Behavior Reports: Facilitating Communication
The connection between mental and physical health and wellness in human medicine is by now well established. We accept that our thoughts and behaviors influence our health and that in turn keeping physically active, managing our weight, not smoking, etc., gives us more energy and helps us feel better about ourselves. The mind-body connection for…
What’s the Best Help for Fearful and Shy Dogs?
Most anyone who works with dogs in a professional capacity knows that fear motivates behavior in a variety of situations. Dogs that struggle and snap during nail trims, are difficult to restrain for blood draws, or growl or threaten other dogs that approach too closely are more often fearful than not. Dog owners sometimes fail…
TASERS® for Animals?
TASER International, the creator and manufacturer of the TASER brand electronic control device, has just released the TASER X3W for use on wildlife. They claim it is a “… humane means of animal control for wildlife.” They go on to say “These devices have been proven effective for wildlife and are available today for wildlife…
Are Domestic Cats a Significant Cause of Death in Birds?
A new study published in the Journal of Ornithology (http://www.springerlink.com/content/7317118872r23612/) adds more fuel to the debate about the role of cats in diminishing wildlife populations, and if domestic and feral (those living apart from people) cats should be allowed to roam free at all. In the new study, catbirds living in suburban Washington, D.C. were…
Labels Hurt People as Much as They Do Pets
In many of our webinar courses, we’ve discussed the problems with categorizing behavior and behavior problems and dogs. Too often labels are applied to behaviors, to motivations, and to specific animals without a clear or well accepted understanding of what these labels mean. Our most recent favorite label to pick on is “reactive”. It appears…
Who’s Smarter: Cats Or Dogs?
Last November, several stories appeared proclaiming there to be good scientific evidence that dogs are more intelligent than cats. The headline for Fox News was “Dogs Are Smarter Than Cats, Oxford Scientists Say.” The headline for the London Telegraph was “Dogs are 'smarter than cats.' Dogs are cleverer than cats because their friendly character has…
Sleeps With Dogs
By now you’ve probably heard the brouhaha about the reported dangers of sleeping with your pets. In their article, Drs. Bruno Chomel and Ben Sun from the University of California at Davis conclude that public health risks can be associated with this practice. The relatively modest conclusions from this article seem to have…
How Helpful are “Bite Levels”?
We've recently seen several popular "Bite Level" categorization schemes that we assume are supposed to assist users in determining the relative degree of danger dogs that bite present. "Bite Level Hierarchies" are based attempt to relate the dog's biting behavior to the type of injury caused. We question the usefulness of these schemes and believe they can…