Preventing dog bites when you dont have a hero cat

(source)

Hey Julie!

So much going on I need to take three deep breaths to calm down!

Firstly - we have a winner! Actually - thanks to the awesome crew at SPARCS, we have two! Very excited to meet Marsha P and Kristi M at #SPARCS2014 and want to thank all the excellent people who responded to our giveaway shoutout on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. We hope those of your who werent successful will consider still coming along or joining us on the livestream broadcast.

Secondly - I loved learning about the differences in UK and US shelter workers perceptions of pit bulls and all the associated bits and pieces that went along with that in our latest guest post by Dr Christy Hoffman. Really, really interesting research and I look forward to the next piece of the puzzle (aka new science) in that area.

Thirdly - its dog bite prevention week in the USA right now! We cant all own Tara the Hero Cat (and to be fair, as much as she is worthy of her notoriety and 20million+ hits on the viral video showcasing her ninja skills, she didnt actually prevent the bite - although Im pretty confident she helped prevent it being a whole lot worse). If you somehow missed what on earth Im talking about - check out this clip of amazing Tara (but a warning, it does show security camera footage of a child being attacked by a dog and the subsequent wounds):

Which brings us back to Dog Bite Prevention Week. We dont have a week like this in Australia, so I did some web trawling to check out what you guys have going on over there. 

The AVMA have put up a whole lot of great information and resources about dog bite prevention, including this neat summary infographic:

I was really pleased to see this analysis of information about the role of breed in dog bite risk and prevention, which reminded me of this piece on The Conversation by researcher Dr Rachel Casey from Bristol University in the UK, who has been part of a team investigating aggressive behaviour in dogs.

The broader research in this area (see below for references) highlights similarities across Australia, the UK and the US with most serious dog bites occurring to children by a known dog in a familiar area without direct adult supervision at the time of the attack. But of course - as Hero Cat Tara has shown us this week, not all dogs stick to these trends.

It seems that there are many commonalities to serious dog bites that we can all be aware of to help reduce the risk, given that any dog can bite:

• Supervise children <14yo around dogs, even known dogs
• Dont try to pat a dog you dont know, even if it is on the other side of a fence
• Make sure your dog is well socialised and trained in basic commands
• Keep your dog healthy
• Teach your children to be mindful and careful of their actions around dogs, especially when the dog is tied up, eating or sleeping
• If you are threatened by a dog, remain still and calm with your hands balled by your sides - dont run
• If you are attacked by a dog, curl up in a ball and protect your face

Im off to reinforce messages of safe dog interacting with my pre-school aged daughter now - hope you have a great week. 

Only one month til #SPARCS2014! Squee!

Mia

 

Further reading:

Meints K. & de Keuster T. (2009). Brief Report: Dont Kiss a Sleeping Dog: The First Assessment of "The Blue Dog" Bite Prevention Program, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 34 (10) 1084-1090. DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsp053

Schalamon J., Ainoedhofer H., Singer G., Petnehazy T., Mayr J., Kiss K. & Höllwarth M.E. (2006) Analysis of dog bites in children who are younger than 17 years., Pediatrics, PMID: 16510617 

Keuster T.D., Lamoureux J. & Kahn A. (2006). Epidemiology of dog bites: A Belgian experience of canine behaviour and public health concerns, The Veterinary Journal, 172 (3) 482-487. DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2005.04.024 

Langley R.L. (2009). Human Fatalities Resulting From Dog Attacks in the United States, 1979–2005, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 20 (1) 19-25. DOI: 10.1580/08-WEME-OR-213.1 

Ozanne-Smith J. (2001)  Dog bite and injury prevention--analysis, critical review, and research agenda, Injury Prevention, 7 (4) 321-326. DOI: 10.1136/ip.7.4.321

Thompson P. (1997). The public health impact of dog attacks in a major Australian city., The Medical Journal of Australia, 167 (3) 129-132. PMID: 9269266 

© Do You Believe in Dog? 2014

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Do You Believe in Dog One year of believing

Happy anniversary Julie!

Can you believe weve been exchanging blog posts about canine science for one year already? In some ways its gone so quickly and in others its hard to remember when we werent. I was going to do a highlights kind of post, but decided its all been so freaking fantastic, that I wouldnt know where to start or stop.

In all ways, its FABULOUS, and I thank you from the bottom of my everything for answering my first blog post with a big, fat YES!

#AAWS2013

I attended the 7th National Workshop for the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy this week. It was a busy few days with lots of learning and networking going on, everywhere you looked.

