Session One: ​
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THE MAJOR COMPONENTS THAT MAKE A DOG A DOG
Digestion: Let’s start with something we can all sink our teeth into: the canine digestive system. We will look at the parts that process all of the food that energizes your dog, from teeth to anus, with stops along the way in the stomach and the intestines.
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Circulation: All of that energy from feeding needs to get moved around, so we will look into the circulatory system. You may think your dog is all heart, but there is so much more in the blood and the vessels that carry that life sustaining fluid.
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Movement: Much of that food energy distributed by the blood ends up in muscles to move about, and the skeleton without which the muscles would be just a quivering mass on the floor. No, you won’t have to learn the names of all 200 bones and 600 muscles, but knowing how they work will help you know when trouble is developing.
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Thinking: The largest energy using organ of the body is the brain, so we need to look into the nervous system to see what it keeps track of and what it coordinates. We will also take a look at looking, and nose around a bit in smelling, because sensing is different in dogs than us. Same parts, different outcomes.
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Reproduction: Dogs are so wonderful, we seem to always want more of them. What are the parts that go into making more dogs? We will examine gonads (that is a sentence you were not likely expecting) and the parts that move genetic material form one dog to another.
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Session Two:
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KEEPING THE MAJOR SYSTEMS WORKING WELL
Feeding the beast: What are the important parts of food your dog needs, and why? What happens if there is too much of a good things? What should you make sure never goes into your dog?
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Cardio-Fitness: Why should you worry about canine cardio fitness, and how can you achieve that without getting fit yourself? (Spoiler alert: you can both benefit by improving your fitness from wherever you are now).
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Structure: Muscles and bones need to be fit, too. What are some good exercises to do (besides the best: walking!) to keep your dog limber and strong? Note that best post-surgical rehabilitation happens long before the injury that needed fixing. Start now and beat the rush. Also note that we will look into the biology of the exercises, not just talk strength training techniques.
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Working the Brain: what are some good ways to stimulate your dog’s brain so that mental fitness keeps pace with fit dog? Like structural work, we will look into brain activity to see why different activities are so powerful.
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Breeds: We will look a the biology of breeds and how the different selection for traits has carried some interesting but also some worrisome traits. We will also look at the biology of breeds so that you can figure out what the best breed is. (Another spoiler alert: there is a reason so many breeds and mixes exist! Read the fine print before you get your next dog.)
SPEAKER PROFILE
TIM LEWIS
Dr. Tim Lewis is an Eco-biologist, Professor of Biology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul MN and a widely published research scientist. In addition he is a popular lecturer on Canine Cognition at Camp Gone to the Dogs, VT and other venues nationwide.
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Tim has a longtime connection to the fields of human physiology and health, as well as the very different pedagogies involved in teaching activities courses such as NAUI scuba. He worked closely with Health and Human Performance (HHP) in the development of Biology’s link to Public Health and provided stewardship to the HHP Department during its 2015 decennial review.
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He is also the author of the acclaimed new book from Dogwise Publishing: The Biology of Dogs!
THE BOOK
You may be thinking, How can I take this book seriously when the subtitle starts with the word “gonads”? If so, you have probably not met Tim Lewis yet. Take it from Tim: Gonads are what biology is all about. They are the mechanisms that allow living beings to reproduce – and without reproduction, there’s no life.
Biology of Dogs takes you on a series of tours through all the major biological systems – reproductive, nervous, musculoskeletal, digestive and more. Tim leads these tours in a fun and irreverent manner, offering insights that will enhance your dog-human relationships so much that you will abandon all of your human friends to spend more time with your dog!
From the Foreword by Sue Sternberg:
If, like me, you did not approach the world like a scientist, you will experience a transformation after meeting Tim. Tim straddles the world of science and the world of experience, field-experts and lay people—he translates so we can all understand each other. Some of the changes you will experience after reading this book may be subtle, some more powerful, but all will likely affect not only the way you think, see, interact with, and understand your dog, but also how you see the world at large. Just when you think your relationship with you'd dog could not possibly get any better, along comes this book.
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Purchasing Access & Playing the Videos:
You must be logged-into the site in order for the system to recognize your video purchase and play it onDemand!
Once you purchase access for 1 year, come back to the page any time, log into the site and click the "Watch Now" icon!
​
1. Click the "Subscribe" icon in the center of the below video window.
2. Site members choose "Sign in" on the bottom of the pop-up window and proceed with the check out.
3. Not a site member yet? Click "Subscribe" below then click "Proceed to checkout" and create a log-in, then complete the check-out. ​​
Lewis: Biology of Dogs
Lewis: Biology of Dogs
Lewis Biology 1
