A few days ago I wrote a post on how to handle signs of impending trouble if you see it in someone else's dog (Please Believe Me, Trouble Brewing!) I asked for comments from other pro's on how they handle this situation, and from owners on how they would like it handled. The comments sent in response have been so helpful and interesting I thought this topic deserved another post. Here is an admittedly brief summary of how readers responded (see the original post for their complete comments and suggestions): PLEASE TELL US! Several people wrote in with sad stories of clear problems that trainers or vets never mentioned when the dog was younger. Many people wished that someone had said something to them sooner. The trick is how and when you say it (read on!) KINDNESS Oh please please Read More
Archives for 2009
Africa Talk at Black Earth Library
Just a quick post to let locals know that I'll be giving a talk on December 1st at the Black Earth Library on my animal-behavior focused trips to Africa. I'll combine the best of my and Jim's photographs and talk about the adventures of safaris in Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania and Rwanda. We'll talk about radio-collaring "Jones," the breeding male of an African Wild Dog pack, sitting with gorillas in Rwanda and the impact of the current drought on the people and animals of East Africa. If you're in the area, I hope you can come! 7 pm, December 1st, 2009 Black Earth Library, 1210 Mills Street, Black Earth, WI 608 767-2563, Ext. 3 If you can make it, come up and say hi. Here's my favorite photograph from the trip we took in August, on the Masai Mara. Read More
Please Believe Me! Trouble is Brewing!
A recent comment motivated this post. It was from a veterinarian who tries her hardest to alert clients to current and potential behavioral problems, and is a tad frustrated on occasion by how few of them seem to take her cautions seriously. I am sure that other vets, dog trainers and behaviorists are all sighing in sympathy as they read this. I sure am. It is such a common problem that I thought it might be worthwhile for us all to have a brain storming session about how to handle it. All of the pro's reading this blog know what I mean: a 3 month old puppy in puppy class who plays well with others, but growls at you as you approach. Growling at a person at 12 weeks of age? ALARM BELLS! RED FLAGS! DIVE DIVE (the submarine)!!! So, here's the question. If you are a pro, how do you Read More
Dog-Dog Aggression, Puppies and “Intensive Sniffing”
I'm curious about your experience with dogs who are dog-dog aggressive and what I'll call "intensive sniffers." Ever since I heard Sue Sternberg say that dogs who sniff obsessively in her office are often/usually/always?) dog-dog aggressive, I have paid more attention to "intensive sniffing behavior" (I don't know what else to call it--but hey, I just made that term up, so don't go looking in the literature!). I'm talking about the dog who enters a room in which other dogs have been previously, puts his nose down and doesn't lift it up for minutes at a time. I did indeed find a correlation (just observations, no research) that dogs who can't seem to stop sniffing an area where other dogs have been, are often dogs who have problems with other dogs, especially unfamiliar ones. I remembered Read More
Sheep Sex
Well, I guess I could've picked a more subtle title, but it does sum up my topic and attached video pretty nicely. If you are interested in behavior, and doing good ethological style observations, here's a video for you. I had just introduced Redford the Ram (so called because he is handsome and talented but shorter than expected, like Robert Redford) to the ewe flock. Before I go any further, don't worry about his bright red chest, he's not bleeding. It may look like a slasher movie, but the red stuff on his chest is "breeding paint." You mix a powder with vegetable oil (I passed on my expensive Olive Oil and used the more moderate Canola oil, but don't tell him) and smear it on the ram's chest so that you'll know who gets bred and when. Any ewe with a red butt has been bred. It's sort Read More
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 22
- Next Page »