5/29/09
Dog stolen, beaten to death with shovel
Incident Date: Friday, Dec 29, 2006
County: Saint Francois
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Danny Contello
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Two men are facing animal abuse charges for allegedly torturing and beating a dog.
St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney Wendy Wexler Horn has charged Nicholas Sansoucie, 26, of Bonne Terre, and Danny Contello, 19, of Doe Run, with felony animal abuse. The charge carries a sentence of up to four years in prison or a fine of up to $5,000.
According to the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department, a female boxer was stolen from a residence in East Bonne Terre and was later found dead at a residence on Old Bonne Terre Road.
"The owner of the dog contacted us on Dec. 29 and said she had located where her dog was," said Sheriff Dan Bullock. "She wanted a deputy to go with her to get the dog back."
Bullock said when the deputy and the owner arrived at the residence, the dog was dead.
"The deputy dug the dog up and it appeared that the dog had been beaten," Bullock said. "The dog was taken to a local veterinarian where it was determined that the dog had been beaten in the head with a shovel. An informant then told us that a 19-year-old Doe Run man (Contello) had beaten the dog to death with a shovel."
Bullock said Contello was arrested and found in possession of a controlled substance. In addition, police arrested Sansoucie and a 36-year-old Bonne Terre woman.
Bullock said the animal abuse charge is being sought against Sansoucie because according to the probable cause statement, he was with the Doe Run man when the dog was beaten. The probable cause statement states Sansoucie told police that he did not give the owner her dog back when she first showed up at the residence. He said he did not kill the dog but the other man did.
The third individual has not been charged. However, the case is still being reviewed by the prosecutor's office. Horn said she is not sure why the dog was beaten.
Case Updates
A Doe Run man arrested for killing a dog two years ago has been placed on five years of supervised probation.On Friday, Circuit Court Judge Kenneth W. Pratte placed Danny Contello, 21, on supervised probation for animal abuse and an unrelated charge of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident.
As part of the probation, he was ordered not to have any new pets. If he violates his probation, he could be sentenced up to six years in prison.
According to court records, on Dec. 30, 2006, Contello killed another person's female boxer by beating it in the head with a shovel. The dog had been stolen from a residence in East Bonne Terre and was later found dead at a residence on Old Bonne Terre Road.
In another incident, Contello left the scene of a vehicle accident on Route W on Oct. 5, 2006. Bystanders took him back to the scene of the accident where he gave police his brother's name and identification. He was found in possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
Dead Human Contamination Traced To Dry Dog Food
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An outbreak of human Salmonella infection, which occurred as far back as 2006, has been traced to contaminated dry dog food, the first time such a link has been uncovered, according to U.S. officials.
And, Salmonella infections in humans from dry dog food may be an under-recognized source of illness in people, especially young children, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
"This is the first time human illness has been linked to dry dog food," said CDC epidemiologist Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, who co-authored a report on the finding.
The CDC isn't sure how the Salmonella bacteria got into the dog food, Barton Behravesh said. "There are a number of possible ways that that could happen, and that's something we are still trying to figure out," she said, adding that there have been previous cases of people contracting Salmonella infection from contaminated pet treats.
The incidents of people becoming infected with Salmonella from dry dog food occurred in 2006 and 2007. An estimated 70 people, mostly in the Northeast, were infected by dog food produced by Mars Petcare at its Pennsylvania plant. About 40 percent of those infections involved infants, according to the report, published in the May 16 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Most of the cases occurred in Pennsylvania (29), New York (nine) and Ohio (seven). There were also reported cases in Alabama, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, North Carolina and Virginia.
Among the 61 people whose ages were available, the median age was 3 years, and 24 were less than 1 year old. Of the 38 people for whom clinical information was available, 15 (39 percent) had bloody diarrhea. For the 45 persons whose hospitalization status was known, 11 (24 percent) had to be hospitalized. No deaths were reported, according to the report.
No pets became ill. However, Salmonella was identified in feces samples from dogs that ate the dry food. In addition, Salmonella was found in open bags of the pet food fed to the dogs and in unopened bags of dog food made in the Pennsylvania plant, the CDC said.
Mars Petcare voluntarily recalled some bags of the two brands of food involved, but neither of the recalled brands was related to human illness, the CDC said.
Infection with the Salmonella bacteria produces an illness called salmonellosis. According to the CDC, most infected people develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours. The illness typically lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment. But, for some, the diarrhea may be so severe that they need to be hospitalized. In these patients, the infection can spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other parts of the body, leading to death unless antibiotics are administered promptly. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.
