Canine Behavior Blog - Friends of the Dog

How can children avoid dog bites?

30/1/2013

EVERY parent should have the responsibility of teaching children how to approach a dog to avoid dog bites. This is something so easy to achieve and something so seldom taught. Parents should also teach their children how to interact with the dogs in their own home. The old saying that education starts at home is so true!!

There are 4 million dog bites each year and 60% of the victims are children. Dr. Leslie Sinclair of the Humane Society of the U.S. says children often don't respect a dog's boundaries—they expect every dog to be friendly, and although most are some aren't. Dr. Tillman Jolly, an emergency room physician says he sees injuries every year because children often do things that they don't realize are annoying to dogs. The Insurance Information Institute cautions that parents should teach their children not to approach an unknown dog. Allow dogs to sniff you before petting them, never disturb a dog that's eating, sleeping or caring for puppies, don't try to run from a dog, and if one is chasing you, stand like a tree or look like a log. Insurance companies paid out $3.5 billion in claims in 2006 for dog bite claims.

DOG TRAINING TOP TIPS

29/1/2013

Great training video by Jean Donaldson on basic training and teaching a dog to be successful!

Blind NH sled dog thrives with brother's help

26/1/2013

Personally I believe that a dog should engage in as many activities as possible for what it was bred for, and this just shows how much doing 'natural' things can impact - even on a blind dog.

(This photo taken Thursday Jan. 17, 2013 shows sled dogs at the Muddy Paw Sled dog Kennel in Jefferson, N.H. The kennel takes in rescues and “second-chance” dogs and is also home to a blind dog that relies on his brother to keep up with the rest of the team. (JIM COLE/AP Photo)

When Gonzo started tripping over his food dish three years ago, no one could explain or stop the Alaskan husky's quickly advancing blindness. But a veterinarian offered some simple advice: "Run this dog."

Gonzo, one of 120 dogs at Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel, was happy to comply. With help from his brother, Poncho, he soon resumed his place pulling a sled all over New Hampshire's North Country to the delight of tourists and his caretakers, who quickly realized that if Gonzo didn't treat his blindness like an obstacle, neither would they. Given the dog's obvious eagerness, he was allowed to continue on as usual.

"Even though he's blind, he still knows when hook-ups are happening. He's still very aware," said kennel manager Ben Morehouse. "When you have a dog such as Gonzo, with such a want and a drive and a desire ... you try it, you hook up, you see what happens."

A frenzy of excited barking engulfs the kennel whenever Morehouse and other staffers haul out a sled. The chosen team is outfitted with harnesses and booties; those left behind scramble onto their doghouse roofs and howl. Gonzo and Poncho are lined up side-by-side, usually toward the back of the eight-member team - "brains to brawn" is how Morehouse describes the order.

"A lot of people say everything about dog sledding is efficiency. Gonzo and Poncho are not the most efficient sled dogs out there. They won't set a speed record, they won't pull the most you've ever seen," Morehouse said. "To be honest, they're probably some of the goofiest dogs you can put in harness. But they're just fun."

Some dogs at the kennel, including Gonzo and Poncho, were born there. But it's also home to what kennel owner Neil Beaulieu calls "second-chance" dogs - former professional sled dogs a bit past their prime - as well as dogs rescued from bad situations.

The barking continues as the dogs pull away from the kennel onto a snow-packed trail. Within a few minutes, however, they settle into a nearly silent rhythm, the sled's runners skimming through the woods. While the other dogs look straight ahead, Gonzo often lifts his head up and to the right, using his hearing and sense of smell

Read more here:

Our dogs often are reflections of who we are

24/1/2013

Our dogs often are reflections of who we are

My professional sources inside the dog world tell me it’s no joke that people often resemble their dogs – and vice versa. That includes more than simple appearance, as I noticed the other day. - Bill Hall.

