Tail wagging

Read on Cesar Millan's site.

All animals communicate with energy and body language, and it’s easy to tell just from body language whether they’re fearful or aggressive. But, beyond body language, for many animals there are three important body parts with which they communicate.
Animals’ primary methods of communicating are through eye contact, their ear position, and their tails.
When an animal is being defensive or aggressive, it will make eye contact to tell whatever it’s facing to back off. When an animal is alert to danger, its ears will stand straight up. But the most important thing to watch is the tail.

A tail wag is not always friendly
When a cat wags its tail, it’s not being friendly. Its saying, “Watch out, because I’m going to attack.” When a squirrel wiggles its tail, it’s saying, “I’m big and I’m threatening, so stay away.”
When a dog wags its tail, though, it could be saying a lot of things, depending on how it’s wagging. And, in fact, a dog’s tail is probably one of the most expressive parts of its body, just ahead of its ears.
This is why docking a dog’s tail or cropping its ears hinders the dog's ability to communicate effectively. These could be compared to cutting out a human’s tongue and removing their vocal cords. When it comes to communicating with body language, those ears and tail are a major way that our dogs speak to each other — and to us.
Different tail positions indicate different things
Think of a dog’s tail as the turn-indicator lever in your car. It has a natural position, and it has two other positions that indicate different things. When a dog’s tail is in its natural position, it indicates that the dog is calm and happy — though position varies with breed. Some dogs have tails that naturally hang down behind their legs, while others have tails that curl up over their backs. When the tail is in that natural position and not moving side-to-side, it’s telling you, “I’m happy. Everything’s cool.”
When the tail moves up or down
There are two positions a dog’s tail can move to without moving side-to-side: up or down. When a dog’s tail moves up, it means that the dog is becoming more assertive or dominant. It’s like raising a flag, and the message it’s sending is this: “I’m the dog in charge here.” When the tail moves down, it’s sending the opposite message: “You’re the dog in charge here.” And if a dog’s tail curls between its legs, it’s sending the message, “I’m harmless. Don’t hurt me. I submit.”
A raised tail isn’t necessarily aggressive but a lowered tail is always submissive.
When the tail moves side-to-side
This brings us to that wagging bit, when a dog moves its tail from side-to-side. Now, the natural assumption is that a dog wagging its tail is happy, but that isn’t necessarily true. As science has shown, it really all depends on how fast the tail is moving, and to which side it shows a bias.
If the tail is moving more strongly to the dog’s right, then that dog is showing positive emotions, like excitement or interest. But if it’s moving more to the left, it’s showing negative emotions, like anxiety, fear, or aggression. From a biological standpoint, this makes sense. That’s because in many animals, including dogs and humans, the left side of the brain deals with positive behaviors while the right deals with the negative. Since each side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body, this leads to a difference in meaning exhibited by the bias of the wag.
By the way, this wiring of the sides of the brain doesn’t change between people or animals that are right or left handed/pawed.
Context is key
So put it all together, and we get this. If a dog’s tail is mostly wagging to their right and is at or lower than its normal position, then the dog is saying, “Hey, I’m happy. You’re the boss. It’s all good.” But if the tail is wagging to the left, and especially if it’s at or higher than its normal position, then the dog is saying, “Bring it. I’m in charge here.”
Speed plays a role
The one other factor to consider is the speed of the wag. The faster the tail is moving, the higher the positive or negative energy. Really fast and low to the dog’s right, really submissive dog. Really fast and high to the left, walk away. At its most extreme, the tail can appear to be vibrating instead of wagging. This is definitely the dog to avoid.
No matter the position, though, a slow moving tail indicates a calm and curious dog, and that’s the dog you can safely approach and get to know better.

NB: it's the dog's right or the dog's left.

Howling Ozzy

 

 

The howl is the one sound wolves and dogs have in common.

Howls are long, melodious sounds that sweep through many different pitches which are more efficient and more audible over a long distance than a single pitch sound.  Why?  Because sound that travels long distance must overcome obstacles such as trees and their leaves or an uneven terrain.   

Wolves howl to communicate across large distances.  They will frequently howl when they are separated from the pack to keep or re-establish contact with the pack but also to deter members from another pack.  Often they howl to raise the alarm, to regroup as a pack,  to reinforce the cohesion of the pack.

Some dogs howl.  Others do not.  Dogs will howl when the hear the sirene of an ambulance or fire brigade or the ice cream van. 

Howling in dogs does not happen often.  A dog gets no reply when he howls so the behaviour is not reinforced and that’s discouraging.

Ozzy howls whenever an ambulance drives past the house.