Stand out things you should know about:

AMRRIC do AMAZING work in rural and remote indigenous communities. You can follow them on Facebook, on YouTube and/or sign up for their newsletter. Check out details of their upcoming conference.


After calls for an independent office for animal welfare in Australia, minister Joel Fitzgibbon announced at AAWS2013 he is creating the role of Inspector General for Animal Welfare & Live Exports. This has been met with mixed reactions from the two main groups (primary production and animal advocacy bodies) involved. As we will be having a federal election very soon in Australia, it will be interesting to see what happens on this front in the coming months. The sceptics suggest, "not much".



Im now taking a weeks break with my family in sunny Queensland - much warmer than my home town right now. I hope you are enjoying your Summer. 
What have you been learning at all those conferences?

Thank you once again, for a year of believing in dog with me!

Big hugs,

Mia
© 2013 Mia Cobb

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Incorporating A Vibrating Dog Collar in Your Dog Training

In preparation for training your dog with your new underground dog fence, you’ll need to work with a vibrating dog-training collar. This collar teaches your pup to notice when she’s coming close to the boundaries of the fence and to stop BEFOREshe crosses that line.

 

Introducing The Collar To The Dog

The first thing you’ll want to do is get your dog used to wearing her new vibrating dog collar. Because of the technology involved, these collars tend to be a tiny bit heavier and bulkier than regular dog collars, and you want your dog to feel comfortable wearing hers.

Adjust the collar so that the prongs are just resting on her skin and not burrowing into her neck. You want to make it tight enough so that she feels the vibrations immediately, but yet not so loose that she can pull it over her head. Usually, being able to slip 1 or 2 fingers between the collar and your dog’s neck works best.

Place the vibrating dog collar on her neck and give her a treat. Leave the collar on for 10 to 15 minutes – just long enough for her to feel comfortable – then remove it. Do this several times during the first day of training, always remembering to treat her every time you put on the collar.

During the second training day, extend your training intervals to 15 to 30 minutes, again treating as you place the collar on your pup.

By the third day, you should be able to start leaving the collar on for longer periods of time. In any case, we recommend that you NEVER leave the collar on for longer than 12 hours.

Resist the urge during the collar training to try the vibrating sensation with your dog. You want her to be perfectly comfortable wearing the collar, and starting the vibration training too early can be a distraction.

Introducing The Vibration

Once your pup is fully comfortable wearing her vibrating dog-training collar, you can begin introducing the sensation of the vibrations to her. You’ll need to have treats and her clicker available to get her attention – she needs to learn that the buzzing on her neck is coming from you and that you won’t harm her.

Place her on her leash and move her close to your body. Set your remote control on its lowest setting, and, press it. Immediately use the clicker and give your dog a treat without waiting for her to look at you. Perform this step 10 times in a row – press and treat, press and treat – and then quit.

Keep these initial training sessions very short, 5 to 10 minutes only. Leave the vibrating dog collar on your pooch and repeat these sessions 2 to 3 times during the day. You’re wanting her to get used the vibrations and know they are coming from you.

Continue to train in this manner for several days to a week, keeping her close to you. If she starts to look at you when you press the remote, give her extra treats and lavish praise. She’s telling you she’s ready to move on to the “paging” part of her training.

Training to Respond When Paged

When she begins to look at you during a vibration, you know your dog is starting to associate the feeling on her neck with you. That means she is not afraid of the feeling, but is looking to you for guidance as to what to do next. In this training step, you are going to require her to look at you.

As before, keep her close to you during these sessions and make sure this time will be free of distractions.

Page her with a quick press of the remote control, and when she looks at you, IMMEDIATELYtreat her. If she doesnt look at you, move your hand with the treats down in front of her nose so that she sees and smells it, and then move the treat up to your face so that she looks at you. Give her the treat when you make eye contact. Your goal is to have her consistently look at you every time she’s paged. A dog trained in this fashion, will come find you if you’re out of sight range.

As she begins to make consistent eye contact, you can start to move away from her. Start by letting her off the leash, but keep her in the same room with you. Allow her to move about the room and page her when she’s distracted. Give her a treat every time you page and she looks up for you.

Once she is performing this feat every single time, you can move outdoors for training. Please note that if she’s not responding as you want, you may have pushed her too fast in her training and you need to back up a step.

Moving outdoors typically means starting this training over from the beginning, so use your leash as a control, keep your dog close to you, and begin introducing the vibrating collar to her as you did in the house…only this time, you’ll have all those outside noises and smells to deal with. Take your time with this part of her training.

