A few years ago some CAAB colleagues and I got into a discussion with some veterinary behaviorists about who could use the term "diagnosis" in regard to canine behavioral problems. The vet behaviorists argued that "diagnosis" was a medical term and could only be used by medical professionals. Mentioning that auto mechanics use the term all the time when figuring out what is wrong with a car seemed to have no effect. Although I found the vet's arguments illogical, I don't use the term myself, (I use "evaluation") so if those individuals feel a need to scent mark on a particular word, then I'll leave them to it. However, it did bring up the point that words matter. And reminded me that I do have a problem with one popular "diagnosis" — "territorial aggression." According to the chapter Read More
Archives for June 2014
It’s All About SPARCS
I'm in one of those work tunnels. You know the kind. You give up on cooking and forget about doing laundry, because you are enmeshed, entangled, and submerged by something you are working on. The good news is that the work is exciting, fun and engaging. I'm giving two talks at SPARCS, or the Society for the Promotion of Applied Research in Canine Science, and it's all I really want to be doing right now. And it's all that I feel like I can be doing, because I want these talks not just to be interesting, but to be intellectually stimulating. Okay, and great. Or at least, really, really good. SPARCS's mission statement says: "SPARCS was created as a platform where modern animal behavior science can be presented, discussed, and debated by the greatest minds in canine science." You can Read More
Three Ways to Confuse a New Dog
"Three days, three weeks, three months." That's the mantra of many dog trainers and behaviorists, when welcoming a new dog into their household. The "magic of threes" is especially relevant when adopting an adolescent or adult dog into your home. Dogs, especially non-puppies, are often in a bit of shock for the first three days in a new home, and don't show you too much about who they are until they've been there a few days. After three weeks many dogs have settled in such that they behave as though they feel like they are "home" now, but don't fit into your routine until about three months have gone by. The number three has another relevance to new dogs: See below for the three ways we most confuse new dogs, and how to prevent it. I've thought about this a lot lately, for a couple of Read More
Resource Guarding Revisited
A little over a year ago I wrote a post about the causes and treatment of resource guarding. It generated a lot of interest, and no wonder. It is such a common problem. Ironically, I was reminded of that by the opposite: My new dog Maggie seems happy to let any person or any dog take away whatever she has in her mouth. She is the classic "dog in a manger," because she wants whatever toy Willie has, even if I give her its exact replicate. She wants it because Willie has it. And yet, any one could take a bone out of her mouth, and she is happy to share her water bowl or the wading pool and just about everything else I can think of. Perhaps happy isn't the right word. What do I know about how she feels about it? But she tolerates it without any sign of distress, and I am grateful every day Read More