Dog and Cat Behavior

Dog Training as an Incentive Program

Suz and Dan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:56:09 +0000

On a recent morning news program, we heard about an incentive program used by some employers to encourage their employees to engage in healthy habits. For example, a worker might be paid to take his blood pressure medication regularly, stop smoking, lose weight, or go to the gym three times a week. The news anchors were discussing whether these “bribes” were worth it, and why people should be paid to do things that were in their own best interests anyway. And would the good habits stop if employers stopped the cash rewards.

“Holding” Dogs For Children to Pet

Suz and Dan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:41:31 +0000

The director of the organization Suzanne volunteers for once each month was telling her that another volunteer – we’ll call her Jane – had recently adopted a dog from a local animal shelter. The director – “Ann” – and her two young boys – one around 7 years old, the other between 2 and 3, had visited Jane shortly after Jane acquired the dog. Ann was describing how Jane “held” the dog so the kids could pet him. The dog was husky size, so “holding” probably meant restraining the dog by the chest or collar.

Genetic Influences on Cat Behavior Traits

Suz and Dan — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:55:32 +0000

Have you ever wondered why some cats are so friendly while others seem to be poster-cats for that aloof, untouchable attitude cats are famous for? Not much research has been done into cat personalities, but one important study looked at the effects of paternity and early handling.

The Human Toll From Dog-Dog Aggression

Suz and Dan — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:47:48 +0000

The July/August issue of the APDT Chronicle hits subscribers’ mailboxes the last week in June. Our article “Safety and Ethics in Working with Dog-to-Dog Aggression Problems” will appear in that issue. It is the first in a series the Chronicle will be running on intraspecific, or dog-dog aggression.

What Are Safe Behaviors Between Children and Dogs?

Suz and Dan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:28:38 +0000

In our membership site, www.BehaviorEducationNetwork.com, (BEN) we’ve recently posted a few videos of interactions between dogs and kids and between dogs, given our analysis of them, and asked for member comments.

These videos have generated a bit of discussion, plus submission of other videos members want our comments on. In addition, we recently conducted a 90 minute webinar “Developing Safe Relationships Between Children and Dogs” for our members and the attendees at our recent workshop in Canada for PABA. (the recordings of these lectures will soon be posted in BEN).

Is a Tired Dog a Good Dog? (or a Happy dog?)

Suz and Dan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:08:08 +0000

This is a cliché we’ve read and heard numerous places, including in on-line articles from prominent veterinary schools. If veterinary schools and a wide variety of respected trainers maintain this is true, then does that mean it IS true? We should take a step back and ask “where’s the evidence”? And what do we really mean by “good” and “happy”?

Popeye, Brutus and How to Create an Attack Cat

Suz and Dan — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:00:21 +0000

In their relationships with people, most cats take a “live and let live” approach. Cats usually do not show aggression toward people over food, toys or space the way dogs sometimes will. While some cats may hiss, growl, bite or scratch if we try to pet them or pick them up, they generally do not go out of their way to control our behavior. A case of cat aggression we worked with definitely did not follow this pattern.

Dog-Dog Aggression – Do We Know What’s What?

Suz and Dan — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:21:53 +0000

We’ve spent the last several weeks preparing for a two day seminar we’ll be giving with colleagues Dr. Marc Bekoff and Ms. Nancy Williams for Professional Animal Behavior Associates, Inc., in Guelph, Ontario Canada. The theme is Dog-Dog Interactions: The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Dr. Bekoff has the lucky spot – speaking mostly about the “good” side of these relationships. Suzanne will be talking about what motivates dog-dog aggression, Dan will be speaking on methods and inherent difficulties in assessing and evaluating dog aggressive dogs, and Nancy holds the anchor spot, speaking on behavior modification techniques for these problems.

What we’ve realized while preparing for the event is how little we know about relationships between dogs, how they develop and the factors that influence what sort of relationships develop.

Why Do We Love Our Pets?

Suz and Dan — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:18:11 +0000

Anyone who knows us knows how attached we are to our Irish setter Coral. Coral is now 6 years old, but still has a very “babyish” face – the technical term being neotenic face. Neoteny means the persistence of infantile or juvenile characteristics into adulthood. One look at Coral’s face and you can see her neotenic features – rounded forehead, relatively large eyes and shortened muzzle.

What Effects Do Dog Training Methods Have on Dog Behavior?

Suz and Dan — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:00:44 +0000

In recent years, there’s been a lot of discussion about the effectiveness and appropriateness of different training and behavior modification methods. Is clicker training better than compulsion training? Is training with a remote training collar more effective that training with rewards? Everyone has an opinion, but there’s little objective data to support these opinions. Another question that rarely gets asked is – Do different training and behavior modification methods have effects on behaviors other than those that are being trained or modified? Do some methods create fear, distress, and even aggression problems?