Remember, kindness, patience, and consistency will teach better than harsh words or impatient hands.

How A Vibrating Dog Collar Works

The buzzing of your dog’s training collar works to get her attention focused on you. It tells her that you want her to look at you and that you are going to give her a command to do something. If you train her properly and consistently, you can use her vibrating collar to tell her to come when called, to stay in sight of you in the yard, to not eat that piece of trash on the ground, and to not follow the neighbor’s dog as he walks down the street in front of your house. It’s a constant reminder to your dog of those boundaries that you work hard to instill in her.

This type of training works especially well with deaf dogs or older canines that may be a little hard of hearing. A deaf dog can’t hear you to look around when you call and won’t hear a car horn or the squeal of brakes. Using a vibrating dog collar on a deaf dog is the equivalent of teaching her how to listen for your voice and pay attention to what you want. Additionally, you use the same training methods for a deaf dog as you would a dog with correct hearing.

Many modern collars come with soft, rubber prongs that vibrate against your dog’s skin instead of the old-fashioned metal ones. You can adjust them for strength and range. For example, if you have a more dominant dog, you may need to make the warning vibration a little stronger than you would for a more submissive pooch. You should find a collar that best fits your dog – one that is neither too small nor too big – is waterproof, shows options for vibration and tone, has a range that fits your yard, and has a long battery life.

You can use your vibrating dog-training collar alone, or with the static correction collar available through most underground dog containment systems. Whichever you choose, remember that training of any dog works best when patience, kindness and consistency factor into the training module.

Guest Article by Sarah Stoltzfus
This article is sponsored by Havahart Wireless, please feel free to visit their website, http://www.havahartwireless.com/

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Von Moosbach Zuzelek puppies first tracking season Uncas Moose and Urho Mongo

In 2013 we had only one litter of puppies, which was out of FC Sky von Moosbach-Zuzelek and FC Mielikki Raptor. Both parents are young dogs themselves. Sky comes from several generations of our own breeding that produced a family of very accomplished blood trackers. Mielikki comes from Nordic bloodlines and has a very nice pedigree, but when you do an outcross as we did in this case, you always take some chances. Sometimes you win a lottery, and sometimes you dont.

The "U" litter was born on May 10, 2013 so these pups are just 5.5 months old. All of them have showed a lot of promise when we worked with them at a very early age. We are happy to see that this potential has been getting realized in the field and the pups are already helping hunters.

The four pictures below show Moose (registered name Uncas von Moosbach-Zuzelek) owned by Adam H. from PA. Since blood tracking dogs are illegal in PA Adam who lives close to Maryland border, tracks in that state.
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September 24: Another find for a young Moose who looks really tiny in this picture. Adam H., Mooses owner, says: Last night I received a call around 7:30 from a buddy who shot a buck but had no blood! Moose and I drove down to Maryland and met him. After speaking with him I was pretty sure it was a probably a one lung/liver hit. The deer was angled towards him. I sat Moose down at the hit site and roughly 125 yards later (with no blood) Moose found the buck!! 
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October 7: Adam  wrote yesterday: Good evening John and Jolanta, I just wanted to let you know that tonight Moose made his 3rd recovery of the year! The hunter hit the big old doe far front but had pretty good blood. She did zig zag several times through a standing cornfield! After about 150 yards he found her  Hes the real deal  Thanks again you guys for an awesome little guy!
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October 13: Adam wrote: "Good morning folks! Well, my boy did it again last night! This makes 4! I received a call last night from a buddy whose buddy hit a buck but didnt have much blood. Moose and I got to the hit site around 10:30. After approximately 125 yards Moose found him. With the deer angling away it appeared the arrow clipped the lungs and lodged into the brisket! (No exit hole)

Yesterday Moose has taught Adam a valuable lesson:

Good afternoon John and Jolanta,
Well I learned a very valuable lesson the other day - too bad it was the hard way!  I was down in Maryland doing some hunting on Monday evening and shot this buck. The shot felt and looked great! The buck was shot broadside at 19 yards and tore away after the arrow zipped through him! I eased out and gave the buck about 2.5-3 hours! I took my neighbor and Moose back down at around 9 pm to do the recovery. With ease Moose tracked the buck about 80 yards to a large puddle of blood and then he made a left down a ravine traveling about 150 yards with NO blood. I was certain with the shot I made he was off the track (since there was no more sign) - so I picked him up and brought him back to the hit site! He again made a left and I allowed him to travel even further this time but again there was no sign so again I brought him to the hit site.  This time he went straight from the blood out the ridge about 75 yards. As we crested down the ridge I heard a deer bust out of the thicket! I was sure we just jumped the deer so I picked Moose up and we left- I decided to come back in the a.m. so I could see better. The next morning I started him at the puddle where he again went left this time I just left him go - we went roughly 225 yards to a dead buck that had been ripped to shreds from coyotes.! The entire left side of the deer was eaten clean :( 

