Lessons from Bogie
By Shannon Finch Later, my client told me what had happened that weekend. They had had guests, and Bogie had been whining and crying in his crate, so her husband used a shock collar to keep him quiet. Things suddenly became very clear. I now understood why Bogie’s progress was so sporadic. My client used positive reinforcement, but her husband was using fear, pain and punishment, and had been all along. It had escalated to Bogie being shocked in a crate, with no way for him to escape…My heart still hurts… Continued
February 28, 2019: Alberta Veterinarians Vote to Ban Unnecessary Surgical Procedures
Members of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (ABVMA) have voted to ban all unnecessary surgeries on pets, including declawing, ear cropping, and tail docking. The Association is working to have the new policy in place by spring. Dr. Darrell Dalton, registrar with the ABVMA, said there is “no scientific justification for cosmetic surgeries” and that they are “medically unnecessary,” “cause unnecessary pain to the animal,” and are “inhumane.” Read article
February 27, 2019: California Assemblymaker Introduces Bill to Ban Declawing in Cats
California Assemblymaker Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) has introduced a bill seeking to ban the declawing procedure in cats. “Declawed cats can suffer long-term physical complications as a result of declawing,” said Quirk. Many veterinarians say the practice is barbaric, causes unneeded pain and suffering, and leads to unexpected complications. It is already banned in 20 countries worldwide. Quirk has also introduced a bill seeking to give judges more direction about how to handle pet custody disputes in divorce proceedings and consider an animal’s interests in divorce proceedings and allow joint ownership of a companion animal.… Continued
Februrary 22, 2019: BC SPCA Urges Dog Owners Not to Use Shock Collars
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) in Canada is urging dog owners to refrain from using electric shock collars as a training tool for their pets, stating that pet owners are often unaware of the harm the devices can cause. Says Dr. Karen van Haaften of the BCSPCA: “[Shock collars] cause pain and signs of fear in dogs, and long term they’re actually associated with poor behaviour outcomes, including increased rates of aggression, increased fear and anxiety-related behaviours.” Read article
February 21, 2019: Study Indicates Fewer Flies Land on Horses Wearing Striped Coats
The function of zebra stripes has been a “source of scientific interest for over 150 years” and there is now there is an “emerging consensus among biologists that the primary function of contrasting black and white stripes on the three species of zebras is to thwart attack from tabanids” (aka horse flies). A new study examines the behaviour of tabanids around horses wearing differently coloured cloth coats and reports on the duration of time that tabanids spend on equids with different coloured pelage, and concludes that “that, up close, striped surfaces prevented… Continued
Portland Blog Competition: Conflict vs. Cooperation
By Marie Selarque At the time of writing, Bix was almost 8 months old and was staying with me for board and train. The focus of his training was jumping and biting, but the truth is, he taught me as much as I taught him. Silly me though, I did not initially get quite enough information about his undesirable behaviors and was caught by surprise in the middle of the first night of his stay when he had vomited and I got up to clean it. I saw his “worried”… Continued
February 14, 2019: Australian Capital Territory Considers Making “Sentience” Law
In an Australian first, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is currently considering the introduction of legislation that would acknowledge animal sentience, meaning that the government would, for the first time, consider animals’ feelings in addition to their physical well-being, and how these feelings may impact their welfare. Read article
An Allegory: What Happens if a Dog is Punished for Having a Phobia?
By Sandra Machado Johnny is five years old and he is a great kid. He is loving, does very well in school and absolutely adores his mom. One day he was playing in the park and was badly bitten by a spider. He was never afraid of them before until he got bitten. He became so fearful that every time he saw one he would cry, tremble and have a panic attack. He would sweat and almost faint. Almost all physiological signs of fear were present at the mere sight… Continued
Treat Value: What Should You Use?
By Yvette Van Veen Which Treat Value Is BEST? It depends. There’s so much variation in how food reinforcements are used that we have to look at the objective of the training. Generally there are two styles of training. We can primarily work in classical conditioning or we can primarily work in operant conditioning. It is correct that Pavlov is on your shoulder and Skinner is on the other. Hopefully we have a plan when training. Our plan should be clear as to which strategy we are using in the moment. You can’t… Continued
Addressing Aggression, the Force-Free Way
By Diane Garrod Reactivity is by no means necessarily an intent to do harm; the dog who hides shivering behind her owner or the dog who lashes out with growling and lunging are both experiencing the same emotion of fear. Both have the same choices that we would have for dealing with it: fight, flight, or freeze. The reaction would not be displayed in the first place if the dog were more confident in how to handle a situation. Read article
What Does “Happy” Look Like?