A woman came walking down the sidewalk connected by a leash to a border collie. Border collies are frequently listed at No. 1 on lists of the smartest dogs. They are to the canine world what geniuses like Einstein, Newt Gingrich and Martha Stewart are to the human world.

True, Einstein is dead, but so are a lot of border collies. In fairness, we mustn’t forget that they used to be smart before they became doggie dust.

There’s more to similarities between border collies and their humans than brains. Those dogs have an almost human personality, They are civilized and sane. That woman walking down the sidewalk the other day ......read more>>

the miraculous story of max, an amazing chihuahua born with scoliosis

23/1/2013

The above really does pull at the heart strings – the dedication of these people to give this little dog a fighting chance and the lengths they are going to in achieving this, but by all accounts this little dog is living on borrowed time and more importantly to me at least, is the quality of life they describe where he does seem to be happy and pain free, but he can’t be held or picked up because it may crush his lungs. Is the way a dog should live?

Is Max really that pain free? We know that dogs naturally tend to hide their pain – to show this makes them weaker in the eyes of other dogs, and if I think of his condition in human terms, I am sure there must be some degree of pain. I have seen countless cases of dogs where people said euthanize, but the conditions were treatable, and foundations such as this did indeed help the dog to recover its health, but by all accounts Max will never recover – where do you draw the line?

Max’s story really does make me think and wonder. Each and every dog in my opinion does deserve every chance of survival, but are the lengths that are being undertaken with this little dog really the right thing to do, especially as he is not a family dog where the owner would go to any lenghts? Should wonderful Mother Nature not have been allowed to take her natural course and this little one would have gone to his friends at the Rainbow Bridge?

Could the funds that the foundation has poured and will continue to pour into keeping this little dog alive longer really the right thing to do? No, you cannot put a value on a life, but when I see the situations in shelters where money is always desperately needed just to find food to feed healthy dogs, is it the right thing to do to spend so much of a foundations funds on a little dog like Max?

Guys, I am not judging, I am asking – what do you think – where do we draw the line? Read the story below and make your own decisions.

the miraculous story of max, an amazing chihuahua born with scoliosis

this is max’s miraculous story told by his rescue mama, sue rogers of the mia foundation.

little max was born with severe scoliosis and it was suggested that he be euthanized at birth. his breeder couldn’t accept this after seeing how hard max was fighting to stay alive and so max came to live with us at the mia foundation. when he arrived at only 6 weeks old, he could barely walk, but we exercised his little legs and attempted to straighten his spine several times a day. low and behold, within a week he was not only walking, but running!

even though we continued max’s physical therapy, his spine proceeded to get noticeably worse as he grew and a new symptom occurred. when people he didn’t know held him he would have a panic attack. these panic episodes became so bad that he had to be rushed to the vet several times to be sedated and given oxygen. the vet told us that it was possible that max could die from one of these episodes and we should consider euthanizing him.

we decided to get our own oxygen tank for home so that we could treat him immediately when an attack came on. as it turned out, the oxygen did wonders for max and he came out of an episode much sooner when the oxygen was administered at the first sign of an attack.

we decided to seek out the opinion of two veterinarian specialists in rochester, who informed us that max’s condition was terminal. we also brought him to cornell university to be examined and were told us his condition was fatal and his bones would eventually crush his internal organs. not wanting to give up, we then proceeded to search country-wide for veterinarians.

we saw a happy, healthy little chihuahua that just happened to have a curved spine, a darling puppy that deserved a fighting chance. he could walk and run, wag his tail and play like any other puppy. he never showed any signs that he was in pain so we continued to seek help.

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Dog Training: How long it takes to train a dog?

22/1/2013

This is a question that I am asked not just for training but also when working with a dog with behaviour issues, and I love the way that Neil Sattin addresses, so decided to leave it this way so that you can see that many of us think the same way when this question is asked!

Dog Training: How long it takes to train a dog?