Hard lesson learned. I will now let Moose go for as long as he wants to go - trusting him completely!!!! I was so upset with myself BUT I swear to you Moose looked at me after he chewed on him for a little almost to say I TOLD YOU SO - you jack***! Haha. Thanks again for my boy! Hes everything to me ;)
Adam

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Mooses brother Mongo (Urho von Moosbach-Zuzelek)  is owned by John Sakelaris and is a tracking dog at Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico.

 

 

The hunter in the picture wrote:

 

John,
I am more than happy to write a letter commending the tracking dog and the dog’s owner. Mongo was outstanding. I have worked with other deer in the past as we track many a wounded Whitetail at our place and I think Mongo can hold his own with any of the other dogs. I think it is a great service to the ranch to have a dog like that and we certainly appreciate his capabilities.

 

And John wrote to us:

 

I want to thank you again for the dog, he is fantastic. I have had big game hounds for the last 15 years and most of them barely know day from night until about 3 years old. Only then do they really come into their own and start to “think”. Mongo at 4 months shows incredible intelligence and problem solving ability. We just got back this morning from an all day and most of the night track where we went up and over 2 ridges with a whole lot in between. Several times I thought Mongo was not on track be he would prove us wrong when we would find blood. This last find was a real test and any blood tracking dog owner would be proud, not to mention one of a pup 5 months old. He is worn out today but still wants to go again." 

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Be a Resource Full Puppy Owner

We though wed best follow up our joint-post about Books for Before & After you get a Puppy or Dog with some further resources. 

Because lets face it - you can never have enough resources to consult with a new puppy in the family! 

Here are some of our primary go-to places and wed love to hear your suggestions in the comments section below - lets turn this into a great resource-full page for everyone!

Mia & Julie

The Other End of The Leash ~ Patricia McConnell
In 2012, McConnell gave her website a major overhaul. Readers can now follow along her weekly blog, as well as search by interest area and easily link to relevant blog posts and videos.

McConnell’s Reading Room has drop down menus where you can access Training Your Dog, Behavior & Health, Solving Behavior Problemsand Finding Resources. Have a question about aggression? Go to Solving Behavior Problems. What do you think the "Guilty Look" is all about? Check out the Emotions section in Behavior & Health. 


The Art & Science of Animal Behavior ~ Sophia Yin
An incredibly user-friendly website jam packed with all sorts of information. Yin’s blog and resources are searchable so just type in a term (e.g. toilet training) and take a look! 

Julies favorite video shows counter conditioning of a dog displaying aggression.

Dog Star Daily ~ Ian Dunbar and co.
Dog Star Daily is a resource-laden website populated by Dunbar and a lot of other trainers. 

Take some time to look through their many many videos.

New resources to watch

AVSAB
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) new website includes a free newsletter (you can sign up using your email address or access the archives online) and blog. Considering that AVSAB tackles such topics as Cat Body Language as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Military dogs, it’s definitely a great resource for everyone!

Pet Pages
Pet Pages features content from lots of different sources. Animal behaviourist Kate Mornement writes regular posts on different topics that can be searched.

Commercial sites

Dr Joanne Righetti has helped Purina populate their Puppy Club website with helpful information.

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Tip of the Day Get off Your Bike if a Dog Chases You

Making it Worse?

We are asked this question quite frequently: What should I do if a dog chases me or my kids while we are riding our bikes? Most adults assume that if they have good speed they can outride a dog. A cyclist in our area was badly injured when dog ran down a farm lane barking at him. He sped up to try to get away from the dog, lost control on the gravel shoulder and fell off his bike. The dog sniffed him and walked away.

Avoid a Chase

Kids on bikes should never assume that they can ride faster than a dog can run, because most likely they cant. If confronted by a dog while riding a bike, the best thing to do is to stop and if there is time get off the bike so that the bike is between you and the dog.

The main motivation for the dog is the chase and when there is nothing to chase the dog will lose interest. If the dog does catch a moving cyclist this could result in serious injuries both from the fall and from the dog, whose natural instinct is to bite and shake prey that it has caught. It is best to defuse the situation by removing the dogs motivation to chase.