I must admit I find it a spine chilling sound.  A call from the wild.

 

Where's the boss?

Cesar Millan says: "Dogs have an ingrained pack mentality.  If you're not asserting leadership over your dog, your dog will try to compensate by showing dominant or unstable behavior".
I am reading his books and hopefully by the end of it, I will be the leader of my pack. 

Fifty shades of agggression;

What we are talking about is:   Possession Aggression.  That’s what it is.

And what does it mean?

There are many types of possession aggression.  Some dogs guard their food bowl, their toys, their bed.  

Others steal a sock in the laundry basket, run off with it and show aggression when it’s owner wants to take it away. 

Some show aggression when someone just picks something off the floor or when they go up to the dog to stroke it or to take it’s lead off the peg.

Dogs have territorial instincts and this goes back thousands of years before domestication.  In those dark times dogs had to put all their efforts in survival and had to fight over everything.   Food primarily but also for a save place to shelter from the elements and predators.  Although they live in your house, they consider it to be their territory. So it’s a free for all as far as they are concerned.  Well, I don’t agree with that.  A house should have “off limits” areas.  One such “off limit” area is the matrimonial bedroom.  Some dogs who have access to it’s owner bed become so possessive of that space that they growl/bite and make it quite clear the owner cannot have access to his own bed.  Or the dog who sits on the sofa with you watching TV and will growl/bites when you move him off.  Owners of small toy dog types such as Yorkshire Terriers have to deal with this often.  These little dogs will bark/growl at anybody who comes close especially if they are being held in their owner’s arms because they consider their owner to be their exclusive property. Nobody calls this aggression.  In their case it’s called jealousy.  I don’t think that’s fair on big dogs.  Their attitude is just as defensive and potentially dangerous.       

Possession Aggression is not necessarily a sign of dominance.  There is evidence that some of these aggressive dogs are victims of submissive peeing when there in the presence of another dog or human they feel is superior or intimidating.  It is a subconscious response that cannot be controlled.

OK.  So these aggressive dogs are sissies. So what is it then?

Many dogs who are otherwise obedient, show this behaviour. 

Dogs soon learn that if they show aggression to another dog or to a human, the latter  will back away.  They become very good at instigating aggression.  The dog has promoted himself to a high status. 

So what happens? 

The dog steals something which belongs to his owner like a pair of socks in boots or something which is food related like a tea towel and runs off.  More often than not this happens when the dog wants to draw attention to himself.  He runs under the table or chases round the room.  He knows his owner will come after him.  The dog is in control at this point because his owner is chasing him, probably shouting or yelling at him.  As the owner closes in, the dog becomes aggressive and growls/snaps/bites.  The owner backs away.  The dog has won.   

If this behaviour is not corrected, it will happen more often and intensify with serious consequences.

 

What to do?

Put stuff out of his reach.  This is easily said but difficult to apply.  Your home cannot be like Fort Knox.

 

If he does steal something, ignore him.  He steals something, let him have it.

 

Distract him with a toy.  Better still give him a treat.  He will drop what he has in his mouth and you can retrieve what he has stolen.  This does not work if he has stolen half a camembert.  I have tried and tested this method.  Food is instinct.  It’s not to be messed with. 

 

Teach him the “drop” / “give” command.

 

Put a leash on him in the house.  Let it trail so that you can correct him when he has an unacceptable behaviour.

 

Don’t run after him, do not shout at him.  Don’t meet aggression with aggression.

 

This is my thought for the day:  we have to re-establish the pecking order and revise our status with Ozzy.

 

 

 

 

Where does that leave Ozzy?

The other day I was Ozzy’s third bite victim. 

In the summer, Ozzy had pinched a piece of wood and took it under the table.  When my husband went to retrieve it, Ozzy snapped.  He did not draw blood.  There were tooth marks and a bruise.  The friend who came to stay had put her handbag on the floor by the table leg.  When she went to get something out of it, Ozzy snapped.  He did not draw blood.  Tooth marks and bruising. His ball was close to the bag. After these two incidents we were advised to have Ozzy castrated.  We did and his behaviour changed.  He has become more placid, less agitated, less macho, less "doggy", less amorous towards male visitors. 

A few days ago, Ozzy went to pinch something unsavoury out of the rubbish bin.  I went up to him to take it out of his mouth.  He bit my hand.  

So where does that leave Ozzy? 

I know what my vet would say. He should be put down.  Some caring friends who have no experience with dogs, say the same and I understand their arguments.

When Ozzy steals something and takes it under the table, it’s his.  When he steals food or food related items such as oven gloves or tea towels, he is a liability when you want to take it out of his mouth.  This is the only time he shows aggressive behaviour.  And of course he is not a Chihuahua.  He is  big dog and can therefore potentially do more harm.