Salmonella infection typically comes from undercooked eggs, poultry, or meat, but can also result from direct contact with farm animals, reptiles and pets. To prevent infection, the CDC recommends washing your hands immediately after handling the food, including dry dog food.
"The most important thing is to wash your hands right after you handle any dry dog food, any other pet food, pet treats, even supplements or vitamins," Barton Behravesh said. "In addition, keep infants and other young children away from pet food, because kids tend to want to see what their dogs are eating and grab at the pet food and play with it or even put it in their mouth."
One expert thinks contamination of pet food is likely to become more commonplace.
"There have been problems with pet foods before," said Dr. Pascal James Imperato, chairman of the department of preventive medicine and community health at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in New York City.
"If the food had any animal product in it, there could have been contamination, or if it was being processed in a plant where they were also processing animal product, then contamination can easily occur," he said.
Imperato said the way food is produced makes it more likely that contamination will occur.
"There is greater industrialization of the production of food products, both for humans and animals, and these are complex processing systems. Therefore, there is greater opportunity for contamination," Imperato said. "We are likely to see many more of these problems."
Stop Dog Cruelty
Dog cruelty is a very common problem here in the Philippines. There are a lot of types of dog violence today from electric collars to just simply beating them up. Some UNWORTHY dog owners loves to torture, slap, whip, punch, and batter innocent and misunderstood dogs. Some UNWORTHY dog owners even do their best to send their dogs to "Sabong" where dogs tend to fight till death is received. Lots of things that people do can harm dogs sometimes consciously or unconsciously meaning they can harm animals with intention and without intention. An example of consciously harming animals is by beating them up just because a dog did something you did not want. People harm dogs due to recklesnes.
I repeat Very Important Pets Online is AGAINST DOG VIOLENCE!!!
For now we cannot do anything yet but to change ourselves first. There are certain ways to prevent this
= Learn to understand dogs, Of course you cannot Understand them easily and it'll take some time to do some research. Dogs can't understand people to. So I sudgest you do the first move.
= Be Patient. Incase your dog did something that you did not like, learn to just understand that a dog gotta do this, a dog gotta do that.
= Train them to be a good dog. It'll take sometime but it's surely worth it.
= If your purpose of getting a dog is to gamble some money at a "SABONG". If this is what your dog will end up doing, here's an advice to you. Just don't get a dog at all! why get a dog if you won't take care of it.
= Be aware of your actions. Dogs are like humans, both a living thing.
So please do take care of your dogs. Love them, Care for them, and be a responsible owner.
5/28/09
Dogs That Can Smell Cnacer
In this study which will be published in the March 2006 issue of the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies published by SAGE Publications, researchers reveal scientific evidence that a dog's extraordinary scenting ability can distinguish people with both early and late stage lung and breast cancers from healthy controls. The research, which was performed in California, was recently documented by the BBC in the United Kingdom, and is soon to be aired in the United States.
Other scientific studies have documented the abilities of dogs to identify chemicals that are diluted as low as parts per trillion. The clinical implications of canine olfaction first came to light in the case report of a dog alerting its owner to the presence of a melanoma by constantly sniffing the skin lesion. Subsequent studies published in major medical journals confirmed the ability of trained dogs to detect both melanomas and bladder cancers. The new study, led by Michael McCulloch of the Pine Street Foundation in San Anselmo, California, and Tadeusz Jezierski of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding, is the first to test whether dogs can detect cancers only by sniffing the exhaled breath of cancer patients.
In this study, five household dogs were trained within a short 3-week period to detect lung or breast cancer by sniffing the breath of cancer participants. The trial itself consisted of 86 cancer patients (55 with lung cancer and 31 with breast cancer) and a control sample of 83 healthy patients. All cancer patients had recently been diagnosed with cancer through biopsy-confirmed conventional methods such as a mammogram, or CAT scan and had not yet undergone any chemotherapy treatment. During the study, the dogs were presented with breath samples from the cancer patients and the controls, captured in a special tube. Dogs were trained to give a positive identification of a cancer patient by sitting or lying down directly in front of a test station containing a cancer patient sample, while ignoring control samples. Standard, humane methods of dog training employing food rewards and a clicker, as well as assessment of the dog's behavior by observers blinded to the identity of the cancer patient and control samples, were used in the experiment.
The results of the study showed that dogs can detect breast and lung cancer with sensitivity and specificity between 88% and 97%. The high accuracy persisted even after results were adjusted to take into account whether the lung cancer patients were currently smokers. Moreover, the study also confirmed that the trained dogs could even detect the early stages of lung cancer, as well as early breast cancer. The researchers concluded that breath analysis has the potential to provide a substantial reduction in the uncertainty currently seen in cancer diagnosis, once further work has been carried out to standardize and expand this methodology.