Some people have been told that they should get off the bike, but keep moving so as to keep the bike between them and the dog. This movement will just keep the dog interested longer. It is best to stand still even if the dog circles around the bike to investigate and even if the dog is barking and acting aggressively.

A Note to Cyclists on Busy Trails

If you see a person walking a dog on a leash ahead of you, make some noise to warn the dog handler so that they can move over to give you room to pass. They will be more than happy to do this. If there is only a narrow passing area, please slow down, or even better, get off your bike and walk past (with your bike between you and the dog, just in case). If the dog handler looks like they are having trouble with the dog, or they have multiple dogs, you are advised to walk your bike past. Blasting past pedestrians with a few inches to spare is not cool (dog or no dog) and could result in a surprised dog pulling loose and chasing you. In some mixed use trails, there could be loose dogs, be ready to stop if the dog looks like it might give chase. You may be fast, but a large breed dog in peak condition is faster.

Here is a video that shows the wrong thing to do if a dog chases you while you are riding a bike. Notice that when the cyclist moves the bike to try to keep the dog on the other side of it, this just makes the dog more interested in him. As soon as he stops moving the dog loses interest.

Here is a video that shows the right thing to do. Notice how much less interested the dog is when the cyclist stands still, compared to the previous video, when he kept moving around.

  

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How to Massage an Arthritic Dog

By Langley Cornwell

My friend Karen recently adopted a senior dog with general arthritis and hip dysplasia. Good for her, right? It started with a conversation we were having about the high number of senior dogs in shelters, and how sad it was for an older dog to live out his or her days behind bars. In our local shelter, senior dogs make up about 10% of the overall population at any given time. When trying to understand why, a shelter worker told us that oftentimes families surrender their senior dogs when they reach an age where they require extra care. What a shame.

Karen’s goal is to provide her new dog, Goldie Girl, with a safe and comfortable home during her twilight years. Their union is heartwarming; it’s amazing how quickly Goldie Girl and Karen have bonded. And the dog seems to have turned back the clock several years. She holds her head a bit higher and her limp is less pronounced. Karen attributes the quick bonding and Goldie Girl’s improved physical state to massage.

The article I wrote titled The Benefits of Massage Therapy for Pets helped convince Karen that her new dog would get a lot out of regular massages, but she didn’t want to cause Goldie Girl any additional pain. Having no experience with massage, Karen went looking for advice on how to massage an older, arthritic dog. She found what she was looking for on The Dog Channel, where there is a helpful tutorial on massaging a senior dog. Here are some simple pointers.

Why massage an arthritic dog?

Arthritis is a degenerative disease that causes pain and soreness in a dog’s joints, specifically the hips, lower spine and knees, and, less severely, to the elbows and shoulders. Massaging your senior dog’s aching muscles a few minutes every day will help slow down the degenerative process of arthritis. Furthermore, massage can help relieve some of your dog’s arthritis pain and reduce some of the muscle tension associated with the disease.

How do you do it?

Start by lightly petting your dog all over, then slowly concentrate your efforts on the area you are about to massage. Continue to lightly stroke the area with very little pressure – this is called effleurage – which helps to increase circulation in the area.

Next, begin lightly kneading the tight muscles. Then rub your hands against your dog’s skin to create light friction which will loosen the tight muscle fibers and encourage deeper circulation. Continue to alternate light kneading with light hand friction. About every 10 seconds, use light effleurage strokes to assist drainage. Avoid putting any direct pressure on the dog’s painful joints, but do work the area around the joints to stimulate circulation and drainage.  

During the massage, you may want to perform some gentle stretching exercises on your dog, to increase the elasticity of the tissue you are working on. When your massage and stretching session is over, softly stroke your dog’s entire body to help her relax. Then you may want to give your sweet dog a soft and tasty CANIDAE TidNips treat.

How long should the massage last?

The massage should last about 10 minutes for smaller breeds and between 15 - 20 minutes for larger breeds. Start with less time and increase the duration gradually, otherwise you risk overworking a specific part of the dog’s body and exacerbating the inflammatory process often present with an arthritic condition.

Does time of day matter?

If you can manage it, try to massage your dog twice a day: once in the early morning and then again in the evening. A massage first thing in the morning is useful because it helps reduce the soreness and stiffness resulting from the previous night’s inactivity. A second massage in the evening will relieve muscle aches brought about by the days activities.

While massage isn’t a cure for arthritis, it will certainly help your older canine friend feel better. The added bonus is that the bonding experience will benefit both of you!

Read more articles by Langley Cornwell

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