How can a family pet who is generally obedient behave like this?  He never growls, does not threaten.  I can take his food bowl away when he eats.  He obeys to the commands he has been thought.  Comes back in the forest when called.   He is not aggressive towards other dogs or towards humans although he has to check out strangers before befriending them.  He is not a dangerous dog.  He does not get upset if another dog takes his ball or his stick.  He does not attack other dogs or humans.  He is clever and smart.  Wants cuddles. 

It’s a known fact that Australian shepherds have a nervous disposition.   

My friend, Jules, who is 85 years old and knows all there is to know about dogs, says it’s our fault for not being strong pack leaders.  We are too soft and lenient with Ozzy. He thinks that we will succeed with boot camp type training and attitude change on our behalf.   

I want to give Ozzy another chance but will we succeed? 

I am reading all my books of wisdom for help. 

I feel we have to seek advice from people who know about dog behaviour.

How do you go about finding somebody who is not a charlatan?  Anybody can call himself a behaviourist in Belgium.  Better still “professional behaviourist”.   You can read a book, put a plaque on your door and cash in the Euros.  What do they know, I do not know myself?

As a qualified dog trainer, I feel this is a real challenge. 

  

 

Eat your heart out!

Dogs smell other dogs faeces as a way of learning about them. From this, the dog can tell the sex of the dog who left it. If it’s a male’s it will tell it how masculine he was and if it’s a female’s whether she is coming into season or is on heat. So vital information is passed on this way. However some dogs eat other dogs’ stools which is not so pleasant. This is know as coprophagy from the Greek copros meaning faeces and from phagein meaning to eat.
There are many theories why dogs do this:
-To get attention from their owners.
-From anxiety, stress, or having been punished for bad behaviour.
-From boredom.
-Because puppies taste everything and discover that faeces are edible and, perhaps, tasty.
-Because dogs are, by nature, scavengers, and this is within the range of scavenger behaviour.
-Because the texture and temperature of fresh faeces approximates that of regurgitated food, which is how canine mothers in the wild would provide solid food.
-Because of the protein content of the faeces, or over-feeding, leading to large concentrations of undigested matter in the faeces.
-Due to assorted health problems
-Because they are hungry, such as when eating routines are changed, food is withheld, or nutrients are not properly absorbed.
-Carnivores may sometimes eat or roll in the faeces of their prey to ingest and exude scents which camouflage their own.
Dr Bruce Fogle, a Canadian vet and author of many books, writes that dogs as they grow up may suffer from a lack of digestive enzymes. He recommends feeding dogs enzyme-containing food such as pineapple, pumpkin or papaya fruit. Sounds exotic to me as dogs are basically carnivores.

Don't leave me - part 2

Dogs with separation anxiety exhibit behaviour problems when they are left alone. The most common of these behaviours are: digging, scratching at doors or furniture, howling, barking, urination and defecation. These behaviours are not an attempt by the dog to punish or seek revenge on his owner for leaving him alone. Nor is it boredom. It is part of a panic response.
His anxiety is the result of the separation from his master not merely the result from being left alone. If your dog is a sufferer, these are some simple tips:

What NOT to do?
-Punish the dog as soon as you come into the house. Punishing will actually increase his separation anxiety.
-Getting another pet as a companion. The dog wants his master as a companion not another animal.
-Putting the dog in a crate. This will not calm him but increase his panic responses.
-Training the dog. This is a paradox. Formal training is, of course, a good idea but in this case the dog is not being disobedient nor does he show lack of training. It is a severe panic response.

What to do then?
-Keep arrivals and departures low-key. Ignore the dog – and this is difficult – for a few minutes when you get home before patting him.
-Leave the dog with an item that smells of you. An old t-shirt you’ve slept in, for instance.
-Leave the radio or television on when you leave the house.
-Train your dog to stay by himself in the house and not to follow your every step. Leave him in another room whilst you do the ironing, for instance.
-Pretend to go out. Put on your coat and take your car keys and go out of the door. Return within the minute. Repeat this frequently during the day. Once the dog has accepted this, increase the time you have gone. Associate this with reassuring words such as “I’ll be back”.

I am often asked about this problem. Invariably this occurs in puppies or young dogs or adopted dogs and which are left alone whilst there owners are at work or out all day.
I do not take very kindly to this. What is the point of having a dog in such a case?
A dog needs companionship, needs to interact with humans, needs to be walked, needs to be stimulated and needs to be safe in the knowledge his master will return.

 

Don't leave me.