This study was supported by the MACH Foundation (Fairfax, CA), Guide Dogs for the Blind (San Rafael, CA) and Frank and Carol Rosemary (Kentfield, CA).
The article "Diagnostic Accuracy of Canine Scent Detection in Early and Late Stage Lung and Breast Cancers" can be accessed at no-charge for a limited time on the Integrative Cancer Therapies web site at http://ict.sagepub.com.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060106002944.htm
Are you making one of these dog training mistakes?
miles later, I came home and my wife Rachael was in
the backyard planting flowers.
She had 170 flowers to plant.
I could have went in the house with Jim but I grabbed
a shovel and started helping her.
Nobody told me that married life was going to be
so hard.
Jim found a nice shady spot and went to sleep.
Anyway, today I am starting a three-part series
entitled, "The 3 Most Common Dog Training Mistakes
And How To Avoid Them."
As we go through this week, check to see how many
of these mistakes you are making with your dog training
and what you can do to correct them.
Doing this will get you much better results with your
dog training.
Most Common Dog Training Mistake #1: Waiting to train
Waiting to train is the biggest mistake I see year after
year. Some of the worst advice ever given is the "Wait
until your dog is 6 months old."
By waiting, your dog develops behaviors that have to be
unlearned. It's much easier to prevent a behavior than
it is to try and teach a dog to stop doing a behavior.
For instance, it is much easier to teach a puppy to greet
without jumping than it is to train a 6 month old dog to
stop jumping once the behavior has been learned.
It's also important to start training as soon as you see
any behaviors you don't like. A perfect example is
aggression.
Most of the aggressive dogs that I have dealt had owners
that waited until the dog actually bit someone before they
called me, even though all the warning signs were there.
At the first signs of aggression, the owner should contact
a trainer and start working with the dog. Aggression is like
a snowball going downhill. It starts as a small ball of snow
and then gets bigger and bigger until it is uncontrollable.
Always take action when it comes to training.
"Movement always beats meditation." Gary Halbert
All the best,
Eric
5/27/09
"Dead" Dog found alive
Dogs are rising from the dead in Timaru.
A project by district council staff to identify unregistered dogs in the district found about 1000, several of which the owners had claimed were dead.
Failing to register a very alive Fido cost one owner in excess of $1500 the cost of the two $750 fines for providing false information to council staff. And there was still the licence fee to be paid.
That was not the only "dead" dog staff came across during the project.
In another case a nine-year-old dog had been registered only once, building and environmental services manager David Armstrong said.
Staff had located the unregistered dogs by several methods including information from neighbours and dog complaints.
The project aimed to improve the accuracy of council records and added just over 1000 dogs to the 7062 registered in the district in 2007-08. In spite of the number of dogs found, Mr Armstrong believed there were still more that were unregistered.
In the last nine months 280 owners received infringement notices for having unregistered dogs, whereas 123 were fined for the whole of the last financial year and 30 in 2006-07.
Those who fail to register their animals on time will also be facing penalties. Letters will be sent out on June 30, reminder notices on August 1 and those unregistered at September 1 will have to pay an additional 50 per cent. Dogs still unregistered on October 1 will pay the additional fee as well as receiving an infringement notice.
The number of dangerous and menacing dogs have both increased this financial year. Dangerous dogs are those that have been involved in an attack, while a menacing dog is defined by either "breed or deed". There were eight dangerous dogs, while menacing dogs increased four-fold to more than 120.
Mr Armstrong suggested the public's greater awareness of dog owners' obligations was responsible for the increase in the number of dogs classified as menacing.
In the nine months to the end of March, staff had received 1769 dog-related requests, whereas there were only 300 more in the whole 2007-08 year.
He attributed that same public awareness for the increase in the number of dogs impounded 473 in 2007-08 and 410 in the nine months to the end of March.
Fewer dogs were being collected from the pound. Mr Armstrong said the impounding fee was the likely reason, although the owner still had to pay those fees regardless of whether the dog was collected. The number of dogs having to be destroyed was also well up with 166 destroyed between July and the end of March, a similar number to the whole of 2007-08 ye
Only a handful of dogs have been adopted from the pound.
Mr Armstrong said what was pleasing was there were fewer incidents of dogs biting other animals, although complaints of dogs attacking people or vehicles were possibly on the increase with the 23 incidents reported in the last nine months being one more than in the previous 12 months.
