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Understanding Fear In Dogs

When we think of a scared dog, what usually comes to mind is a trembling animal hiding in a dark corner or under the bed, whining, his tail tucked. Nonstop barking doesn’t often make the list. Nor do shredding of clothes, gnawing through window frames, or growling and lunging at visitors. But these can all be symptoms of fear in dogs. Fear-based behaviors vary so widely that we frequently don’t recognize them as fear-based. Instead we think the dog is being stubborn or naughty or is trying to run the household (the long-discredited dominance theory), which means we end up trying to solve the wrong problem. Clues in canine body language can help us identify fear and anxiety—fear-based behaviors always come with some physical, postural giveaways. It might be muscle tension, a tightly closed mouth or one wide open showing all the teeth, crouching, dilated pupils, yawning, ears held back,

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Jen Chapman March 3, 2015 No Comments

Getting Real With Your Dog

One of the most frequent sources of frustration in dog training? Unrealistic expectations. Dogs’ intelligence shines through in so many ways that we tend to ascribe them decidedly human cognitive skills, such as the ability to understand complex sentences. It’s what some dog trainers refer to as “the Lassie syndrome.” If you often find yourself frustrated with your dog, here’s a primer on what it takes to create a Lassie: Patience. One basic training class won’t do it. The calm, attentive pooches you see on TV picking up slippers and opening doors? They have spent years in training. You wouldn’t expect a child to become a piano virtuoso after one semester of classes, right? Repetition. Dogs don’t generalize well. This means they need to learn the same lesson—don’t jump on people, for example—in many different settings before they grasp that we’d always prefer them to greet visitors politely, not just

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Jen Chapman November 28, 2014 No Comments

Maternal Altruism In Dogs

Human beings are capable of and often display maternal altruism well beyond our own species. We adopt other people’s children, yes, but we also adopt dogs and cats, even trees and roadways. Viewed through an evolutionary lens, this is interesting. Why aren’t we focusing on the survival of our own species—even our own tribe—instead of wasting precious energy and resources on stray cats or endangered fungi? Scientists explain this peculiarity by pointing to our sophisticated cognitive equipment. Because we can project thoughts into the future, we’re able to see the long-term view. The bigger perspective. We understand the principle of goodness and know that caring for others not only makes us feel good, but also sets a standard for kindness that strengthens our community and the potential for reciprocal help. In other words, what goes around comes around. But if that explains why humans show maternal altruism, what about dogs

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Jen Chapman November 28, 2014 No Comments

Arson Dogs

  For more than 12,000 years, dogs have worked alongside humans. They have herded our livestock, hunted with us, and pulled us across otherwise impassable frozen expanses. Most modern dogs are companions, of course, but those who do work have ever more extraordinary job descriptions. Accelerant-detection is one example. Arson dogs work with fire investigative units to sniff out minuscule amounts of anything from lamp oil to lighter fluid (they can detect more than 60 different ignitable petroleum-based hydrocarbons) in scenes flooded with water or covered in snow or mud. They use their 200 million scent receptors (compared to our 5 million) to help investigators accurately assess the flammable products present at a fire scene and increase the chances of collecting a positive sample. This can help rule arson in—or out. With billions of dollars in property and hundreds of lives lost every year as a result of intentionally set

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Jen Chapman September 26, 2014 No Comments

The Expectation Game

In our ongoing adventure of companionship with dogs nothing trips us up quite as much as our own unrealistic expectations. Dogs who don’t do as they are told? We think them willfully disobedient, stubborn, or, worst of all, slow on the uptake. We overestimate their attention span and level of emotional control. We think they should know instinctively how to navigate big groups of dogs playing together. We expect them to quickly grasp concepts we deem important and logical for dogs, such as going to the bathroom outside (except when it’s OK not to, like at daycare). Unless a good dog trainer sets us straight, we may even expect angelic behavior after completing a single 6-week training class. Our high and often naive expectations cause us grief and worry, so why are they so hard to shake? Blame culture, for one thing. Books and movies that portray dogs as highly

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Jen Chapman September 26, 2014 No Comments

