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A dog's day might never be the same considering the attention pooches have been getting recently. An advert claiming to be the first aimed directly at them has been screened on television in Britain.

It features high-frequency sounds, whistles and barks intended to catch the attention of watching canines but that can't be heard by most humans. Far from being a barking mad move, it indicates that the advertising companies have sniffed out a promising new consumer in man's best friend.

And dogs seem to be ready to come out of the doghouse in other fields too. For those who have seen The Artist, few seem able to resist Uggie's animal magnetism. This Jack Russell has been receiving praise that would make Lassie jealous.

The 10-year-old four-legged performer showed that it's a mistake to think that you can't teach old dogs new tricks and picked up the animal equivalent of an Oscar at the prestigious Golden Collars in Century City, California.

And soon dogs might rival human supermodels on some famous catwalks. Spending on clothing for pets is expected to break the 20 million-pound mark (200 million yuan) in 2012 in the UK, according to market assessment firm MTW Research.

Across the Atlantic, a US retailer sells everything from colourful polo shirts to fancy dress costumes. Its customers can let their imagination off the leash and even dress their dogs to look like dinosaurs!

Quiz

Is this statement true, false or not given? People are not supposed to be able to hear most sounds played during the advert aimed at dogs.

True. It features high-frequency sounds that dogs can hear but are beyond the hearing capacity of most humans.

What's Uggie's breed?

Uggie is called Jack Russell.

Which award did The Artist's performer receive?

A Golden Collar, known as the animal equivalent of an Oscar.

Look at the article. What expression refers to having a difficult time?

A dog's day.

Look at the article. What phrasal verb is used to mean to discover something or someone after making an effort?

To sniff out.

Glossary 词汇表

a dog's day 得意之时

a pooch 囊袋

to bark （犬）叫

a canine 一条狗（犬科动物）

barking mad （狗）狂叫

to sniff out 嗅出

man's best friend 人类最好的朋友

to come out of the doghouse 从冷宫里出来

animal magnetism 动物磁力 / 吸引力

you can't teach old dogs new tricks 老狗学不会新把戏

a catwalk （模特）走台步

a pet 宠物

off the leash 摆脱束缚