Dog searches a school for drugs
Police drug dogs were used to search a New Plymouth school after three students were caught smoking cannabis.
The year 9 Sacred Heart Girls' College students were in uniform when they were caught with the drugs last month, but it was out of school hours and off the school grounds.
The girls were suspended from the school for seven days but have since returned with special conditions.
Police used sniffer dogs to search the school on March 31, at the school's request. No drugs were found.
The random search shocked many students at the Catholic school.
Sacred Heart Girls' College board of trustees chairman Robin Brockie said he was disappointed the girls had been smoking cannabis.
"They have let themselves down and, yes, they have let the school down," Mr Brockie said. "I think that we have concerns about lots of things and that [drug use] is one of them."
He said police drug dogs were used to search the school at least once a year.
"Police dogs periodically come to Taranaki and are used in schools.
"We're trying to reinforce with the students the rules about not having it and that is one way of doing it."
Students had to leave their belongings in classrooms while the dogs searched. They were then returned to their classrooms where they had to stay for three hours while the rest of the school was searched.
"I'm sure some of them [students] were quite surprised.
"It is not a normal day at school."
Mr Brockie would not say if the boarding hostels were searched or what conditions had been placed on the three suspended students.
Principal Rose Sawaya told the students of the reason for the search at an assembly a week later.
Senior Sergeant Selwyn Wansbrough would not comment on police involvement in any specific incidents at schools.
"Schools and other organisations are entitled to contact police for advice or assistance and expect police to respect confidences," he said.
Mr Wansbrough said it would depend on the circumstances and seriousness of the case whether a school reported finding students with illegal drugs.
"Schools often liaise with police over such matters. Schools will often deal with such things, without going to court."
Mr Wansbrough said other measures, including police Youth Aid and community police, were used to deal with problems in schools.
Dogs Learn Morals From Owners
New research has gone to the dogs and discovered that canines pick up on the morals of their owners.
Research by University of Vienna scientists reveals that dogs "show a strong aversion to inequity", and can develop a sense of right and wrong.
The Austrian experts base their theories on the fact dogs will play with each other but this will rarely end in a full-on scrap, showing they abide by social rules.
LandSAR search dog handler Dave Krehic believed dogs like his five-year-old German shorthaired pointer Stig learned their sense of right and wrong from their owners.
"It's totally how someone brings it up. It's just like a child," said Krehic.
However, nature played a part as well as nurture. "They are a living thing and like humans there are some good ones and there are some bad ones. Some people say their dog would never be aggressive, but I think that could be brought out in most of them."
University of Otago associate professor of animal behaviour Ian Jamieson said it could be argued that dogs had developed a perceived "morality" as a way to order their society.
"Humans, like dogs, are very social and you need to have certain rules of engagement, otherwise there is complete chaos," said Jamieson. "People are interpreting morality in that sense when they look at dogs, but they could well be very basic fundamental behaviours that animals exhibit."
The president of the Selwyn District Kennel Society, Gary Doyle, said dogs could do more than just behave in a morally correct way they could expose some people by their actions. "We used a dog I had as a barometer of who we should sell pups to. If he went over to them and stayed by them, it was a sign he didn't trust them."
The Most Dangerous Dog Breed Ever
Forget rottweilers and pit bull terriers - the floppy eared, doe-eyed cocker spaniel is being singled out as one of the world's most aggressive dogs.
Kiwi owners and breeders have leapt to the defence of the "devoted and lovable" breed after a Spanish study looked at 1000 cases of dog aggression between 1998 and 2006.
Most were attributed to cocker spaniels, rottweilers, boxers, yorkshire terriers and german shepherds. But the study found english cocker spaniels were more likely than other dogs to act aggressively toward their owners and strangers.
However, Gloria Odiam, a New Zealand cocker spaniel breeder for 30 years, found the study hard to fathom.
"I don't know what they're breeding over there, but [there's] nothing like that here."
English cocker spaniels were "very much a family dog", Mrs Odiam said. "I've never heard of any problems with them."
Responsible breeders would not breed from "snappy" dogs. "That's why you should never go to a back-street breeder."
Wellington english cocker spaniel owner Bruce Klein said his dog, nine-year-old Archie, was "a joy to have in the house".
"He is a full-on dog, quite excitable, but very well-behaved and great with kids."
Archie was never aggressive, Mr Klein said. "We were especially sure when we got him as a puppy to make sure he was well-behaved."
Archie was fearless when it came to fireworks, however a result of his gun-dog pedigree. "He's not one to cower under the couch."
According to the Pedigree dog website, cocker spaniels are "devoted and lovable". "This merry little dog makes a wonderful family friend and a devoted companion."
