We just released a DVD of the seminar I did in Naples, Florida on Animal Assisted Therapy and Activities, "Lending a Helping Paw." I'm excited about it, because it gives me the opportunity to help individuals and organizations who want to help others. It is an example of an activity we can do with our dogs that is a triple win (for us, our dogs, and people who need some oxytocin and/or physical therapy). Because of that, old social worker that I am, it's near and dear to my heart. Speaking of hearts, and what fills ours with happiness, the question arises about how effective AAT (Animal Assisted Therapy) and AAA (Animal Assisted Activities) really are. I remember a conference put on by the Delta Society many, many years ago that included a controversial study. It showed that, in this Read More
Yup, Dogs Can Be Disgusted!
Well, it seems appropriate now to talk about disgust after a weekend of gluttony. (But what fun cooking paprika chicken and pot roast and roasted brussels sprouts and home made bread and pumpkin and cherry/raspberry/rhubarb pie. Not to mention eating all the turkey that others cooked and I ate up as if I was starving.) It's been interesting reading about whether dogs people believe that dogs can experience disgust. Recall that 66.2 % of seminar participants said yes, and 78.3% of blog readers who responded said yes (this may have changed as later responses came in, but not significantly). (The Morris research listed only 34% of people responding yes, but a blog reader commented wisely that the question wasn't "Can your dog..." but "Have you observed your dog experiencing Read More
This is the Video to go Viral!
Happy dog, happy baby, happy Easter and spring weekend, everyone: Read More
“Guilty Dog” Viral Video
Have you seen it, the viral video of a "guilty" dog? A yellow lab sits hunched in a corner while his owner asks if he's the one who got into the bag of kitty treats. The dog turns his head away, squints his eyes (not in a happy way I would argue) and after considerable prompting (or pressure), looks "guilty." Except, the "guilty" look is actually a perfect example of what is called a "submissive grin," used to appease another higher status individual. Most biologists call this an example of "active submission," in which an animal is attempting to increase the distance between it and another member of its social unit. (Versus "passive submission" which promotes a decrease in distance; for example, lying down and exposing the anal/genital regions.) I know that "submission" is not a Read More
Willie’s Exercises & Honoring Your Dog
This video tape of me and Willie doing his exercises reminds me how important it is to "honor your dog." (I think that is originally Kathy Sdao's phrase, and I just love it.) The video shows us doing two exercises, "Flex" and "Paw," both designed to strengthen his shoulders before the surgery. We first began doing one set of 10 reps each with very short durations, about 2 seconds max, and have worked our way up to 10 seconds duration for the first set and 5-6 seconds for the second set. But the therapist warned me to watch for signs that we were pushing it too far, and those showed up recently, which we caught on video. Watch the video first, then I'll tell you more about it. It's a little under three minutes. We cut out about 30 seconds just to keep it short, I'll describe more about Read More
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