 

 

I received this picture with the caption : "Please adopt me". Dogs like young children suffer from separation anxiety. Destructive behaviour is a sympton of this.

Barking dogs

Barking dogs are a nuisance both in the city or in the country.   I do a lot of reading and research on dogs and recently I came across a book by Pat Miller about positive dog training. She is an American dog trainer. I stumbled on these few lines in a chapter on barking. I am speechless.
"One of the most disgusting things humans sometimes do to their dogs is debarking. Dogs come with voices; it is up to us to train them not to be chatterboxes. Debarking a dog by severing his vocal cords is an abomination."
Ever heard of the word “debarking” ?  Or the practice?

Facing north whilst pooing

New research indicates that, like many other animals, dogs are sensitive to the earth’s magnetic field. However, instead of using it to navigate like many insects and birds do, it appears that dogs have a preference for aligning themselves to the earth’s magnetic axis when it’s time to poo.

At least that’s the conclusion researchers came to at Prague University, after studying 70 dogs from 37 different breeds over the course of two years.

Note to self: don’t forget compass when walking Ozzy.

Prairie dogs

According to the National Geographic prairie dogs always greet each other with a kiss, a nuzzle or a hug.  They cuddle like humans.

Dogs do attack humans

The caption says : «  Not dangerous if properly trained ».  

I am not so sure.  A dog is a dog and remains an animal which means it follows an instinctual behaviour.  Yes, we can train dogs to do all sorts of things and we train them so that they become good companions but according to data more than 4.5 million people are attacked by dogs every year mostly by their domestic pet.  

Mother's instinct

A house fire in Temuco, Chile, destroyed the portion of the home where this dog lived with her 10 day old puppies. She managed to bring them to safety in one of the fire engines.  The homeowners were taken to hospital for burn treatment.

 

Interaction with humans

A study by Monique Udell and her team, from the University of Florida has found how dogs think and learn about human behaviour and how they respond to their body language, verbal commands, and their attention.  The study suggests it is all down to a combination of specific cues, context and previous experience.
Udell and her team carried out two experiments comparing the performance of pet domestic dogs, shelter dogs and wolves by giving the animals the opportunity to beg for food, from either an attentive person or from a person unable to see the animal.
They wanted to know whether the rearing and living environment of the animal (shelter or human home), or the species itself (dog or wolf), had the greater impact on the animal's performance.
They showed, for the first time that wolves, like domestic dogs, are capable of begging successfully for food by approaching the attentive human.
This demonstrates that both dogs and wolves have the capacity to behave, observe and respond to a human's attention.
In addition, both wolves and pet dogs were able to rapidly improve their performance with practice.
The authors also found that dogs were not sensitive to all visual cues of a human's attention in the same way.
In particular, dogs from a home environment rather than a shelter were more sensitive to stimuli predicting attentive humans. Those dogs with less regular exposure to humans did not perform and responded as well.

Ozzy's playmate

I was out walking the other day in the forest and we came across Max, a standard poodle.  He was with his Swedish owner.  We had actually met before so it was normal the dogs immediately started playing.  They are approximately the same age.

In play dogs imitate wolf behaviour.  Dogs like wolves convey the rules of the pack through body language and use it to express themselves.  In this last picture on the left you can see that Max is the more dominant male or the more high ranking in the pack.  Ozzy adopts a totally passive and submissive position by drawing his paws into his body and by exposing his neck, chest and abdomen, the most vulnerable parts of his body. Ozzy probably comes across as an unruly and boisterous adolescent.  No aggression was shown in this encounter.  A bit of growling on the part of Max and a bit of whimpering on the part of Ozzy.  The dogs parted amicably as did their owners.

