News flash: It’s not all about dominance. Actually, it has nothing to do with dominance at all.

Sara Reusche  

I recently house-sat for my parents while they went on vacation. Neither of their pets, a 14-year-old cat and an 11-year-old dog, do well being boarded, so it was much less stressful for me to stay with them than it would have been to send them somewhere. 

I brought my three dogs with me, so it was a very full household. Their elderly Lab cross, Duke, already knew my two oldest dogs, Layla and Dobby, quite well. However, he wasn’t as familiar with my youngest pup, Mischief. This posed a bit of a problem.

You see, like many dogs, Duke tends to default to humping when he’s stressed or unsure. Any time my dogs would start to play, Duke’s lips would stretch back towards his ears, his brow would furrow, and he would grab Mischief with his front paws, attempting to mount her.

With the 40-pound size difference between the two dogs, this did not make Mischief happy. Being a fairly socially savvy dog, she would spin around to face him when he did this, the doggy version of “Knock that off,” and if that didn’t work she would escalate to snapping at him, saying, “No, really, I mean it.” 

Of course, knowing that Duke was likely to hump Mischief when he became anxious or excited, my boyfriend and I were able to prevent this behavior most of the time. When Duke started to circle towards Mischief, we would say his name, redirecting him to move towards us for praise and petting. When we had visitors over and Duke hit his limit of the amount of excitement he could stand before he could no longer make good choices, I put him on leash. If we couldn’t supervise the dogs, one or the other of them was crated. 

Humping is a common behavior in dogs and is seen in males and females, whether they are fixed or not. While it is most often attributed to “dominance,” nothing could be further from the truth. Dominance refers to priority access to a resource, and I have yet to see a dog use humping to gain access to food, toys, space, or anything else tangible. So, why do dogs hump? Here are the most common motivations behind humping in dogs:

1. Arousal  Once a dog hits a certain level of excitement, that energy has to go somewhere. Some dogs express their joy by doing “zoomies,” where they tuck their butt and sprint as fast as they can in circles. Some bark. Some hump. 

2. Anxiety  Like Duke, most humpers whose owners seek my help are quite anxious. Anxiety leads to arousal, and as we saw above, that leads to humping. Technically, canine behavior experts call this a “displacement” behavior. When the dog becomes anxious, he or she may scratch, sniff, dig, or hump. People display displacement behaviors too (although luckily humping is not usually one of them!): We check our phones, play with our hair, or look at our watch when we’re in socially uncomfortable situations. 

3. Play  Play is interesting. When dogs (or other mammals!) play, they mix up a bunch of behaviors in new sequences.... read more

http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dog-behavior-training-5-reasons-hump-other-dogs

BY SHEILA DICHOSO


Is Fido being aggressive? Don’t blame the dog – you might have to blame yourself.

University of Pennsylvania veterinary researchers found that pet owners who used aggressive methods to treat their dogs’ behavior problems may be aggravating the problem instead of alleviating it.

The new study, published in the February issue of Applied Animal Behaviour Science, found that pet owners using confrontational, punishment-based techniques on their dogs were getting more aggressive responses from their dogs compared to owners who used positive-reinforcement techniques.

“By far the most common behavior problem we treat in dogs is aggression,” said veterinarian Meghan Herron, lead author of the study.

Although many veterinarians and dog trainers may not find the results surprising, the public is largely unaware of the ramifications of using confrontational training methods.

Herron said it was interesting that several confrontational methods, such as the “alpha roll” and hitting or yelling "no" at their dogs, elicited an aggressive response in more than a quarter of the dogs, according to the pet owners that were surveyed.

The alpha roll is a training technique in which the dog flips over on its back and is held in that position, usually by the throat. This has been traditionally thought to teach the dog that the trainer is the pack leader, or “alpha dog.” Herron said this aggressive technique, along with growling at the dog, staring down the dog or forcing the release of an item in a dog's mouth by putting pressure on their gums with fingers are more likely to have the adverse effect them, or may not even help them at all.

Most of these confrontational or punishment-based methods are fear-eliciting, and the primary motivating factor for dog aggression to humans is fear, Herron said.

“[Confrontational and punishment techniques] may mask the aggression, but it doesn’t change the way the dog perceives what it is aggressing towards,” added Rendy Schwartz, owner and head dog trainer at Anything Is Pawsible in Noble Square.

Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia collected 140 surveys with dog owners who made appointments at the school. It asked how they previously treated their dog’s aggression, what kind of response they received back and where they learned the training technique. It was done over a one year period and analyzed dogs that displayed all types of aggression, including separation anxiety and thunderstorm fear. They also found that dogs who exhibited aggression toward strangers were more likely to respond aggressively to the “alpha roll.”
Another possible way dogs can develop aggressive behavior is through games, such as tug-of-war.

Read full article  

Puppy Proofing - 10 Tips to Keep Pups Safe
By Amy Shojai, About.com Guide



Puppy proofing is the canine version of human baby-proofing when a new bundle of joy arrives, and it's vital you know how to puppy proof your home and yard. Puppies explore their world with nose pokes, paw pounces, and chewing everything within reach.

For your new puppy, everything is a potential game. He uses his mouth the way infants reach out and grab. So tug-games with the curtains, keep-away when he steals your wallet, un-planting the potted palm or eating poisonous plants, and nosey sniffs of the candle flame get him in trouble.

During teething, he’ll want to chew even more to relieve the discomfort, but most dogs love to chew their whole life. Puppies not only damage your property, he could hurt himself or die from munchingdangerous objects.

Think Like A PuppyAnything that moves, looks fun or interesting, or dangerous will attract your furry delinquent. Get a puppy-eye-view of your home by crawling around on all fours to channel your “inner puppy” –it’s okay, you don’t have to wag or bark, just find and address the dangers.

1. Kitchen and bathroom cabinets often house cleaning supplies that can be poisonous if swallowed. When cabinets are within puppy reach, be sure the baby can’t paw them open. Child-proof latches are a good idea.
2. Toilet paper is a popular puppy toy. Drinking out of the toilet is another nasty habit that could be dangerous if a small pup falls in and drowns or ingests chemical cleaners. The easy fix is—shut the bathroom door, and/or always put the lid down.
3. Electrical cords tempt puppies to chew. They can be shocked and sometimes even rescue breathing and CPR may not save them. Bad tasting products like Bitter Apple may help but don’t rely on these as some funny canines like the taste. It’s better to keep the cords out of reach by installing baby gates to make rooms off-limits, moving electrical items and their cords elsewhere, or bundle the cords together. Home product stores offer products designed to do this.
4. Pups jump up on window sills to look out. That may tempt them to grab curtains or playtug with the cords on the window blinds. Some pups have strangled in these cords so tie them up out of reach.
5. Waste baskets can be incredibly rewarding for a puppy to pillage. Table scraps to old used tissues can be found so invest in waste baskets with lids, hide them behind latching doors, or set them on countertops out of reach.
6. Dirty laundry must smell like heaven to puppies. read more ....