(by Neil Sattin)

In my life as a dog trainer, I’m often asked how long it will take for a dog to be “trained”. There is, of course, the practical aspect to this question – dog owners wondering how many lessons they’ll be signing up for, which is especially important to them since I don’t teach in the simple “6 lessons with your puppy (and 15 other people) and then you’re done” format. On the other hand, there’s a deeper question being asked as well – often something like “when can I leave my dog home alone without my house getting chewed up?” or “when will my dog transform from Cujo into Lassie?” or ”when will I be able to have my life back?” So let’s talk about the process of getting your dog from point A (where they are right now) to point Z (where you want them to be) so you can have some realistic expectations around how much of your busy life you’ll have to devote to training your dog.

Think for a moment about your own life. Let’s say that you’re learning how to play tennis. You learn the basic strokes, you learn how to serve, and you find a good friend with whom you can practice. Excellent! You get better and better. Then the winter comes around (or life circumstances change) – and you can’t play for awhile. Let’s say that it’s a really LONG winter that lasts for 2 years (sometimes feels that way up here in Maine). Your friend calls you up with a “hey, wanna go play some tennis”, and you’re back on the court. Did you forget how to play in that time? Probably not. Are you going to be as good as you were when you were practicing regularly? That’s almost a guaranteed no. Professional players, who aim for perfection, are practicing all the time.

Now let’s talk horses for a moment. Horses are big creatures. I’m no biology expert, but I’m pretty sure that horses have larger brains than dogs have. That probably means that they’re smarter, even. Have you ever worked with horses? If you have, then you know that horses always require training. Not that they forget the basics, of course – but whenever you work a horse you put it through its paces, starting with basic walking/trotting before you move on to galloping and jumping. It’s an accepted part of working with horses, in fact, that on top of devoting a lot of time to love of your horse and care of your horse, you will also be devoting a lot of time to training your horse (if you’re aiming for “perfection”). Just like the love doesn’t end, neither does the training.

Are you getting where I’m headed with this line of thought?

We all strive for perfection with our dogs. We want a dog that always comes when called, that always lays down through dinner, that gets tackled by children without batting an eyelash. We want to be able to go to the dog park without worrying about aggression, and we want people to welcome our dogs into their homes lovingly, just like they welcome us (we hope). And we want it after having had 6 one-hour lessons when a dog is less than a year old, never having to think about it again.

I’m not sure what it is – the persistent mythology of Rin-Tin-Tin/Lassie/Benji/Old Yeller/etc., or just the memory we have of some dog that we met in our lives that was the “perfect” dog – but whatever it is, I think that it gets in the way of seeing our dogs for what they really are – live, imperfect creatures, doing the best they know how – just like us! I think it’s kinda funny that your average person, who would have a hard time refusing a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie no matter what diet they’re on, would still expect their dog to sit tight when a tasty morsel of food is dropped from the dinner table. “But he knows he shouldn’t have it!” you exclaim. Is that so? Here, have another chocolate chip cookie.

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The Milgram Experiment and how it relates to dog training

19/1/2013

I actually find this frightening! That we as humans can do things such as this just because a figure of 'authority' told us too, even when we know that it goes against the grain. This, to me at least, explains why some people continue to use the old fashioned methods such as alpha roles and positive punishment - we need to learn to stand up to what we feel instinctively is not correct and look for other methods, and not just follow like sheep, people we perceive of being 'authorities' in not just dog training, but in life.

The Milgram Experiment - Overview

In 1961 Stanley Milgram set out to explain how so many people could heartlessly participate in the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. Many war criminals justified their actions by saying that they were ordered to carry out these atrocities on other humans and had no choice. Were the Germans inherently cold and evil, or was this a phenomenon that could be repeated under the right circumstances? To answer this question, Milgram created an experiment to research the effect of authority on obedience.

