Remember the movie Groundhog Day, in which Bill Murray wakes up every morning to repeat the same day, over and over? That is a bit of what it feels like to write about the value of benevolence in dog training, and the problems associated with aggressive, confrontational techniques. And yet, I just can't stop, because there is still a flood of advice about using force and confrontation to correct a dog for ..... (fill in the blanks).... because 1) misbehavior is a sign your dog is attempting to dominate you and 2) you can only counter it by using force. Sigh. Those of us arguing that we should be teaching our dogs, rather than forcing and threatening them, have an excellent study by Veterinary Behaviorists to support our perspective. Meghan Herron, DVM, DACVB, Frances Shofer, DVM and Read More
Archives for 2013
Something To Chew On
Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, and dogs gotta chew. At least, that is my belief, backed up with virtually no research whatsoever. This belief is based on 1) understanding that the impressive teeth and jaw structure of a dog is the Swiss Army knife of dentition, able to tear, rip, shear and crunch without having to switch tools, 2) the inclusion of long chewing bouts in the natural behavior of canids, 3) that an internet search on "chewing in dogs" leads to a multitude of articles on how to stop dogs from chewing, suggesting to me that dogs are highly motivated to do so, and 4) the observation that a good chewing session appears to relax my dogs as well as a long walk. We all know that dogs need to chew, and thus pet stores and the internet are full of appropriate things for them to Read More
Resource Guarding: Treatment and Prevention
Years ago, I took care of a gooey-sweet adolescent Border collie, (Tilly, I'll call her) who flattened her ears and folded like a bird's wing every time you said her name. She was responsive and polite, and the other dogs seemed to like her as much as I did. It was especially rainy when she visited, so I appreciated that she never objected to endless paw wiping and toweling off, not to mention body checks for ticks and dental inspections. One morning I saw that she had grabbed something from the leaf litter in the woods, the kind of "something" you figure would be better off melding its way into the soil rather than ending up in the stomach of even the hardiest of dogs. I couldn't tell what it was, but it looked well on its way to rotting itself into organic mush. Probably not the best Read More
Lambs, Rain, Papers, Lambs, Rain, Papers, Lambs. . .
I'm in the tunnel. You know the one I mean, the one where you are so engrossed, overwhelmed and logistically enclosed by what you are doing that life seems narrow but not small, confined but not constrained. I am full up with my life right now, which I summed up as well as possible in the title: Lambs, Rain, Papers, Lambs, Rain, Papers. If there is life outside of this small but saturated universe, would it do my laundry? This is not a small thing to ask, given that the pants I am wearing into the barn could stand up by themselves, and whose smell could clear a room. I should save them for the next time I think I'll have to stand in line and wait for something. And so, today post is all about the farm. Although I have had an especially interesting week on campus (including a vigorous Read More
Analyzing the Analysis: Wisdom Panel DNA Tests & Mixed-Breed Dogs
We started a "Guess the Breed Background" contest this week after sending in a DNA sample of Katie's dog, Leo to the Mars Wisdom Panel lab. Here's a photo of Leo if you missed it: Over 292 people sent in their guesses, and congratulations are due to Robin S! Of all the 290+ guesses on the blog, you came closest of anyone to guessing Leo's genetic background, as analyzed by the Wisdom Panel (Professional), by guessing (in order of genetic representation), Boxer/Shih Tzu/Sheltie . But then, no one actually came very close to guessing what came back on the Wisdom Panel, which was: One parent was half Boxer and half American Staffordshire Terrier (so Leo is 1/4 of each). (No one guessed both breeds as part of the mix, which is understandable if you think about it, but a good Read More
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