Family Dogs Terrorize Sheep

Where does your dog go when you're not looking? Does it lead a secret life? Family dogs do terrorize sheep.
An Australian study of 1,400 dogs that attacked livestock found most dog owners, when approached by authorities, refused to believe their dog could have killed or injured any sheep. They believe their dogs are too small, too young or too friendly to harm sheep.
The researchers caught dogs from 3 months to 12 years of age, intact and sterilized dogs of both sexes, purebred and mongrel, all attacking livestock. Most of these dogs were well fed, friendly, family pets, running at large. Selective breeding has not suppressed the tendency of any breed of dog to attack and kill livestock. Animal behaviourists say it is not possible to predict whether a particular dog will attack sheep or not.
Tactics
Dogss chase and attack sheep for fun. They rarely kill the sheep immediately. The sheep usually die later from their injuries or from infection, or they must be destroyed. Livestock evaluators have described the aftermath of dog attacks as "excessive mutilation". In contrast, coyote attacks are quick. Often coyotes select one sheep to kill and eat, and leave the rest of the flock alone. Sheep flocks that experience a coyote attack are often not as stressed or noisy as those suffering from a dog attack. Dog attacks last longer and involve more chasing. Sheep attacked by dogs will have torn ears and hides, as well as bite marks on the neck, head, hind legs and flanks.
Dogs may harass injured sheep every time they get up to run away. Animal behaviourists believe the movement of the sheep away from the dog stimulates the dog to give chase. Sheep chased by dogs have drowned in streams, or have died from suffocation by piling up in fence corners or sheds.
People often think that roving packs of dogs cause most livestock predation problems. Of the 1,400 dogs caught or observed attacking livestock in the Australian study; 40% of attacks were by single dogs, 51% of attacks by a pair of dogs — usually a male and a female, and just 9% were by 3 or more dogs.
Authorities used specially trained tracking dogs to find the trail of the offending dogs and followed them to their homes. If 2 or more dogs were involved in an attack, they were usually from the same home or were neighbours. These dogs were mostly approachable family pets. Dog owners think that it is not possible for their pet to be attacking sheep because their dog is not vicious and has never bitten anyone. Owners should understand the reason why a dog attacks sheep — it's all for the love of the game. Dogs do not bite people because they are being predatory; they bite people because they are dominant, frightened, or because they are protecting something or someone.
What You Can Do About It?
Dogs can only attack sheep if they are allowed to roam. If loose, dogs may attack sheep at any time of the day or night. Be a responsible pet owner. Do not let your dog stay out all night to run or leave your dog loose to roam all day while you are at work. Have facilities for your pet that will keep it on your property at all times. A dog left to roam your property, where you don't have adequate fencing to contain it, may leave at anytime it chooses.
Attacks on sheep flocks are emotionally, as well as financially draining, for shepherds. Surviving animals usually do not produce as well ewes may abort unborn lambs and injured animals endure pain and must be treated. The shepherd must spend time and money to prevent future attacks. It is important to remember that you are legally responsible for your dog's actions.

Published by the Canadian Government.

Herding

We saw these people running around on a secluded beach in North Cornwall and witnessed their collie rounding them up until they eventually were together in a group. It turns out they were scattering their granny’s ashes!
Click on picture to enlarge.

Chill out

Dr. Deborah Wells, senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland conducted a study of the effects of music on dogs in animal shelters. The study found that the type of music dogs heard had a dramatic affect on their disposition and mood. Heavy metal music caused quite a bit of barking, while pop music had about the same effect as human conversation. But when dogs were exposed to classical music, they were far more relaxed, and quiet.
Since the study was released, animal shelters in the UK have played classical music to soothe their dogs. While this makes dogs more relaxed at the shelter, it has another added benefit, though it hasn’t been scientifically documented. When people looking to adopt pets enter a shelter, soothing classical music also relaxes them, and seems to cause them to spend more time looking around. And, when dogs appear calm and relaxed, rather than nervous and anxious, they are more appealing, thus more adoptable.

Barking

My Facebook friend, BB, in San Francisco read in her local newspaper that owners of barking dogs will be fined up to $100 in Los Angeles. A real money maker for the authorities . Animal Services officers last year wrote nearly 20,000 notices to pet owners who had violated city barking dog and leash laws, but there was no financial penalty. The City Council voted unanimously to put some teeth in the ordinance after learning $2 million could have been raised if $100 citations were handed out. The citations will now be issued and stiffer fines will be given habitual offenders.
I myself live in a city and I agree that barking dogs are a nuisance. Especially at night but how do you stop a dog from barking? Or from barking incessantly? I get asked this question frequently and the answer is difficult to give. Articles in specialised magazines and books have been written on the subject.
We have to ask ourselves why dogs bark.
Dogs bark when they are hungry or bored or lonely; they bark when they want to come into the house; they bark when another dog has a bone; they bark when other dogs bark; they bark when their favourite toy is out of reach on a shelf; they bark when their owner comes home; they bark when their owners leave the house; they bark when they hear a noise; they bark when they hear rain; they bark because they have decided it’s time to get up when you are having a lie-in on Sunday mornings; they bark when you are watching television; they bark because they like the sound of their own voice; they bark when the postman or milkman comes near the house; they bark when visitors come to the house; they may even bark when a burglar comes into the house! They may even bark for no reason at all. The amount of energy dogs expend in barking is phenomenal, totally out of proportion to any benefit they can possibly derive from the activity.
A fine will not stop a dog from barking. It might make the owners more aware but I think the way forward is to make resources available to train dogs more effectively.