Forty subjects from all different walks of life were recruited. They were told that they would be participating in an experiment about memory and learning where they could be assigned as either "Learner" or "Teacher." The Teacher would ask the Learner questions and administer an electrical shock if the answer was incorrect. In reality each subject was assigned the role of Teacher and the Learner was an actor, but the subjects were unaware of this. Each one believed that he had just as much of a chance to end up in the Learner chair hooked up to the electrodes as he had of being the one to administer the shocks.

The fake shock generator had 30 different switches marked for levels of voltage ranging from 15 to 450, at 15 volt increments. Descriptions accompanied these labels, such as "slight shock" for the lower levels and "strong shock" at the 180 volt level. The level that went up to 420 volts was labeled "danger:severe" and the highest level, at 450 volts, simply "xxx." At each wrong answer, the Teacher was instructed to increase the level of shock he administered. The actor playing the part of the Learner would respond to an audio prompt to react to the different levels of shock by starting out with grunts, and escalating his reactions as the shock levels were increased. By 280 volts he would let out agonized screams and complain of heart pain. After 330 volts, he was instructed to go completely silent.

The authority figure was the Experimenter. If the Teacher hesitated in delivering the shock, the Experimenter would verbally prod him to continue. As the actor's reactions to the different levels of shock were predefined, so were the levels of pressure from the Experimenter, from "please go on" to "it is absolutely essential that you continue."

As could be expected, most of the subjects were very reluctant to inflict pain on the human trapped in that chair, believing that they could have been assigned that position themselves. And yet every single one of the subjects administered shocks up to the 300 volt level, past the point of screams, begging for mercy, and complaints of heart pain. Amazingly, 65% of the subjects continued to administer shocks all the way to the maximum level of 450 volts after the man in the chair went totally silent. Some of them believed they had already killed the man, and yet they continued caving to the pressure of the Experimenter to deliver more shocks.

This experiment proved that 65% of the subjects - people like you and me - would torture another human being even to the point of death if a person they believed to be in a valid position of authority demanded it.

So how does this relate to dog training?

The veterinarian

After adopting a new puppy or shelter dog, the first authority figure the owners encounter is usually their vet. Though vets are surely experts in medical issues, those who are also well-educated in training and behavior are few and far between. They should be answering questions about training by referring owners to a trainer or behaviorist, but unfortunately some of them take it upon themselves to spout advice based on old wives' tales and myths.

For example, most young puppies will nip their owners in play and need to be instructed in a scientifically-based and humane way how to behave more appropriately. Far too many vets are telling people to take these trusting, impressionable little tykes, throw them on their backs, and pin them to "show them who's boss," an archaic technique referred to as an alpha roll. The owner will certainly feel uncomfortable forcing this technique on a frightened puppy, but usually will do so if their vet tells them to. Dr. Ian Dunbar, author, veterinarian, founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and creator of Sirius Dog Training, says, "A wolf would flip another wolf against his will ONLY if he were planning to kill it. Can you imagine what a forced alpha roll does to the psyche of our dogs?"

Another common piece of advice handed out by otherwise well-meaning vets is to handle potty training accidents in the home by dragging your dog to the puddle or pile, forcing him to smell it, and then disciplining the dog either by yelling or smacking him with a rolled-up newspaper. This is a good way to teach your dog not to ever eliminate in front of you, and could possibly cause fear of paper products and/or your hands coming at him. This nonsense does not help to teach him where to eliminate appropriately. In fact, good luck with rewarding your dog for going outside if you have made him afraid to go with you standing there.

Do people want to drag their dogs to a puddle of piddle and bop them in the nose? Not usually. But if your vet tells you to, you probably will - even if it makes you uncomfortable to do so.

Question training and behavioral advice that comes from somebody whose expertise lies in a different field. That's pretty obvious. What's not so obvious is that there are far too many "authority figures" out there who claim to be experts in behavior and training, but their actions prove otherwise.

