“You do not own a dog. You have a dog. And the dog has you.” - Chelsea Handler

Happy Friday! Here's the scoop:

• How a family’s love for their dog inspired an entire home renovation

• Spring Cleaning: The Dog Toy Edition

• Stay up-to-date on all current events with one single email a day

• Do you know what your dog is actually thinking all day? This study might reveal it

Did you know?
A human nose averages 5 million scent receptors. A Dachshund’s nose has around ___ million.

(scroll to the bottom to find the answers!)

A modern dog house was the inspiration behind this minimalist abode
Looking to redesign your home on a budget? One Toronto family wanted to give their cramped space a makeover. By taking their dog’s well being into account, they completely redesigned their house into a fabulous open concept space – without breaking their budget.

In order to save space and add a tucked-away dog bed, this family ended up having to do a complete gut redesign. With the help of StudioAC, they added a multipurpose storage unit that ended up defining the structure of the downstairs living space.

By using inexpensive materials and incorporating IKEA elements, designers were able to stay within their budget. The finished product? Not only does their dog have a cozy place to rest, the whole living area is more spacious and full of light. It just goes to show that looking out for your dog can make your home feel more livable for the humans in the house, too!

Do(g)-It-Yourself
It’s spring, and you know what that means: Time for spring cleaning. So, how can you quickly and efficiently declutter your pet’s toy collection?

Here’s what you need to know as you take back control of your home while keeping your pup entertained.

How to Marie Kondo your dog’s toy collection:

• Start by putting like with like. In other words, group similar toys together.

• Ask yourself, “Does this toy spark joy?” Of course, you’ll want to guess what your dog’s opinion on the matter would be, as long as your own feelings.

• Find the right container for the toys you’re keeping. If a bin is overflowing, you either need a bigger bin, or you need to keep paring down.

• Put the bin in a central location – one that’s easy for your dog to get to.

• Separate the toys that no longer spark joy, and dispose of old toys responsibly. Rather than simply tossing everything, see if there’s anything that can be recycled or donated.

• Going forward, buy less and buy better. The trick to long-term decluttering is accumulating less clutter in the first place. Remember to be picky when picking up new toys, and focus instead on spending quality time with your pup!

What we're digging
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Figure out what your dog is thinking
Do you ever wonder what’s on your dog’s mind? We spend lots of time with our dogs, so it’s natural to wonder what they’re thinking about it. Researchers had the same question, and a recent study has started to shed some light on this very topic.

Recently, researchers trained two dogs – Callie, a 2-year-old Feist and McKenzie, a 3-year-old Border Collie – to walk into a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. Not only did they get into the tube, these dogs learned how to stay still while they were inside.

Next, the dogs were trained to respond to two different hand signal – one that indicated that the dog would receive a treat and the other indicating "no treat." The study found that a particular brain region – one that’s associated with rewards in human brains – showed activity when the dog saw the treat gesture. That brain area didn't light up when the dogs saw the no-treat gesture.

Gregory Berns, the lead researcher on the study said, "These results indicate that dogs pay very close attention to human signals.” So, to answer your question about what your dog is thinking about, the answer is probably… treats.

Did you know?
Answer: 125 million!

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