Category Archives: Behavior and Psychology

Behavior and Psychology, Dog News

Dog trumps dad in some families, study reveals

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Shannon Proudfoot of Canwest News Service reports that while plenty of people describe their pets as members of the family, a new study shows that for the most devoted dog owners, Fido outranks some two-legged loved ones.

Dog lovers report being as attached to their pooches on a series of standard relationship measures as they are to their mothers, siblings, best friends and significant others, and even closer to them than they are to their fathers. The most striking results came from those most attached to their pets, but even among a general sample of 111 college students living with dogs, people say they crave their dog’s company as much as some human family members. Continue reading Dog trumps dad in some families, study reveals →

Behavior and Psychology

That’s just gross!

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What is it with dogs eating inappropriate things?  I’m not just talking about their love of your favorite slippers or the fact that, given the chance, they would clean out the entire refrigerator.  I can even understand them chasing down a rodent or bird and making a feast of it.  But why do they feel the need to eat the waste products of other dogs?

YUCK!!!!!

The clinical term is coprophagia, and there are pills you can give your dog that are supposed to make him stop, but in my experience they do not work.  (No, I am not taking the pills, nor do I suffer from coprophagia, but my golden does.)

According to the Douglas Island Veterinary Service in Juneau, dogs may eat feces for a variety of reasons, including medical problems or attention-seeking.  They also state that the dog may have learned this behavior from other dogs.  Maybe that’s why I saw my beagle and my golden fighting yesterday to get a VERY fresh specimen (i.e. it hadn’t yet hit the ground).  Hey – I warned you in the title this was not going to be pleasant!

Anyways, the whole article from Juneau can be found here:  http://home.gci.net/~divs/behavior/coprophagia.html. 

Write and let me know if you’ve found a way to cure your dog of this!  My e-mail is [email protected].  I’d love to hear from you anytime about this topic or things you’d like to see covered.  Even if you just want to tell me about your pampered pooch, I always love to get mail!

Until next time,

Good day, and good dog!

Behavior and Psychology, Dog News, Doggies Point Of View, Human or Doggy Nature

Dog Nurses Tiger Triplets in China!

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The Associated Press reports that newborn tiger triplets in eastern China are being nursed by a dog after their mother rejected them.

Officials at the Jinan Paomaling Wild Animal World in Shandong province are calling the cubs “One,” “Two” and “Three.”

They have been nursed by a dog since they were rejected by their mother shortly after birth 10 days ago, said Paomaling manager Chen Yucai.
Continue reading Dog Nurses Tiger Triplets in China! →

Behavior and Psychology, First Time Owners, Human or Doggy Nature, Training

Five Easy P’s of Puppy Potty Training

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Keep these 5 “P’s” in mind as you approach the job of housetraining your puppy… you’ll wonder why it used to be such a challenge.

  1. Prediction: Learn to look for the signs… walking around with nose to the floor, just finished eating, just woke up, just finished playing, any other pattern you might notice.
  2. Place: Pick a place where you want puppy to go and always take him/her there
  3. Persistence: Do it regularly, without fail. Yes, it might be too hot, too cold, too windy, too wet, too early, too late… these are all LAME EXCUSES!
  4. Patience: Wait until puppy has done her/his stuff… it may take a while. Relax, breathe some fresh air… it’ll do you some good.
  5. Praise: When puppy has done her/his stuff, let puppy know s/he is the best puppy that ever lived… go a little crazy! Puppy won’t laugh at you for acting foolish, and it’ll really help puppy understand what you want. And remember, puppy’s great goal in life is to make you happy!

That’s it! 5 easy P’s! Prediction, Place, Persistence, Patience and Praise. And you’ll have a happy dog and a clean floor!