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LEG TRYING TO STEAL A BONE

18/1/2013

Although this is very funny, I also find it very sad - this poor dog really has some issues!

Does Pheromone therapy help with anxiety and behaviour problems in dogs?

17/1/2013

Pheromone therapy has been around in the UK and other countries for many years and has been used in SA more recently – unfortunately many owners think that using the pheromone therapy will bring about changes in the dogs behaviour overnight, and miraculously the behaviour will disappear - not true and the manufacturers do not claim this will happen.

When a bitch gives birth and nurses, pheromones are released that are believed help to calm pups and increase the bonding process, and dogs recognize these pheromones throughout their lives. The pheromones are synthetically manufactured to mimic the pheromones that a dog would release naturally.

Initially we had the DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) adapter which was a device that you plugged into the wall (much like a mosquito preventer) and this would help the dog to relax. The problems with this was that it was only effective when the dog was in the room! In the UK this may have been more useful as on average the area covered is much smaller and there is less likelihood, given the weather, that doors to outside would remain open, thereby making the use of the DAP more effective.

About 4 to 5 years ago a pheromone collar was introduced, which looks much like a flea collar that is placed around the neck and works for a month. If the dog goes for a swim or gets wet while wearing it, then it lessens or loses its effectiveness.

We may not be certain how our dogs experience stress but one thing for sure is that an emotional or traumatic effect can significantly impact on their lives and anything that can help lessen this, should, in my option be made use of.

My own experience with these collars is that they really do help and it is one of the tools I will often bring in to assist the dog. The use of same is not going to change your dogs behaviour overnight, but they will help your dog to relax, which will make it easier for the dog to cope with any behaviour modifications that are undertaken or make the dog less stressed when travel etc, is involved.

In the case of a dog that is travelling for example, what the owner needs to do to assist the dog to cope, is to desensitize the dog to the crate being used first and then the collar will have maximum effect. The same would apply to a dog that was going to be left in a kennel while the owner was on holiday – first get the dog used to being in the new location and also away from the owner, and the addition of the pheromone collar will offer a far greater benefit.

In behaviour modification such as separation anxiety, reactive behaviour or any other number of problems, the modifications to change the behaviour need to be done at the same time and yes, the collar will help the dog to cope with the changes.

Another point is that in some cases the use of a pheromone collar to help with excessive fear for example, could be likened to giving a disprin for a migraine headache - it is simply not the right tool for the job. Many dogs with excessive fear need to have stronger medication to assist them.

If your dog does have behaviour problems, or is nervous or fearful, or is going to be travelling, your first step should be to discuss the situation with your vet who will put you in touch with a registered behaviourist and the vet will prescribe the medication the dog should be using and decide if more than a pheromone collar is required.

Animal hoarding

16/1/2013

There seems to be a lot more of this around than previously realized. In addition to below which gives an explanation of what it is, the dangers etc, have a look at these links and there are so many more you cant believe it!
http://www.examiner.com/topic/animal-hoarding

Animal hoarding involves keeping a higher-than-usual number of animals as domestic pets without having the ability to properly house or care for them, while at the same time denying this inability.Compulsive hoarding can be characterized as a symptom of mental disorder rather than deliberate cruelty towards animals. Hoarders are deeply attached to their pets and find it extremely difficult to let the pets go. They typically cannot comprehend that they are harming their pets by failing to provide them with proper care. Hoarders tend to believe that they provide the right amount of care for their pets.[1] TheAmerican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals provides a "Hoarding Prevention Team", which works with hoarders to help them attain a manageable and healthy number of pets.[2]

