Does a Wagging Tail Mean a Happy Dog?
Zani’s tail is up, and you’ll see in the video below that it is wagging. Does she look friendly and happy? Why do dogs wag their tails? The prevailing view is that they do so when they feel happy and friendly. Many do, but dogs also wag their tails in other situations. So the answer to the title question is no. Dogs wagging their tails are not always expressing friendliness or joy. Not by a long shot. Many dogs will wag their tails from arousal or when performing predatory behaviors.… Continued
Case Study: Puppy Joyfulness Lost, Tail Between Legs, Acts Cautious
Hettie is an adorable Cockerpoo puppy who is now 16 weeks old. For the first four weeks that Hettie was with them (8 to 12 weeks old), she was a typical confident, happy and energetic puppy. She would fly around in puppy joyfulness, grab things and cause the usual puppy chaos. Why, then, has she now lost her puppy joyfulness? Before getting Hettie, her owners had already booked their vacation. While they were away, they left her in what they believed was the best place possible. This was a well… Continued
Case Study: Attack – The Best Form of Defense?
Just look at this dog! Isn’t she wonderful? Billie is a four-year-old Aylestone bulldog and her guardians have had her for six weeks. Previous to this she had been used as a breeding bitch and ended up in a shelter, so she probably didn’t have a very good life. She certainly has a good life now. Scared – attack may be the best form of defense Billie is a sweet-natured dog, although maybe a little worried about things. She is a dream at home, but out on walks she is… Continued
The Comparison Curse
Owning a dog is a privilege, as is the opportunity to share our lives with them for 12, 15 years and, let’s hope, longer still. During that time, think about all those battles and struggles you conquer together, what you achieve that, at first, seemed insurmountable, those amazing journeys you have together and, of course, that inexplicable personal relationship you strike up which no one else can understand. Time spent with a dog is never long enough, but each day is spent creating incredible memories – a unique canine/human time… Continued
For The Curious 2 – Your Questions on Deaf, Blind Dogs Answered
By Debbie Bauer There were more great questions sent for my For The Curious series of posts! Thank you to everyone who sent such great questions that people often have about blind/deaf dogs and double merles! Are your blind/deaf dogs always on a leash or beside you? Are they able to roam freely at home and are they able to navigate a space they are familiar with? What about a space they are unfamiliar with? My b/d dogs are free to roam in the house or fenced areas. They know the space… Continued
To Chase, or Not to Chase?
I live in the countryside on a 25 acre parcel surrounded by farmland. We developed our property to support wildlife. Needless to say there are critters of all kinds and in all directions. My dogs love it as much as I do. The major difference is I have no hard-wired impulse to chase the critters. My Labradors, on the other hand, face temptations every day. A little Angel sits on one shoulder preaching self-restraint while a little Devil sits on the other shouting the contrary. To chase, or not to… Continued
Case Study: Separation Distress, Insecurity and Panic When Away from His Owner
Darcy watches his lady owner all the time. When she’s out of sight he pants and he paces. Even when left at home with his male owner, he whines and stresses. Separation specifically and only from the lady owner freaks him out. Strangely, he shows no sign of being possessive of her. The daughter can hug her and she can hold the baby without Darcy doing more than continue to watch her. Darcy is 9-year-old of mixed breed, probably Patterdale and Labrador. After a bad first year which he came… Continued
Case Study: Barks Aggressively at Dogs, Counterconditioning, Changing Emotions
On walks, Daniel the Deerhound Lurcher barks aggressively at other dogs. At home, he is a well-behaved, quite self-contained but friendly boy, four years of age. The owner has had him for two years. He lived on a narrow boat For the first two years of his life, Daniel lived on a narrow boat, so he has had several years to rehearse barking at other dogs in order to make them go away. When he barks aggressively, it works! The dogs carry on walking. Living on a boat, I’m sure… Continued
No Recall? Is It Really Your Dog’s Fault?
Of all the doggy and doggy parent issues, not coming back when called has got to be nearing the top of the list. There could be lots of variations of this, a casual sauntering back when your dog feels like it, taking in a few sniffs along the way. Maybe your dog might be one of those explosive types, let off the leash and, crikey, she’s off like a bullet and, before you know it, is a speck in the distance. Meanwhile, you begin that Olympic sprint before collapsing in… Continued
Actually, I **Can** Get My Dogs’ Attention
I was thinking the other day about how and why I have a dream relationship with my dogs. They are cooperative. They are sweet. They are responsive and easy to live with. You know how I got there? Training and conditioning them with food and playing with them. They weren’t the most difficult dogs in the world when they came to me, but they weren’t easy, either. Clara was a feral puppy who was growling at every human but me when she was 10 weeks old. Zani is so soft and… Continued
Prehistoric Dogs and Humans
Dogs and humans have a long history of living and working together, unique among species on this planet. In the modern age dogs wear many hats…companions, herders, protectors, search and rescue, guides for the blind, bomb and drug sniffers…just to name a few. During prehistoric times dogs served our ancestors as well. In “The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction” Pat Shipman, a retired Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University, chronicled in exquisite scientific detail the alliance between the two predator species. That alliance conveyed… Continued
Animal Trainers: Take Animal Emotions into Consideration!
By Karolina Westlund Ph.D. of PPG corporate partner Illis Animal Behaviour Consulting Is the dog fearful, or crouching? Does it matter, when you’re training? The world of animal trainers is divided, and I find that some trainers avoid the subject of animal emotions altogether. “There’s no need to factor in and understand emotions, just deal with the observable behaviour”, is the gist of what some trainers and animal professionals say. No doubt their unwillingness to consider emotions stems from the Father of Behaviourism, influential to this day. Skinner said: “The ‘emotions’ are excellent examples… Continued
Case Study: Over-Excited, Frustrated, Habituation and Freedom
Dylan is an enthusiastic, friendly young dog, if a little over-excited at times. He is beautiful, but someone coming to house is a very exciting thing for the young 16-month-old Labradoodle. When I arrived the lady was doing her best to control him. She repeatedly told him to sit and stay on a mat just round the corner where he couldn’t see me. She was fighting a losing battle. It’s hard to control a dog that is so over-excited. In this state of mind he can’t be expected to exercise much self-control.… Continued
Double Asset or Double Trouble?