Dog Saliva: the Next Wonder Drug? Article #1234 by Ned Rozell
Instead of being grossed out, the two sophomores at Juneau-Douglas High School held a sterile glass tube under the stream and collected Yogi's saliva for use in their science fair experiment, titled "Dog Saliva: The Next Wonder Drug?"
Seven-hundred miles north, in Fairbanks, West Valley High School senior Patryce McKinney was busy reaching inside the mouths of 102 dogs to complete her award-winning science project, titled "Antibiotics and Dog Saliva."
Each of the students, who hadn't heard of one another's projects, became interested in the rumored ability of dog saliva to kill bacteria. Joel said his father works at a health clinic where a nurse said that wounds inflicted by human bites get infected more often than dog bite wounds. Patryce had heard that a wound will heal faster if you let a dog lick it.
They went about their experiments a bit differently. Kyle and Joel, both 15 and students of John Norton's introductory biology course, used sterile cotton swabs to collect samples containing bacteria found at their school. They swabbed a hand, nose, ear, mouth, and a table, and placed their samples in a petri dish on a bed of agar, a seaweed-derived substance that acts as bacteria food.
After the bacteria had flourished a few days, they made a broth of each type. They then simultaneously placed the bacteria broth and dog saliva in new agar dishes, and let them react for two days.
Patryce, 18, a student of Don Peterson's biotechnology class, obtained millions of Escherichia coli, a disease-causing bacteria commonly found in human and dog feces, from a biological supply company. She made an E.-coli broth, from which she grew a "lawn" of the one-celled organisms on a petri dish.
On her saliva quest, Patryce advertised in the West Valley teacher's lounge for volunteer dogs, and she also went to the animal shelter. Including her border collie, Oreo, she sampled 102 dogs. She chose dogs of different breeds and ages so no particular breed trait would skew her results.
Patryce went straight to the source; wearing latex gloves, she touched a tiny circle of sterile filter paper directly to the rear upper gum of the dogs, back by the molars.
Two of a dog's four saliva ducts, the zygomatic and parotid, empty saliva from glands of the same name at the points from where Patryce sampled. She said she wanted "fresh stuff" as opposed to saliva off the tongue.
After gathering three samples from each dog, Patryce placed the saliva-drenched paper on the E. coli lawns, and, as Kyle and Joel did, looked for "rings of inhibition," where the saliva slowed or stopped the growth of bacteria.
Their findings: Kyle and Joel found that dog saliva did inhibit growth, especially on nose mucous bacteria, but they also found many types of bacteria in the dog saliva itself. They concluded perhaps dog saliva is not the next wonder drug.
Patryce found that in 16 percent of her samples, E. coli growth was inhibited by the dog saliva, which to her was significant enough to show that the antibiotic properties of dog saliva merit further study.
"But it wasn't enough for me to start mass production of dog spit and marketing it," she said.
In a 1990 study done at the University of California, Davis, researchers found dog saliva killed E. coli and Streptococcus canis, another harmful bacteria. The scientists concluded that when mother dogs licked their nipples it helped keep puppies free from disease, and that dogs licking their own wounds accomplished the same goal.
I'll never turn my head from my dog's kiss again.
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF12/1234.html
How smart is your dog
Assessing Dog Intelligence
There are a lot of people who naturally assume that a dog that learns quickly and easily is more intelligent than one who takes longer to train. Some people believe that the dog that learns faster is just more willing to obey and that it has nothing to do with how smart they are. They often think that dogs who are escape artists or wily hunters are actually the ones with the brains. Opinions vary as to the intelligence of guide dogs as well. One school of thought says that since they learn certain cues and signals they are just trying to please their masters each time they perform. The other school would remind us that in fact they must learn a lot of complex commands and must constantly be on the alert. They are responsible for the safety of their human companion and new situations arise all the time.
Various ways of measuring a dog’s intelligence have been devised. Some of them evaluate how they respond to specific events, while others see how many human words they can recognize, a vocabulary test of sorts. Ask yourself this question; if you place a dog in a room he isn’t normally allowed in, is he more intelligent if he waits quietly to be let out, or if he tries to figure out how to open the door and escape (or barks to be let out)? The point is that there are different ways to interpret tests and scientists who study canines may look at test scores and methods from various subjective viewpoints. So evaluating dog intelligence is open to as much interpretation as is doing it for humans.
Stanley Coren wrote a book entitled “The Intelligence of Dogs” in 1994. He talks about different ways of measuring how intelligent dogs are and goes further by breaking them down into categories. He looks at adaptive intelligence or how he learns as he is established in his environment, instinctive intelligence which is inbred, and working/ obedience intelligence, and how well he does with commands.
