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Goodbye Becca
The staff of East Hilliard Veterinary Services would like to wish the very best for Becca Ulery who left the group in July to pursue a career in nursing. We are sure her new patients will benefit from her happy and easy-going personality. Becca, we will miss you.
What is your pet trying to say?
A recent PetSmart survey found that a great majority of pet owners wish they knew what their pet was thinking. This survey also found that the majority of pet owners aren’t able to properly interpret their pet’s everyday behaviors. Purring doesn’t always mean your cat is content. Cats will also purr when  they are in pain, ill, or unhappy. Tail wagging doesn’t always mean your dog is happy. A certain type of tail wagging is actually a threat. Yawning often indicates stress, not sleepiness. And did you know that most dogs interpret hugging as intimidation? Your dog and cat give body signals everyday that can help you understand what they are thinking if you know how to interpret those signals. Go to PetSmart’s dog quiz or cat quiz and check these videos to learn more. Also the websites recommended at the end of the next article will be very helpful in gaining a new understanding of what is going on inside your pet’s head.
Dominance theory-based vs positive reinforcement-based training techniques
There has been quite a lot of controversy recently over which methods are the most humane and the most effective ways to train animals. For many years “dominance” has been identified as the cause of problem behavior in animals and “dominant” training has been the solution. Establishing “dominance” over your pet through use of leash jerk corrections and the alpha roll maneuver, among others, was the most common form of animal training. These techniques were developed based on studies of captive wolf packs. Those studies were flawed in several ways however. First, the wolves being studied were captive, not animals in their own natural habitat. Second, the wolves being studied had been captured from different packs, creating an unnatural pack structure.
 More recent research of wolf packs in the wild has shown that a pack is nothing more than a family. That family is made up of the breeding pair, who share leadership of the pack, and their offspring who will remain with the pack until two to three years of age. At that age they will leave their family pack, find a mate, and start a new pack. Pack leaders (or alpha dogs) rarely rule their pack with tactics of fear and intimidation. In fact, the wise pack leader is simply a teacher who works to care for his or her family.
Another important factor in understanding dog behavior is to remember that dogs and wolves are two separate species. Dogs descended from wolves about 14,000 years ago. Studies of free-roaming dogs throughout the world have shown they are much more likely to show submissive behaviors than dominance behaviors in order to keep the peace. Getting hurt in a fight could threaten their very existence since they wouldn’t be able to care for themselves effectively. That is not to say there is no social hierarchy among dogs. There are many behaviors that dogs use when they are around other dogs to indicate their place in the “family”.
With this new understanding of animal behavior, more humane training methods have been developed . These new training techniques understand the need to communicate with and to motivate the animal rather than dominate it. Trainers using positive training and behavior modification methods have shown great results in managing even the most extreme behaviors. The dog and their owner are set up to succeed through introducing new rules and boundaries. Learning new responses to a stimulus which normally would bring about the unwanted behavior will gradually modify that behavior resulting in a much happier dog and a safer environment for the whole family.
Punishment-based training not only relies on causing pain (even for just a second) but, increases the animal’s stress level, pushing them to the point of surrender, or what trainers call learned helplessness. In this situation the behavior is simply suppressed and can return without warning.
There are many great sites you can visit in order to better understand the difference between punishment-based and positive reinforcement-based training methods. The sites listed below belong to internationally known animal trainers that have been involved in developing these positive training methods. Their sites offer training ideas and exercises based on the way dogs communicate with each other. These training techniques are highly effective and easy for you and your dog to understand.
Ian Dunbar
Patricia McConnell
Karen Pryor
Suzanne Hetts
Coprophagia
Coprophagia means eating feces, a behavior that is quite common in dogs. The reason for this behavior is not well understood. It may be that it aids in digestion by adding some missing nutrient or enzyme. Some think coprophagia may be related to the behavior of a mother dog eating her pup’s feces in order to help conceal the location of the den. Whatever the cause, controlling it can be very difficult. If your dog eats their own feces, there are powders you can add to your pet’s daily food which then makes the feces undesirable. We have had mixed results with these products however. If your dog eats the feces of other animals, you’ll just need to prevent access. Ask your veterinarian for a recommendation on how to deal with this behavior.
Fun video
This dog is tuned into his owner’s every word.
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