By Lara Joseph I think it’s fair to say that most animals in our care have their choices restricted to some degree. For example, we have to limit options for their safety. Our companion cats and dogs are often confined to the four walls of our homes and the fences in our backyards. Exotics, both in the home and in educational organizations, are often restricted to cages within four walls. Many of them are undomesticated animals that have naturally evolved to navigate miles of land or fly vast distances. These… Continued
Protecting Your Business
By David Pearsall Unfortunately, most general liability policies contain exclusions for personal property in the insured’s care, custody, or control. And for many types of businesses this would be okay. However, for the professional dog trainer, (or pet sitter, dog walker or boarding facility), it is perhaps the most significant exposure of all. This is because dogs are considered personal property under the law. Without including this coverage under your general liability policy, you simply have no insurance for the dogs in your care. Read article
Calm Vet Visits
By Victoria Blais For cats, less really is more. This means less noise, less handling, less restraint, fewer loud voices, fewer odors, fewer bright colors, and fewer lights. When I arrive for at the veterinarian’s office for an appointment, I call from the parking lot, so we can directly enter the cat-only exam room. Next, we take five to 10 minutes to acclimate, accompanied by low volume relaxing instrumental music, soft exam surfaces, pheromones, and choices. We have the choice of treats or toys, to explore or to retreat, to… Continued
A Better Dog-Human Understanding
By Susan Nilson We may assume that a free-ranging dog lives unhappily without a human family. In some instances, this may be the case. But we also need to remember that free-ranging dogs have a lot of freedom that dogs living as companions, say pets, do not necessarily have. Free-ranging dogs have the privilege of deciding their daily actions and habits and displaying behaviors according to their personalities. Their sociality, and in some cases sexual conduct, are not, or are just minimally, conditioned by humans. Read article
The Durability of “Dominance”
By Anna Bradley The internet is great because there’s so much knowledge out there, but here’s the caveat – is it always good knowledge? Of course not. Miller (2018) states: “The alpha myth is everywhere. Google “alpha, dog” on the Internet and you get more than 16 million hits. Really. While not all the sites are about dominating your dog, there are literally millions of resources out there – websites, books, blogs, television shows, animal care and training professionals – instructing you to use force and intimidation to overpower your… Continued
Tips for Working with Clients with Mobility Impairments
By Veronica Sanchez A large and rambunctious dog can pull an owner off their feet, even if they do not have any physical limitations. However, people who have mobility impairments are at a higher risk. Additionally, the consequences of an injury may be more serious. Fortunately, there are a variety of strategies that can help clients with mobility limitations be successful in training their dogs to walk on a loose leash. Many people may experience a mobility limitation, including people with disabilities, people with temporary health injuries as well as… Continued
Portland Blog Competition: May I Speak to the Manager?
By Tina Ferner Last week, I received a voicemail that a trainer NEVER wants to hear. It went like this, “Tina, this is Eileen. Dolly just killed Miley.” Dolly was a rescued mixed breed dog that weighed approximately 65 pounds while Miley was a Maltese mix that weighed 8 pounds. There had been problems in the past with resource guarding and several “scuffles” between the two dogs. After our initial consultation, Eileen and I had mapped out a management plan. This plan involved leashes, gates, crates and securely closed doors.… Continued
The What, Where and When of Rewards
By Lily Mickleburgh The use of rewards in dog training is becoming increasingly popular as an effective way of encouraging desired behaviours. However, subtle differences in what you use as a reward, where and when you reward them, can all change depending on your end goal. This may also vary depending on breed traits, age of the dog and whether you want to build energy or encourage calm in your goal behaviour. WHAT is the motivator? Toys are a great way of building energy and enthusiasm for something like heel work or recall,… Continued
January 28, 2019: New Study Examines Adult Womens’ Sleep Quality, Routines in Relation to Pet Ownership
Scientists have gathered data to investigate whether the presence of a pet in the bed impacts human sleep quality either positively or negatively, and found that “dogs who slept in the owner’s bed were perceived to disturb sleep less and were associated with stronger feelings of comfort and security. Conversely, cats who slept in their owner’s bed were reported to be equally as disruptive as human partners, and were associated with weaker feelings of comfort and security than both human and dog bed partners.” Read study
Getting Started with Touch Cues
By Debbie Bauer There are two types of touch cues – these are cues that you give to your dog by touching various parts of his body in different ways, to mean different things. If your dog can’t see or hear you cues, touch cues give you the perfect way to begin communicating with him. Having a way to communicate is crucial to living in harmony with your dog. You can tell him what to expect to happen, and how you want him to respond. And your dog will feel… Continued
Want Your Dog to Listen? Stop Doing This!
By Yvette Van Veen Dog training often boils down to a single statement. “I want my dog to listen.” It’s a reasonable request and seems simple. We ask our dogs to do something. In return, we want the dog to listen to that request and respond in a timely manner. Training is the process by which we teach our dog to do this. People are often disappointed when they wind up with dogs that only seem to listen some of the time. They are disappointed that their dog only listens if they reach for a… Continued
January 9, 2019: Study Examines Cat-Human Social Behavior
A new study has been conducted to “assess the influence of human attentional state, population, and human familiarity on domestic cat sociability,” and reported that “[h]uman familiarity did not significantly influence pet cat sociability behaviors. Overall, a wide range of sociability scores was seen, indicating individual variation is an important consideration in cat social behavior.” Read study
Is “Maybe” Addictive?
By Louise Stapleton-Frappell In operant conditioning, behavioral responses that are positively reinforced increase in frequency, intensity or duration. The cue is given, the response occurs, reinforcement follows and the loop is repeated. One would perhaps expect dopamine levels to rise upon receipt of the reinforcer. But do they? Some studies have shown that increases in dopamine are not, in fact, directly related to the reinforcer. Rather, it is the anticipation of the reinforcer that causes dopamine levels to spike. Although dopamine signals may well be activated during the consumption of a tasty… Continued
Portland Blog Competition: Redirecting Aggressive Behavior
By Dr. Lynn Bahr As cat lovers, we’ve all been scratched at least once. But why do some cats play so rough when others never scratch or bite? Cats, by their very nature, are ferocious hunters. These behaviors are formed when they are very young by instinct, observation and playing with their littermates. Through stalking, chasing, swatting, biting and pouncing on their siblings, kittens develop their precise hunting skills. But when cats are removed from this environment too young or don’t have an adult cat to keep them in line,… Continued
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