Well, now, this is interesting. Corsin Muller at the Clever Dog Lab in Vienna believes he has found a sex difference in the attentiveness of dogs to the expected size of a ball. Dogs were brought into a room and were allowed to play with 2 balls, one big and one small. They then were taken out of the room while the researcher set up the experiment. When the dog returned, he or she saw a ball, on the left side of a visual barrier, that gradually moved to the right and eventually behind the barrier itself. After a pause, a same or other size ball appeared on the other side, as if the ball had continued to move to the right and had passed behind the barrier. The experiments scored how long the dogs stared at the ball that appeared on the other side. This is a standard paradigm used in studies Read More
Archives for 2011
A New Book: Dog Sense by John Bradshaw
There is a new book that just hit the book shelves, John Bradshaw's Dog Sense. I just started reading it and think it is a book with a lot of value. Here's a summary from the back of the book of some of its messages: "Don't be an Alpha," "Dogs can feel love but not guilt," "Avoid punishment," "Look beyond breed," Respect your dog's sense." All good, absolutely. The question, of course, is what does the book add to the conversation, there being a good number of books on the market that say the same thing. Here's something, from just the first chapter that I think makes the book worthwhile: Bradshaw begins with a valuable discussion about the genetics of canids and the derivation of the domestic dog. I love his inclusion of the entire group of canids (not just grey wolves) and his Read More
Sunset at the Farm
I just got back from UW getting Willie measured for his Hobbles, designed to restrict his shoulder movement after his surgery for his ripped up bicepital tendon. I'm not positive that it looks exactly like this, but the photos on this link from DogLeggs are a close replicate. We also worked through some pre-surgical PT, including teaching him to balance on an exercise ball. He seemed to think it was great fun.. photos to come as soon as we can get them. I'm curious: Has anyone out there used a similar kind of 'hobble' after surgery on their dog? Would love to hear your experiences. Today's post will be short, you'll understand why as you continue to read. MEANWHILE, back on the farm: It's a beautiful, sunny spring day outside, but it's been a challenge to enjoy it. Many of you Read More
Inbreeding in Dogs Part II
Wow. What an interesting and informative set of comments in response to my last post, thank you so much for taking the time to write; I have learned a great deal just from reading some of your comments. I wish I had a couple of days to do nothing but research this topic. (But here's the good news: I WILL have time this summer once the new booklet is out, and I'm going to use that time to learn more and substantially revise the section on behavior and genetics in the Advanced Canine Behavior Seminar this October.) I could write for hours too on this topic, but I'll summarize some of my own thoughts here, in hopes that this important discussion continues. Let me address the issue of inbreeding from two perspectives: 1) the resultant lack of genetic diversity caused by inbreeding and 2) Read More
Inbreeding in Dogs
One of the things I'm doing right now is grading papers from my UW students on the "Biology and Philosophy" of one of five topics. They could choose to write their papers on one of the following: Eating Farmed vs. Wild-caught Salmon, Should Apes Have Rights?, Game Farms, Dolphins in Entertainment, and relevant to the blog, Breeding Regulations in Domestic Dogs. They were charged with first writing a paper objectively describing both "sides" of the issue and then writing a paper that relates one of the philosophies we've studied to the issue and their own beliefs. Grading their papers is daunting (there are 150 of them; thankfully I have a wonderful Teaching Assistant who shares the job) but also fascinating. Each year I learn a tremendous amount that is often relevant to both my personal Read More
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