There comes a time in many dog owner’s lives where the thought is sprung…. ‘I wonder if Fido would like a friend?’ Inextricably bound with the idea are feelings of excitement, guilt, worry because there are so many aspects to consider if you’re going to go through this whole doggy journey twice over! Let’s take a look at some of those. Who are you doing this thing for? Question this first. You love dogs, I love dogs, we all love dogs & that’s great but think seriously, yes most of… Continued
Behavior Suppression Is Not the Same as Behavior Modification
By Jenny Efimova Reactive behavior is the tip of the iceberg. It’s what we see: the lunging, the barking, the snarling, the growling, etc. It’s what’s above the surface and it’s what we often want to stop. What we don’t see and what’s driving this behavior is the rest of the iceberg below: the fear, the anxiety, the stress, the frustration. So if we want the behavior to change, we need to look at the root cause, not just the symptoms. When we change how a dog feels about a… Continued
Scared Dog vs. Happy and Engaged Dog
Here’s a little dog body language study. My dear Zani shows a lot of emotion, which means she is a good dog to observe. She is pretty easy to read and can teach us a lot. The short video below consists of two quick clips taken less than two minutes apart. In one clip, Zani is afraid, and in the other she is having a good time. I reversed the order in the video from what happened in real life. We had been on a walk and things were going fine. But… Continued
Lawn Chemicals and Dogs
Spring is a time when people work and play on their lawns. It is also when many folks apply weed killers. I did so for years and thought nothing of it. Then in 2016 I read an article in a local newspaper and learned that a nearby village was spraying a particular brand of lawn chemical in a dog park, so I did some research. Many weed killers contain 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). I learned there are over 3,000 sources in the scientific literature on this chemical. I did not read… Continued
Dog Tired? When Exercise Wakes him Up Rather than Tires Him Out!
By Sue McCabe Many years ago, at a seminar in Edinburgh, I heard Patricia McConnell say that most dog walks wake the dog up, rather than tire the dog out. ‘But why is he not tired?’ I’m often asked. ‘I’ve taken him for a really long walk.’ We’re just back from a 10km walk followed by a sandwich in the sun. A good brisk march with plenty of variation from sniffing and fetching, meeting and greeting dogs and even swimming. Despite this apparent morning of stimulation, after we arrived home, Jellybean… Continued
How Long Does It Take to Train a Dog?
By Sue McCabe At puppy class recently, we started retrieve training. Students were shown this video (below), with the steps needed to train a reliable retrieve to hand. The video compresses quite a bit of learning (weeks of short sessions) into just under 2 minutes of demonstration. ‘How long did it take to train?’ they asked. I guess the answer is never straight forward and well, it depends. https://www.facebook.com/muttamorphosisDogTrainingandBehaviour/videos/1377284962322971/ ‘How long will it take to train my dog?’ is a common question trainers and behaviour consultants get asked. To understand what influences… Continued
10 Ways To Improve You and Your Dog’s Behavioral Relationship
Sometimes we get a little stuck in a rut, same old, same old – its easy, life is fast, time is hard to come by. Have you ever sat and thought about your relationship with your dog? Too often it’s only when things go wrong that we contemplate uh oh..what can I do here to change things! How often have you looked inwardly and actually evaluated the things you do, the way your dog responds and wondered if you’re happy with the things are or whether different options exist? 1… Continued
Confessions of a Dog Trainer. Part 1: Feeding from the Table!
By Sue McCabe I have a confession. I sometimes feed my dogs from the table. When I go out to eat with my dog we are sharing quality time, and a meal together. So as long as my dog is quiet and calm and settled, he gets to share my food or he gets a Kong of his own to enjoy. Below is a picture of my pup Jellybean having lunch with me at a coffee shop in Warwick Bridge, England. I don’t do this at home and since he’s never been… Continued
The “Invention” of Cues in Training
Once upon a time, there was a girl who decided to teach her dog some tricks. She figured out that if she gave her dog something he liked after he did something she liked, he was liable to do the thing again. So she taught him some simple tricks using food and play as reinforcement. As she went along, her dog started finding playing training games lots of fun in and of themselves. But she still used food and play. He liked earning his “pay” and she liked giving it… Continued
Does Your Animal Have Control?
By Karolina Westlund Ph.D. of PPG corporate partner Illis Animal Behaviour Consulting Many animal trainers, veterinarians and pet owners highlight the importance of controlling animals. Controlling them, as in restricting the animals’ movement, their choices and their opportunities to control their environment through their behaviour. Sometimes you have to, for safety reasons. Obviously. But often you don’t – and more often than you might think. Actually, the trend in modern animal training is to deliberately and strategically shift control from the handler to the animal, while still staying safe. Giving control to the animal… Continued
For a Healthier Life, Don’t Let Your Pet Get Overweight
Years ago my wife and I adopted a wonderful yellow Labrador named Charlie. At first, he had normal weight, at around 75 pounds. He steadily gained weight until he reached 100 pounds. A veterinary exam determined Charlie had a thyroid problem. With daily medication his weight returned to normal. Charlie lived over 14 years, but his quality of life was cut short by severe arthritis. Like other pet owners who have lost their pets too soon, I felt cheated. In Psychology Today, Stanley Coren, Ph.D., DSc, FRSC commented on a… Continued
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