Stimulation for Psittacines
By Amy Martin Physical and mental stimulation is vital to every species on the planet. Squid, poison dart frogs, pigs, rats, cats, tortoises, spiders, jaguars, sheep, dogs, ferrets, parrots, you name it, they all need daily stimulation. Enrichment is a fundamental component of responsible, preventative companion parrot care. But how can we ensure the parrots we care for are getting enough? Vital For Well-Being Studies have shown that when animals are provided with a stimulating environment, they are less stressed, live longer and are better able to develop problem-solving skills,… Continued
Meet Geek Week 2021 – The Sequel
By the Pet Professional Guild We’re Back – and Better than Ever! Geek Week: November 13-17, 2021 Early Bird Discount till July 31! We had so much fun last year and learned so much about hosting virtual events that we only had one choice: hit the replay button to bring you Geek Week 2021 – The Sequel. It’s not just a repeat event. It includes all the best from Geek Week 2020 and more. Based on attendees’ professional feedback, we have incorporated many of last year’s most popular features, and added… Continued
The Problem with “Furry Little Humans”
By Andrea Carne Let’s open this discussion with the whole cats vs. dogs “thing.” Honestly, why do we continue to debate this ongoing battle of the species? Social media is filled with cartoons and memes depicting the supposedly obvious differences and, while I can enjoy the funny side as much as anyone else, there is a serious side to the argument when it comes to actual research. Case in point: A new study by Chijiiwa et al. (2021) on cat behavior has already gained a lot of press this year,… Continued
Case Study: From Reactive to Relaxed
By Dr. Sheryl L. Walker Of all my years studying animal behavior and consulting with individual clients and animal shelters, there was one case in particular that stood out, partly because it featured two incredibly dedicated guardians. Ironically, it was also one of my most complex cases. It was a case of canine anxiety- and pain-induced dog-directed aggression involving a young neutered male named Gerhardt who had approximately six bite events between August 2009 and November 2012, beginning when he was approximately 7 months old. The environmental trigger, initially, seemed… Continued
Stress-Free Car Travel with Your Dog
Just recently I’ve helped several owners with dogs who’ve developed real aversions to car travel. Definitely this hasn’t been helped by not going places in the car during lockdown. Maybe these dogs haven’t set foot in the car at all but now they’re expected to just jump right in. But what if they are not comfortable to do so? What can we do to set our dogs up for easy, trouble free car travel? Happy car experiences should be part of the ‘habituation collage’ you put together as a new… Continued
It’s All in the Management
By Dr. Morag Heirs When you are dealing with a deaf puppy or an adolescent deaf dog in a rescue environment, mouthing and nipping is often high on the list of problem behaviors. Do deaf dogs and puppies mouth, nip or grab more than hearing dogs? The honest answer here is that we just do not know. Anecdotally, based on the requests for help we see on forums and websites, mouthing, nipping and/or grabbing does not seem to be more of a problem for deaf dogs than it is with… Continued
Playing It Safe
By Andrea Carne “Play with your cat more – and give him a meaty diet…” I wouldn’t be surprised if variations on this kind of advice has been given by vets and cat behavior consultants over the eons. And indeed, in addition to being supportive of feline well-being in general, a new study suggests it could also reduce hunting behavior and, perhaps more importantly for many cat guardians, reduce the number of prey animals brought home as unwanted “gifts.” The study, conducted by Martina Cecchetti and colleagues from the University… Continued
Play vs. Aggression
By Maureen Tay As a trainer, the issue of aggression is raised a lot. Indeed, it is the most commonly reported behavior issue by dog owners (Overall, 2013). One owner who contacted me recently had adopted a new dog and called me to say that the new dog and the resident dog were now growling at each other and going after each other’s legs and necks. But without being there to see the actual situation, it is obviously impossible to tell if these dogs are just playing or if there… Continued
The Porcine Phenomenon
By Lara Joseph As we all know, animals are fascinating, especially when it comes to their ability to learn and their individuality. I am attracted to intelligent animals who learn quickly and are able to change their behavior to get a new outcome, for example, the pig, the vulture, the parrot and the octopus. I train many animals and am often asked to train pigs. The rate at which a young, healthy pig who lives in an enriched environment can learn often stuns people, including the professional trainer. This rate… Continued
Compare My Dog Dot Com!
