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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No Dogs in the Babys Room!

By Hannah Branigan MS, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP


To keep everyone safe, we are establishing safe spaces for both the dogs and the baby. The dogs wont be allowed in the babys room, and the baby wont be allowed in the dog room. This will give the baby a safe, dog-free place to play and I wont have to worry about baby toys becoming dog toys.

We will use baby gates to help control access to parts of the house, especially while the baby is young, but its a good idea to have some training in place as well.

I want waiting outside the room to be easy and stress-free for the dogs, and I really want to avoid using any aversives on the dogs with the baby around, because I dont want any negative associations to form. So Im using clicker training and positive reinforcement to teach them to stay in the hall and not follow me in. Im not using a cue, because I want the behavior to be automatic, so I dont have to remember to say wait every time (and because I know for sure that my husband will forget).

More about Hannah and Wonderpups Training and Behavior

Obedience FUNdamentals DVD

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What You Know About Your Dog But Dont Want To Talk About!

When you’re certain in getting a dog, Ill bet you dreamt about the countless times youd have with your new best friend. Nonetheless, there are things that you need to deliberate in order to keep your pooch healthy and happy. Things that possibly youd rather not even think about!

 When you visit your veterinarian he may request you to bring a urine sample from your dog. How do you do this? Your dog confidently wont be able to hit a sample bottle. The coolest way to complete this is to tape a polyethylene vial to the end of a yard stick. While your dog is playing, position the container beneath his urine stream.

 This is stress-free to do with male dogs than female dogs but you can habitually get a tester with one or two tries. Your veterinarian will need as fresh a sample as thinkable so if you wont be compiling the sample to the vet right away, keep it chilled until you bring it in. Your veterinarian will be examining the sample for a range of stuffs like bacteria and crystals. If bacteria are found it possibly will mean that your pooch has a urinary tract infection and will most probable necessitate your dog to be put in a sequence of antibiotics. Crystals form in the urine when minerals bind together, there are numerous different kinds of crystals and these are peak often treated with prescription diets.

If your veterinarian requests for a stool sample it might mean that he doubts that intestinal parasites are troubling your dog. They can acquire these by eating fecal matter from carcasses, unsavory things and another affected animal. You will want to get in a fresh sample. The doctor will inspect it under the optical microscope and look for telltale eggs of parasites. Commonest parasites are roundworms, roundworms, whipworms, hookworms and tapeworms. Several of today’s regular heartworm treatments also protect against hookworms and roundworms. If you’re living in the country where your dog stays outside for much of the day, he may prerequisite to be cured with a tapeworm wormer on a trimestral basis. Other diseases alike coccidia, can also be seen under the optical microscope from your dog’s stool sample.

So, now you can discuss about those unpleasant things! Its imperative that you are accurately educated and can identify signs and symptoms so that you keep your dog as in fine fettle as he can be.

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What Does Your Dog Really Want for Valentines Day

If we had to guess, we would say he wants your love. There are lots of ways to show that you love your dog:

View these and share on Facebook

View and repin on Pinterest

View and retweet on Twitter

View and share this video: Teach My Person How to Love Me

Train your dog the force-free way using positive reinforcement. Heres how that should look:

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Dog training How to practice your timing

Hi Mia!

I don’t even know where to begin. You sent another round of Tim Tams, and I am in chocolate heaven (the only trouble is that they bring out the hoarder in me, and I easily tell little white lies like, “They’re not open yet.” Typically I share my bounty, but this, not so much).

I adore Champagne Cartel! Great voices and a wide variety of topics. I’m very pleased you are part of that gaggle of women. You had a great Q&A with Amy McDonald on Everyday Yoga, and now because of you, I will keep worms.

Go Go Go!
It seems like you and I are in parallel lands of, “Go - Go - Go!” Julie Dog Updates:

• CHASER: Got to spend time with Chaser (Facebook/Twitter), the wordy dog, and I’ll report more on that soon. She and I see eye to eye (or maybe, I should say, she wants the ball behind my back).

