Are film-makers wary of alienating increasingly sensitive audiences by offing a pooch? Or is humanity now just too soft to deal with the trauma of a Turner & Hooch?

There was a time, not so long ago, when watching a film was a clearcut experience. There would be a good guy and a bad guy, and you would know who the bad guy was because they would shoot a dog in the face.

It happened more times than you might expect. Mad Max 2, dog gets shot. Revenge, dog gets shot. Turner & Hooch, dog gets shot. Red, dog gets shot. Man with the Gun, dog gets shot. Badlands, dog gets shot. Dog Soldiers, you’ll never guess.

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© Photograph: FlixPix/Alamy

© Photograph: FlixPix/Alamy

© Photograph: FlixPix/Alamy

He had tetanus and I was brokenhearted when it seemed as if he wouldn’t pull through. But he worked hard, made a full recovery and helped to change someone’s life

When I first met Orlando, he was about eight weeks old. I’m a puppy raiser for the charity Guide Dogs; the puppies come to live with us in Swanley, Kent, until they are 12 to 18 months old. I started training him, but one day, I noticed he was shaking his head, which can mean there is something wrong with a dog’s ears. We took him to the vet and, on the second visit, we were told to rush him straight to the Royal Veterinary hospital because he had tetanus.

Dogs aren’t vaccinated against tetanus because it is so rare, and I don’t think I realised how unwell Orlando was. For the first week it was terrifying. He became completely paralysed and I was awake every night expecting a call to say that he had died. He was too sick to carry on training as a guide dog. He had to learn how to eat, walk and do almost everything again.

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© Photograph: Guide Dogs

© Photograph: Guide Dogs

© Photograph: Guide Dogs

Official guidance says ammonia in animal urine should be watered down to stop it corroding bark

A neighbourhood in Vienna has introduced guidelines for dog walking, including the use of bottled tap water to rinse away urine and protect vulnerable trees.

Neubau, an up-and-coming, densely populated district dotted with cafes and galleries, rolled out the Schönes Gassi (nice dog walk) campaign this week.

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© Photograph: Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP/Getty Images

Toxicology helplines report 42% increase in calls involving animals poisoned by drugs and nicotine

A record number of pets are ingesting recreational drugs and requiring veterinary care in the UK, figures shared with the Guardian reveal.

Last year, the UK’s only emergency poison centre for animals received its highest ever number of calls involving animals poisoned by cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and nicotine, and it is on course to do so again this year.

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© Photograph: Christina Bluhme/AP

© Photograph: Christina Bluhme/AP

© Photograph: Christina Bluhme/AP

People often forget social rules when dogs are involved, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. But you’ll have to say something if you want things to change

• Read more Leading questions

A good friend of mine stays with me regularly when she comes into town. She brings her husband and two dogs that don’t get along with my dog. They’ve “used the bathroom” in our house before. I try to be nice and help clean or pretend it doesn’t bother me so that they feel comfortable. But when she asks for a weekend to come back with everyone, I kind of dread it. I enjoy seeing her and she’s a great friend. I think our friendship would be better if she stayed somewhere else, but I would feel bad if she stayed in a hotel and I don’t think she’d visit as often. She cleans up after the dogs and whatnot, but I like my home to be my safe haven. This friend doesn’t handle confrontation well, but is understanding. What can I do to handle this?

Eleanor says: It sounds as though you’re in the jam we all get into when we try to smooth things over: you can have the social ease of pretending something is fine; or the outcome from confessing it isn’t, but not both simultaneously.

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© Illustration: Wikimedia Commons

© Illustration: Wikimedia Commons

© Illustration: Wikimedia Commons

Scientists analyzed hundreds of encounters between bears and canines. The results raise the suggestion that dogs may not always protect people in the wild.

Dog behavior experts offered a variety of explanations for why Nash the golden retriever wagged his tail and carried a toy near a man who broke into his owner’s home.

Two researchers who study the debilitating sleep disorder have won a prestigious Lasker Award. Their research in animals laid the groundwork for a new drug that addresses the condition’s root cause.

Technologies like CRISPR are giving us new ways to create the dogs of our dreams — and a reason to reckon with our past mistakes.

© Mary Conlon/Associated Press