We most definitely live in a ‘comparison society.’ Many of us are prone to comparing ourselves to others, their merits or otherwise, what they’ve achieved, what they own, don’t own, their assets – everything, in fact! I find this a lot in the dog world, e.g. ‘my previous dog never did this,’ ‘my other dog does this much better,’ or ‘I’ve owned dogs all my life and never had these issues’ and so on. Or maybe it might be comparisons with others. e.g. ‘my neighbor tells me what I’m doing… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Victoria Stilwell: April 23, 2021
Join Niki Tudge and Victoria Stilwell of Positively as they chat about all things “positive.” Listen to the Podcast here on your preferred platform. Or simply click ‘Play’ below. Victoria Stilwell is a world-renowned dog trainer best known as the star of the international hit TV series It’s Me or the Dog. She is also editor-in-chief of Positively.com, which features a roster of Positively Contributors comprised of the world’s leading veterinary behaviorists, dog trainers and behavioral scientists, and CEO of Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Training (VSPDT) – a global network of world-class positive reinforcement dog trainers. She is also… Continued
A New Trend in Dog Boarding
By Rachel Brix Pioneered by Dr. Hal Markowitz in the 1960s, enrichment originated from a focus on zoo animals. He called zoos “concrete wastelands” (Bender & Strong, 2019) and was determined to improve the animals’ lives in captivity. He first developed ethograms, or inventories of behaviors, for each species; then, after determining the animals’ needs, came the task of how to meet those needs in captivity. Our pet dogs, although not captive wild animals, still have instinctual and natural behaviors. Although domestication has softened many of these behaviors, as we… Continued
Life Beyond Leash Reactivity
As far as behavior consults go, it’s fair to say that reactivity is probably my most commonly encountered issue. The term ‘reactivity’ has become, I feel somewhat of a buzzword over recent years but what I’m referring to in this post is dogs who are reactive on the leash when they encounter unfamiliar dogs. Symptoms might include vocalization (barking, whining, howling, growling, yapping for example), lunging, pulling and straining, wild and frantic spinning, attempts to bolt and multifarious postural displays – from the very subtle to the overt. Some dogs… Continued
The Essence of a Dog: A Free Education from a Free Choice Walk
By Kristi Benson One cold day last spring, snow still clinging to the ground and ceding to the warm sun only on the tips of south-facing hillocks, I decided to do something new. I wouldn’t walk my dogs; nor would I walk with my dogs. I would instead be walked by my dogs. I decided to simply follow my dog Mischa for our whole walk. Wherever he chose to go, well, I’d go just the same. I crawled under logs, I lumbered across frozen wetlands sinking thigh-deep into the granular… Continued
A Safe Escape
By Dr. Lisel O’Dwyer The Adelaide Hills, South Australia have recently faced severe brushfires, an unfortunate situation that has prompted the discussion of the logistical differences between evacuating and housing horses versus dogs and other small domestic pets in the face of natural disasters such as brushfires and floods. The most obvious difference between evacuating dogs and horses is that it is, of course, much easier to evacuate dogs. The average horse owner can only transport his or her horse(s) with a horse float (also known as a horse trailer… Continued
The Itch to Scratch
By Andrea Carne Regardless of whichever behavior issue I have been called upon to assist a cat guardian with – whether it be inappropriate toileting, aggression towards humans, or aggression between cats in a multicat household – I can almost guarantee that when I ask at the end of a consult, “Is there anything else you wanted to chat about while I’m here?”, the response will always include some variation of, “How do I get them to stop scratching the furniture?” My first response is generally to explain that scratching… Continued
Navigating the Storm
By Mary Jean Alsina “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott Many dogs who come into this world quickly learn that there are many storms of which to be afraid. These storms come in many guises: other dogs, bearded men, men in general, vacuum cleaners, leaves rustling, visits to the vet and a whole myriad of other spooky things. Fearful dogs see the world around them as a very unsafe environment in which to live, relax and enjoy the lives… Continued
Straight from the Horse’s Mouth
By Dorothy Heffernan With a growing interest in ‘least intrusive, minimally aversive’ (LIMA) training methods and the ‘least intrusive effective behavior intervention’ (LIEBI) model, many equestrians of today are increasingly starting to consider the option of riding their horses without using a bit. Bits have traditionally been used to train and control horses, but few people question why this might be, or how they actually work. But there isn’t really a single answer to this “why,” because different cultures have their own approaches towards horse training. One single fact is… Continued
Trick Bunnies
By Emily Cassell “So, where do you plan to hold your trick classes?” asked the interviewer from Do More with Your Dog! I hoped she was ready for the answer: “I don’t actually plan to hold in-person classes,” I explained. “The reason I am trying to get certified is so that I can create a Spark group for bunnies.” If you aren’t familiar with Do More with Your Dog! or their trick titling program, let me fill in some gaps for you. Do More with Your Dog! was the first sanctioning… Continued
Itchy Dog or Stressed Dog?
By Dr. Naomi D. Harvey The relationship between stress, behavior and animal health is complex and varied. Chronic, long-term stress interacts in various ways with personality type, behavior and immune health in both people and nonhuman animals. It’s not often straightforward to decipher which causes which when we evaluate chronic stress and health, however. Links between Stress, Behavior and Health An animal’s behavior can impact aspects of its physiology, such as its immune system, and conversely, the animal’s physiology and immune system can affect its behavior. According to Lopes (2017)… Continued
Banking the Positive
‘Banking the Positive’ is actually a comment I wish I could take credit for, but it’s actually something one of my clients said. She came up with it during a conversation we were having about her dog during some walk and train sessions. The phrase perfectly captures several concepts relevant to training, such as: Timing Quitting while you’re ahead Not bowing to that human compulsion of pushing things too far Grabbing that window of opportunity with both hands Offering lots of lavish praise I love it! I had to make… Continued
The Power of Play
By Margo Patrick *This post is a selected entry from the Pet Professional Guild Writers’ Competition for Geek Week 2020* My goal is to educate and facilitate health, wellness and communication through building or repairing the relationship known as the human animal bond, utilizing principles and standards derived from my first professional career as a registered nurse and my certifications in human animal intervention and, soon, applied canine ethology. I employ a dynamic, multidisciplinary force free approach involving overlapping principles of behavior, ethology, core emotions and emotional affect space. I believe… Continued
Once More, with Feeling
By Andrea Carne A friend gave me a coffee cup some time ago which reads, “Cats know how you feel…they don’t care, but they know.” Well, recent research reveals that such comical turns of phrase are untrue. Not only can cats perceive our emotional state, but they will react accordingly through their own stress levels. Before getting into the nitty gritty of research findings, however, let’s begin by looking in general at cats and emotion. I mean, despite what some choose to believe (including, perhaps, the creator of my coffee… Continued
Eat, PURR, Love
By Andrea Carne Read the next sentence very carefully (and with a large pinch of salt): Feeding your cat one meal a day might be best. I can almost hear the gasps from cat guardians across the world! “Feed my cat once a day? Are you crazy?” I hear you say. “What do I do when I get the 5 a.m. ‘wake up and feed me’ paw in the face? Calmly explain that there’ll be no food until 6 p.m.?” And I can also imagine what feline behavior specialists may… Continued
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