Watch Skip’s Run or! Practice Your Observation Skills on Dogs and SHEEP!
Skip ran in our first trial last weekend, and while watching the video to figure out how the heck he got a shed (the only really good one of the trial), I realized what a great opportunity it was to play the "Sharpen Our Observation Skills" game. I'll never forget my first day of Ethology Lab at UW-Madison, in which Professor Bayliss sat us down in front of a glass cage with rats in it and asked us to record our observations of their behavior. Afterward, our discussions went something like this: Prof: Describe what you saw, from second one to second ten. Us: One rat was asleep, the other walked to the side of the cage. Prof: But what was the posture of the sleeping rat? Read More
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Behavioral or Medical? Or both?
I recently had a great talk with Emily Priestley, the author of Urban Sheepdogs. I reviewed her book a few weeks ago, and although I noted some issues, I am a big fan of her attempt to help people understand that the behavior of their border collies or cattle dogs is not a mystery or a sign of dysfunction--rather a manifestation of what the dogs were bred for. These dogs need to be helped to adjust to an urban/suburban environment, not punished for it. I started out by asking her what she recommends to people who have dogs who are especially sound sensitive, as so many herding breeds tend to be. She answered by saying that she often asks that the dog be checked out by a veterinarian. That Read More
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March 11, 2024
Last week a dear friend brought her teenage Bernedoodle, Leo, over to meet Skip and Maggie. Leo was like Sheldon at a Comic Con Convention (can you tell I've been watching Big Bang Theory?)--all enthusiasm and no social finesse. This is Maggie after he tried to mount her head. (Please supply caption.) In spite of his enthusiasm, Leo is a dear, sweet dog, but his owner asked for some advice about teaching him to come when called off their home territory when he is highly distracted. We did a little work, and he'll be over again soon, but he got me thinking about how recall training isn't as simple as it often feels. I was about to write a new post on the topic, and then remembered I've Read More
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