Sibling Rivalry

All dogs squabble occasionally. Dogs who live together mostly get into scraps over stuff they both want: Food, bones, toys, human attention, and sleeping spots. Like us, they have individual preferences and moods, and might be having a grumpy day or a headache. If the fights don’t result in injuries (i.e. you’re not at the vet’s following each fight having one or both dogs sutured), you have a number of options. Fights often happen as a result of a particular situation and if you can uncover the triggers through a little detective work, you can prevent most altercations.   Trigger: Who is this new dog in my house? Remedy: Supervise your new dog closely for several days, especially when he interacts with your other dog. Praise your dogs for polite behavior.   Trigger: My sister is too close while I eat! Remedy: Feed your dogs in separate bowls at opposite

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Jen Chapman September 26, 2014 No Comments

Beat The Heat

The warmest months in Hawaii are vastly upon us with temperatures reaching over 80F degrees and over 50 percent humidity.  Humans have the ability to regulate their body temperature by sweat glands located throughout our bodies.  When we sweat the evaporation of our sweat cools our body.  Unlike humans, dogs’ do not have sweat glands located throughout their body.   A dog’s sweat glands are mainly located between the pads of their feet.  A dogs’ primary way of cooling themselves is by panting and breathing. Ways to beat the heat this summer.  Always provide shade and fresh cool water for your dogs. Provide a small plastic pool for your dog to wade or lay in during the day.  Keep the pool in the shade so the sun does not heat the water. Remember to rinse the pool daily to keep clean. You can find cooling products for dogs such as bandanas, vests,

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Jen Chapman June 30, 2014 No Comments

How A Dogs Senses Compare To Humans

In part 2 of our series, Canine Evolution and How It Effects Your Dogs Behavior, we looked at the evolution of current domestic dogs.  Knowing that domestication of dogs happened over 1000’s of years can help us to better understand some of the most basic drives influencing their current behavior. In part 3 we will take a look at how senses such as smell, sight, and hearing can play a role in your training and interaction with your dog. A dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 more acute than that of humans. While humans top out with about 50 million scent receptors, depending on it’s breed, a dog can have upwards of 300 million scent receptors. To better understand this Alexandra Horowitz, a dog-cognition researcher at Barnard College, uses the following analogy:  While we might notice if our coffee has had a teaspoon of sugar added to it,

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Jen Chapman January 5, 2014 No Comments

Canine Evolution, How It Effects Your Dogs Behavior – Part 2

I feel many times we take for granted that our 4 legged friends are animals that have been domesticated and integrated into our lives over the past 130,000 years.  (Evolution of the Dog, 2001)  We take for granted that these once wild animals are now cuddling in our laps or assisting us in our daily lives.  We at times, get upset when our cuddly friend exhibits behaviors such as nipping or barking even though that is what they are hardwired to do, it’s instinct. When taking a look at the evolution of dogs Darwin speculated that the reason we have such diversity among dogs was due to breeding amongst a variety of wild dogs.  Through DNA testing it was found that Darwinwas wrong.  Dogs, are direct descendants of the gray wolf.   The reason we have such a diverse population of dogs, is due to intense and purposeful interbreeding. The key

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Jen Chapman November 7, 2013 No Comments

10 Tips To Change Your Dogs Behavior

I find the key with dogs is to set boundaries and be consistent during your everyday routine.  This takes the guess work out of your dogs day, you will find they will become more engaged with you and better behaved dogs.  Here are some simple tips that make a world of difference in your dogs daily routine. 1.  EVERY interaction with your dog is a learning experience (training session). Reward desired behavior. 2.  Behavior that is reinforced will increase. Reinforce your dog for a job well done.  There are many ways you can reinforce;  food, play, toys, going for walk, verbal praise, scratches in their favorite spot, ect. 3.  BE CONSISTENT and FOLLOW THROUGH!  Period! Lack of consistency will only confuse your dog and frustrate you.  Animals are opportunistic, they will do what they feel is in their best interest.  If you constantly reward them for desired behavior they will

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Jen Chapman May 15, 2013 No Comments
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