform!
Seriously, on my interview day, when I was in the yard with the dogs wearing just a random shirt, none of the dogs thought I was the boss of them. But on my first day of work, wearing the bright red shirt, the dogs (most of them) immediately accepted me as their overlord.
This led me to wonder what colors dogs can see. Eyeballs have two main types of photoreceptor cells: rods and cones. The rods detect light levels and motion, and the cones distinguish colors.
Human eyes have three types of cones. They allow us to perceive red, blue, and green. Dogs have only two types of cones: ones for blue and ones for yellow. An aside: dogs have many more rods in their eyes than we do - allowing them better vision in lower light and better motion-sensing.
According to research, dogs can’t tell the difference between yellow and red, nor purple and blue. But, they do differentiate colors. Also, their eyes are set more on the sides of their heads than ours, giving them better peripheral vision. It would be interesting to see if our daycare dogs treated me exactly the same if I showed up in a bright yellow t-shirt. Of course now a bunch of them know me. We’d have to get someone completely new to show up in a bright yellow t-shirt.
There are dogs at work that I’ve never seen in real life. Two notable ones are Bloodhounds and Saint Bernards. It’s hard to describe how large both breeds are. And how drooly. There are a lot of different estimates for the typical weight of Saint Bernards. I have found anywhere from 140 to 265 pounds listed as their range. The Guinness Book of World Records cites a Saint Bernard from Michigan as the largest ever recorded - at 315 pounds. I know the one who comes to day care weighs 165 pounds. Here’s an entire group of St. Bernards:
The Saint Bernard is one of the oldest surviving dog breeds - the first written record of them is from 1707. The monks living at the hospice of the Great Saint Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border wrote about them, painted them, and generally tried to care for them.
Saint Bernards have been found - through genetic testing - to be descendants of molossian dogs the Ancient Romans brought through the Alps well over a thousand years ago. In fact, some speculate that all European Mastiffs are descendants of dogs the Romans left behind. It is said that these dogs were sent to Rome by Alexander the Great who, while conquering portions of Asia, found giant dogs there that impressed him so much that he sent a bunch home.
In any case, both the Pass and the dogs are named for Saint Bernard of Menthon (1020-1081), who established the Alpine Hospice Stations. Since before recorded history there has been a path through the Pennine Alps. This traditional route is covered with snow seven to eight feet deep in the summer, and as many as 40 feet deep in winter. It’s a terribly dangerous path, but one used by pilgrims traveling from France to Rome. The Alpine Hospice Stations served the pilgrims. The dogs served the hospice stations.
There are fabulous stories of amazing rescues performed by the Saint Bernards over the years, although they are now officially retired (the dogs, not the stories). The monks never trained them to search and rescue. That was a skill the dogs already possessed, teaching it to each other, passing down the knowledge from generation to generation.
According to the monks, no Saint Bernard has ever worn a cask of brandy for revitalizing lost travelers. That is a myth that came from a famous 1820 painting by Edward Landseer (who supposedly could paint with both hands simultaneously - each hand beginning at the opposite side of the canvas and eventually meeting in the middle). Here’s the painting:
The monks say that they pose their dogs with casks now for tourist photos.
Saint Bernards have played roles in several wars, but the most famous was their aid of Napoleon. Between 1790 and 1810, Napoleon was assisted by a group of Saint Bernards. Those dogs made sure that Napoleon never lost any troops traveling mountain passes.
One last note on the sheer crazy size of Saint Bernards: look at this photo! This dog could probably fit four or five cats in his mouth at once!
Meanwhile, back in soap news, we were asked by a store in Breckenridge to create some Colorado-themed soap especially for them. Here’s our first attempt:
Oh, and since it's closing in on time to buy holiday gifts, please consider stopping by our website for stocking stuffers. SerenaSoaps.com. You could get one of these! Find it in Picture Soaps.