Coren has designed a series of tests that anyone can administer to his or her dog to evaluate how they measure up. The problem is that if you wish to test a dog before you adopt him, the results might not be what you want. Some of his recommendations are that the dog is one year old at the minimum, should have been living with the tester for a period of some months, and been in the same environment for more than two months.
You can devise your own tests to measure how intelligent your dog is and you can read about it in books and on the Internet in great detail. It really seems that a dog’s IQ score shouldn’t matter that much. If you are adopting or already have a pet dog in your family, then what you should be interested in is his temperament and his willingness to follow your commands, at least enough so that he has some manners. If you want a dog for a specific job, then you would talk to breeders about various characteristics in different breeds. Chances are anyway that your interpretation of any tests will be as subjective as the test itself.
Today’s dog is in a new era as far as his learning programs are concerned. During the last 20 or so years dog training has taken on an entirely new look. Humans have become more enlightened in many cases and want to do more with their dogs than just teach them the basic commands. Many people are taking more care with how they choose a dog that will fit in with their families and their lifestyles. They also want to understand more about their four-legged friend’s motivation so that they can learn to use behaviour modification when it’s called for. More people than ever before are opting to take their dogs to a trainer, but they aren’t just picking a name out of the phone book. They want to know that the obedience trainer they choose is well-qualified and actually has insight into dogs and why they act the way they do. As a result you’re much more likely to find someone to help you with your dog who has received special training on a much deeper level than in the past.
Your goals should be to find someone who understands what motivates dogs, how to reinforce or eliminate certain actions without punishing them, can teach your dog to perform any task you wish him to, and knows the difference behind bribing him to do something and rewarding him for doing it right.
To gain this knowledge there are some basics they need to study that are at a much deeper level than they formerly did. For instance they should understand the specific ways that dogs learn, how the various learning theories have evolved, how to use psychology in training, and the differences that breeds will make in dog behaviour.
Since we’ve been talking about dog psychology, some terms to be aware of are classical and operant conditioning techniques. These are terms commonly heard in the psych world. An example of operant conditioning would be to employ positive reinforcement. Say you want to teach your puppy to sit on command. If you use a treat to shape them into position, add a word such as “good” or use a clicker, and then give them a treat when they complete the task, you are positively reinforcing his behaviour. You would add the command word (“sit”) after a few practices so that the dog would end up being lured into the correct position.
In the traditional method, you physically push down on the dog’s rear end while telling him to sit and he eventually learns to associate the word “sit” with the action. Generally speaking, traditional methods use more physical force such as pulling on the leash or even jerking them into position.
Canine learning theory holds that positive reinforcement is a much more sensible as well as kinder way to teach your dog to behave appropriately. Not only that but it works very well as a dog is more likely to respond positively to someone who cares enough to have his best interests as heart as well as just the human viewpoint. You are much less likely to see neurotic behaviour in a dog that is trained without being bullied. These are just a few points about learning theory, but it should be enough to help you want to join the millions of dog lovers who are moving away from the traditional “I’m the human and you’re just the dog”, school of thinking.
Dog Psychology
In this issue we’ll be talking more about how dogs think and address some of the questions that often come up when people are comparing dog stories. We’ve all heard some amazing ones about their incredible feats and it’s time to look at some possible reasons motivating them.
We’ve talked about this to a degree in an earlier issue. Scientists seem to agree that they think in pictures, while humans think in both pictures and words, and can articulate what they see both in their minds and with their eyes. So while some dogs are very smart, there is still going to be a difference in how we perceive each other.
Going back in time for a minute, we’ve already seen that dogs and man have been friendly for many generations. It’s likely that dogs decided to be companion animals based on their pursuit of food. They’d find a group or tribe of humans and hang around the campfire because the food smelled good. If the humans actually fed them, then that was a great reason to stay around. It’s been noted that the more wolf-like the breed the greater it’s able to pick up on human signals and commands. Another way to put it is that some dogs remain more puppy-like throughout their lives, while others are sharper and more independent. This probably evolved as a result of some dogs became pets early on because they were so cute, while others were more useful as members of the human pack. All of the differences took thousands of years to develop once man began breeding dogs.
