Can we learn anything about a dog's behavior around unfamiliar dogs with the use of a fake, stuffed dog? That is the question asked by a team of researchers in Massachusetts, who did a study comparing the responses of 45 shelter dogs to a live dog and a fake, plush, stuffed dog. The real dogs were presented with a neutered, male American Staffordshire mix and a similarly-sized, fake dog who was the same size as the real dog but is described as "having the appearance of a pointer breed dog". Individual behaviors were recorded as occurring or not (approach, sniff, bark, growl, back away, etc.) and were also later lumped into three categories: "aggressive, fearful or friendly/playful". The authors summarized the results by saying that "friendly" responses were the responses most likely to be Read More
Archives for 2015
Healthy Dog Play in Georgia, Sweet Georgia
We're just back from a short week with good friends Jim and Peg in northern Georgia. Heavenly! They live on a gorgeous 200 acre farm and we got to enjoy the fun of 80+ new born lambs, and none of the work, thanks to our hard working hosts. Maggie and Willie got to work sheep every day, along with numerous long walks with the seven resident Border Collies on the property. Basically, we ate (Jim A. is the best amateur chef I know), walked (two stunningly beautiful hikes and lots of dog walks) and worked dogs (Peg is one of the top handlers in the country and gave me some invaluable advice). Sounds rough, doesn't it? Here's a huge shout out to Peg and Jim for their gracious hospitality. I thought you'd enjoy a sequence of dog play that I took with the camera on rapid fire "continuous Read More
Music to a Cat’s Ears
A recently published study has shown that cats are attracted to music that was specifically designed for them. This is important work, given all the claims that are made about effect of music "designed for" dogs and cats. Although there are several interesting studies this issue, the studies have traditionally compared different types of musical genres, always with music that was written for people ("classical" versus "rock" for example). There is some music that has been specifically designed for dogs or cats, but its development was not based on an analysis of the animal's species-specific vocalizations, nor is there robust scientific evidence that it is effective. Indeed, see my post from 2013, in which researcher Kogan found that slow-noted classical music increased the amount of time Read More
All About Dog Poop
Because it isn't necessarily a fun topic, I thought I'd start off with my favorite story about dog poop. Imagine being at a sit-down lunch at two-day seminar I was giving on canine behavior and training. Picture a large room, with 150 people or so, sitting at round tables covered in white table cloths, the food delivered by hotel conference staff. You know the drill. We had finished a good lunch and looked with happy anticipation to what was promised to be a special dessert. Imagine our surprise when we each received a small plate with a perfect replica of dog poop on it. The cook thought it would be just too wonderful to feed us chocolate pudding in the shape of a brown, coiled snake of dog poop. It was impressively realistic. Apparently the chef was shocked that every plate was returned, Read More
Fish Falling From the Sky
[I had planned to write a blog on poop (stay tuned, who could resist the topic?), but am a tad under the weather, so I'm just going to post this for your amusement... You've heard of fish falling from the sky, yes? Apparently it is more common that one might predict. A quick internet search found multiple references to such events, many of them quite credible. They can even fall by the hundreds, as experienced by the residents of a small town in Australia. But I've never known anyone who could beat the story of my veterinarian, Dr. John Dally, who lives on the Wisconsin River, and below the flight path of a Bald Eagle flying between her nest to her fishing grounds on a daily basis. Imagine John's surprise when he went outside early in the morning to pick up a dish pan, and a fish fell Read More
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