HideCharacteristics of a hoarder

An animal hoarder keeps an unusually large number of pets, but fails to care for them properly. A hoarder is distinguished from an animal breeder, who would have a large number of animals as the central component of his or her business; this distinction can be problematic, however, as some hoarders are former breeders who have ceased selling and caring for their animals, while others will claim to be breeders as a psychological defense mechanism, or in hopes of forestalling intervention. Gary Patronek, director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University, defines hoarding as the "pathological human behavior that involves a compulsive need to obtain and control animals, coupled with a failure to recognize their suffering".[3] According to another study, the distinguishing feature is that a hoarder "fails to provide the animals with adequate food, water, sanitation, and veterinary care, and... is in denial about this inability to provide adequate care."[4] Along with other compulsive hoardingbehaviours, it is linked in the DSM-IV to obsessive compulsive disorder and obsessive compulsive personality disorder.[5] Alternatively, animal hoarding could be related to addiction, dementia, or even focal delusion.[4]

HideDangers of hoarding animals

The health issues in animal hoarding encompass a variety of concerns related to both individual and public health. Animal hoarding is the cause of many severe health risks that threaten the hoarded animals, individuals living in hoarding residences, and surrounding neighbors.

Health effects on animals

Due to the harmful effects on the health of the animals involved, animal hoarding is considered a form of animal cruelty.[3] Hoarders often fail to provide basic care for their animals, thus resulting in disease and often death. The primary animal health issues involved are malnourishment, overcrowding, and problems related to neglect. Consequences of hoarding are long-lasting and continue to affect the animals even after they have been rescued and provided with better care.[11]

Malnourishment

Lack of sufficient food and water is a common feature of hoarding situations. The immediate consequence of this is starvation and death.[3] One study found at least one dead animal present in over half of examined cases, the leading cause of death being an insufficient food and water supply.[12] Malnourishment also leads to increased susceptibility to disease, and the hoarded animals are often in advanced stages of sickness.[12] Furthermore, when there is a limited food supply, animals may resort to aggressive behavior in competing for available food, killing and sometimes even eating other animals.[13] The hoarder’s failure to provide sufficient food and water constitutes one of the principal health risks to hoarded animals.

Overcrowding

Overcrowding is also an acute animal health problem in hoarding situations. The number of animals found in hoarding cases range from dozens to several hundreds, with extreme cases involving over a thousand animals. Animals are confined to houses, apartments, or trailer-homes.[12] In one case, 306 cats were removed from a home, 87 of which were dead. Corpses were found embedded in the chimney and living room furniture.[3] In addition to lack of living space, overcrowding facilitates the spread of diseases among animals.[13] Furthermore, in cases where more than one species is confined to the same living space, animals can pose a danger to one other due to inter-species aggression.[14] Due to insufficient living space, the spread of disease, and close proximity to other animals, overcrowding is a major animal health concern of hoarding.

Owner neglect

Various other health problems arise from hoarders' neglect of and inability to provide basic care for the animals. Lack of veterinary attention is notable among these. Hoarders, refusing to acknowledge the deteriorating health conditions of their animals and scared they will be forced to give up custody, often refuse to take their animals to veterinarians.[11] As a result, diseases are left untreated and allowed to become more severe. Another problem tied to neglect is poor sanitary conditions for the animals. Basic animal waste management is absent in virtually all animal-hoarding situations, and animals are filthy and often infected with parasites as a result.[13] Furthermore, animals suffer behaviorally from a lack of socialization caused by an absence of normal interaction with other animals.[11] Hoarders neglect to provide even minimal standards of care, in addition to the problems of insufficient food and severe crowding, contribute to the health problems caused by animal hoarding.

Lasting consequences

Many of these health problems continue to cause suffering even after the animals are rescued. Strained animal shelters or humane societies, forced to prioritize when dealing with a large number of rescued animals, may be unable to provide immediate treatment to many animals.[14] Furthermore, many of the rescued animals, due to health or behavioral problems, may not be suitable for adoption.[11]Euthanasia, even in cases where the animals are not beyond rehabilitation, is often the only option for rescued animals.[14] The effects of hoarding on the health and socialization of the animals involved are severe and lasting, taking heavy tolls on both their physical and psychological well-being.

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