Although scientists have come up with all these theories about dog’s thinking ability, let’s try to imagine for a minute what it must be like for the dog. Let’s say that you spend every Saturday morning with your dog in tow while you do a few chores. You start by making the bed and maybe while you do that you stop and pet Rover and talk baby talk to him and give him lots of affection both verbally and physically. You may even let him up on the bed and let him “help” put all the sheets, blankets, pillows and everything else you keep in place back on the bed. This gets to be a routine with the two of you and may even extend to weekdays if you have time. Rover follows you around the house while you pick up things from the floor and generally make things neat and tidy. You’re in a good mood and you’re feeling especially close to him.
So what happens when you are late getting home? As we’ve discussed, unless you’ve carefully trained him, you may come home to a mess. The bed that you two “made up” together is in disarray. The pillows may be on the floor and the covers are disrupted. Possibly some items like the sofa cushions that he has seen you plump up and place in a certain way are also on the floor. Maybe a shirt or pair of shoes, belonging to you, that he can get to have been dragged to another room and chewed on. It is very possible that while his anxiety increased as he was waiting for you to walk through the door at the usual time and didn’t, he saw a visual of the happy times you’ve had together. Some part of his mind is so stressed at your not being there that he tries in his own way to feel closer to you by retracing the steps and physically interacting with the objects you worked with together. We can actually put this theory to good use when it comes to shaping how we want our dogs to behave.
It’s hard for us as humans to know exactly how this works and imagine precisely what they see. Experiments over the last thirty years or so seem to confirm that dogs remember not only in pictures, but also through scents and sounds. One thing is certain though, if we stop to remember that they aren’t humans in different bodies, we can use what we do know about them to help us communicate with them and teach them appropriate behaviours.
We already know that dogs are by nature pack animals, so by nature they usually will fit in well with a family or group of people and pets. They have intuitive “knowledge” of a social structure and if we teach them efficiently they will be quick to learn in most cases. In a typical dog pack the authority figures train the puppies not to bite hard, eat only when it’s their turn, and generally submit to the will of the pack leaders. They also reward them when they behave well. Rewards include play time, food, and grooming. Just watching a bitch with a litter of pups can give us cues on some ways to structure our own dog training.
Dogs by ancestry are also den animals, which is why we are able to housebreak and crate train them. Their early socialization instilled habits of cleanliness as well as being used to living in close quarters.
Once man started to breed dogs, various characteristics were chosen over others depending on what they wanted the dogs to do for them. Today we find some dogs that are fast learners and others who don’t seem to have the same ability to quickly process the information we give them. They may have been bred more to be a companion animal rather than a hunter or tracking dog. Don’t worry, dogs are meant to be trained given their original history, but some breeds may take a bit longer and more work than others.
One subject that needs talking about is overly aggressive or vicious dogs. They come with strong jaws, sharp teeth, and sharp claws controlled by strong muscles. There are cases where dogs are trained to use these tools aggressively, but often when injuries occur to people it is their own fault. Sometimes an ordinarily well-behaved and even-tempered dog can be riled up for some reason and attack a human. Some common mistakes people make are to think that a dog who is barking isn’t necessarily in a biting mood. Even if you think he’s just being friendly, don’t approach him until he calms down. Another possible misunderstanding can occur when you see a dog wagging his tail. We’ve all pretty much been taught that it means he’s happy and glad to see us. It also signals that he’s excited and we shouldn’t automatically assume that it’s always positive.
There are some behaviours that we should avoid doing around dogs. There are no guarantees that these will always set them off, but if you aren’t used to being around dogs, or especially if you don’t know a particular dog you should always err on the side of caution.
Here are a few that could spark a dog into attacking you:
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Being overly aggressive with another dog
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Taking food away from a dog
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Acting in such a way around a puppy that could appear to be threatening, especially if the mother dog is nearby
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Staring into the dog’s eyes, especially when the person is at eye level
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Going near a dog who is ill or hurt
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Anytime you see a sign telling you to “Beware of Dog”, don’t ignore it. There are some dogs specifically trained to attack people
Some of the things on the list above were addressed as being useful when you are teaching your dog that you’re the alpha dog or pack leader. Training your dog with the stare and teaching it that you can remove his food dish anytime you want, are two of them. These tips are meant generally and shouldn’t be done around a dog you don’t know or before you’ve established your dominance over your own.
The most care should be used when young children are around a dog. Crawling babies for instance mimic the movements of a weaker dog that it would normally attack back in the wild. Children also will pull on a dog’s ears or tails until they are old enough to know better. Until that’s the case, don’t let children be with the dog unsupervised. There’s always the chance that the pack instincts will surface in such a way that the dog will want to dominate the little one. Wait to let them interact on their own when you’re sure that the dog accepts the child and the child knows how to behave appropriately with him.
Most dogs are not going to hurt a human (unless trained to do so), but they do possess the instincts of a predator and it can surface when you don’t expect it. I just want to make sure that you know how and when to be cautious.
Dog Food That Can Kill Your Dog
One minute you think you're feeding your dog all the right
foods, and then BAM..... you learn that's actually causing him
serious harm!
It's quite a frightening revelation, that some commercial dog
foods can actually kill our dogs!
I mean... WOW that's a sure hard truth to have to swallow isn't
it? But after reading all about this, it sure has me worried
about all those who are completely unaware of what's really
going on.
Experiencing the loss of a dog is hard enough, but learning
that the food we feed our dogs, could actually lead to an early
death for our best friend, is a completely unbearably painful
realization.
You know it got me thinking. After watching this video, I couldn't
help but wonder if I had changed my little guys food all those
years back, whether he'd be still with me today. If only I knew
now what I knew then!
Look, I know, that if you're like me, then you'd probably be
thinking that your doing a good job already with the type of
diet you are feeding your dog. But it really begs the question, that you
should really check
this out to make sure, doesn't it?
Anyway, to find out more, you really should go watch
this video for yourself. It really is an eye opener, and may even
save you the pain and grief that so many others have
suffered.
Here is the web site.
http://pomeraniancentral.com/Dog-Food-Video.htm
Dog's Separation Anxiety
I woke up this morning and I could not
believe what I was hearing. Dog killer,
Michael Vick, is going to be released
from jail today.
What I heard next was even more mind
blowing. Most of the people calling
into the radio show said that he should
be allowed to play again in the NFL.
Rachael had to listen to my 15 minute
rant and told me that I should probably
go for a walk to cool down - which I did.
Anyway, when i got back I decided to sit
down and focus on something positive.
I opened my email and I had three questions
from dog owners asking about separation
anxiety.
I can't do anything about the Michael Vick
situation, but I can do something to help
people that have dog problems...so here
is some advice for a very common dog behavior
problem (please pass it on to anyone you know
that has a dog with this problem).
Separation problems are very common
with dogs. Dogs are highly social
animals and some have a difficult
time being left alone.
Separation problems can result in
housetraining issues, chewing and
destructive behaviors, barking, digging
and anxiety.
If your dog is having a separation
problem--the following are some steps
you can take to help him overcome it.
Step #1: Understand your dog's behavior.
Your dog is not destroying your house to
spite or get back at you.
Step #2: Your dog is highly stressed and
cannot handle being by herself. You need to
help your dog feel secure when left alone.
Step #3: Help develop your dog's tolerance
for being left alone. Your dog becomes
stressed when you leave.
Step #4: To increase your dog's stress
tolerance, you need to gradually leave your
dog alone for longer and longer periods.
Step #5: This is accomplished by putting on
your jacket, grabbing your keys like you're
leaving and walking out the door.
Step #6: Once you're outside, wait about 5
minutes and walk back in.
Step #7: If your dog can handle the 5 minutes,
increase the time to 10 minutes. Once your dog
can handle the 10 minutes, keep gradually
increasing the amount of time you're outside.
This does require some time and patience.
Step #8: Crate training your dog can also be
very helpful when you have to leave for longer
periods of time.
Step #9: Exercise your dog. A dog that has
separation problems and a lot of pent-up energy
will result in disaster.
Step #10: Bringing your dog to a dog daycare
may be an option if your dog does not like the
crate and if your dog is very active.
Step #11: The exercise and mental stimulation
at the daycare should help your dog overcome
separation anxiety.
Step# 12: In extreme cases you may need the
help of your veterinarian. A vet can provide
medication for dogs that are extremely stressed
when left alone.
5/26/09
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Very Important Pets Online is a social group of people who are very loving, caring, and passionate about dogs. Our first motto is "Every dog is important regardless of their looks, breeds and age". Our motto explains everything that we stand for. Every dog needs to be treated nicelyThis society is also a great start for communicating with other dog owners and lovers. People join this club because we share one thing a, deep passion for dogs
This society also helps dog organizations in need like PAWS, Philippine Animal Welfare Society. Some of us are volunteers to PAWS and some of us just loves to help PAWS. We will do our very best to help homeless dogs.
Everyone is welcome to join this club as long as you are caring, loving, and passionate dog lover. We don't care if you have a dog or none.
Our administrator is a guy named Josh Padilla. Who has two loyal dogs, a 3 months old Pomeranian puppy named Die-ther, and a 5 years old Shih Tzu named Jupetto. Josh has a lot of experience with dogs. Growing up with 12 dogs when he was a very young kid. He's a semi volunteer of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society and a member of a club of dog walkers called QC Dogwalkers