Read this book

• CONFERENCES: Just came back from ISAZ and IAHAIO in Chicago. It was a check plus time with Anthrozoology and human-animal interaction researchers. Hal Herzog (Twitter), author of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals is Professor of Psychology at Western Carolina University. He received the 2013 Distinguished Scholars Award. His talk explored the ultimate reasons behind pet keeping -- more on that another time (but in the meantime, his book should be read by all). Over at #SciAmBlogs, I took a moment to explore what Anthrozoology is all about (not the study of Ants, apparently). I got a little pronunciation assistance from your PhD supervisor. ;)

• MORE CONFERENCE!!: This weekend, I’m back on a plane to Boulder, CO for the 50th Annual Animal Behavior Society conference. On Sunday, July 28 I’m speaking at the Companion Animal Day at UC-Boulder. The topic: Creating Quality Lives for Dogs and Cats Through the Science of Animal Behavior. The event is free and open to the public! Here’s the lineup (who wins for longest title?):

- Patricia McConnell, Bring Out Your Inner Dr. Doolittle: Communication and Quality of Life
 
- Suzanne Hetts and Dan Estep, Can We Still Be Friends?: Helping Dogs and Cats Get Along
 
- Marc Bekoff, Animals at Play: What We’ve Learned From Dogs and Their Wild Relatives
 
- Julie Hecht, Get Into the Head of The Dog in Your Bed, and You’ll Both Be Happier: Updates on Canine Cognition Research
 
- Pamela Reid, When Dogs and Cats Have it Bad and It Ain’t Good: Behavior Rehabilitation of Abused Pets
 

Do you get the timing right?
Speaking of excitement, people were incredibly interested in Clare’s research on dog training!! The feedback on the DYBID Facebook was tremendous. Her main finding was, “To teach a new behavior, be fast on your feedback!” 
 
Masters research conducted by Lindsay Wood, now at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, had similar findings. In her research, when a dog was acquiring complex behaviors, a click was a better marker than a verbal stimulus such as, “Good.” 

Wood suggests, “The facilitation of learning provided by the clicker bridging stimulus has important implications for animal training, especially when professionals are confronted with time constraints. The potential of the clicker stimulus to improve animal learning throughout the entire process of a behavior may not only increase the rate of behavior acquisition, but also reduce animal frustration and further enhance the relationship between trainer and animal.”

MANY PEOPLE working with non-human (and human!) animals get their click on! The Shedd Aquarium, yes aqua-rium, recently added a dog show with shelter dogs trained via positive reinforcement, and I assume clicker training. 

Ken Ramirez, VP of animal collections and training, explains why they added a dog show: "We also want people to see that the techniques used to care for our dolphins, our wales and our sharks -- those training techniques can be useful tools in having a better behaved pet at home." 



How to work on YOUR training
The techniques of learning and training dont just apply to dogs. People can practice their training techniques with loads of other species like chickens and guinea pigs.

Chicken Camp, Terry Ryan



Guinea Pig Camp, Roger Abrantes



Well, thats all she wrote! Lets hear whats on your plate!!

Julie

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Is There a Black Dog Syndrome

Hi Mia,

This was a summer of conferences squared! One of the topics that kept buzzing through my ears was a phenomenon commonly described as “Black Dog Syndrome,” an affliction suffered by dogs who turn black after eating too much licorice. But seriously, as you know, this is the commonly held belief that dark-coated dogs in shelters are less likely to be adopted than other dogs.

A recent proponent of this belief is Amanda Leonard. At the Association of Pet Dog Trainers 2012 Conference, Leonard gave a talk titled, “The Plight of the Big Black Dogs and Gender Myths.” As her website explain, "My year at the Washington Humane Society served as the inspiration and field work for a term paper for my very first class at [George Washington University]. That term paper turned into a multi-year project to expose Big Black Dog Syndrome and help shelters find homes for their black dogs (and cats)."

Leonard is not alone in believing in a “Black Dog Syndrome,” but does it really exist? In animal shelters, is there an adopter bias against dogs who are all black? Or maybe there is just a bias against dogs who are big and black, as some have suggested? Or maybe, people have less favorable opinions of black animals when explicitly asked but maybe it doesnt reflect in adoption rates? Maybe there is no bias against black dogs, there are just more of them in the dog population and therefore more in the shelter? Ultimately, how might researchers investigate this idea of a Black Dog Syndrome?


Research on Black Dogs 
There has been lots of research presented on this topic this Summer! At the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ), Heather Lum, Nicole Nau & Kymberly McClellan presented their study, Exploring the “Black Dog” syndrome: How color can influence perceptions of companion animals. In this questionnaire-based study, sixty-five people looked at pictures of animals of different colors and offered opinions on areas like the animals  friendliness, aggressiveness or adoptability. They found the black dog was rated as least friendly and most aggressive and the lighter colored pets were considered more adoptable (study summary available here).

Also at ISAZ, Heather Svoboda & Christy Hoffman -- from the Canisius Anthrozoology Masters Program -- presented a poster on A novel, empirical test of Black Dog Syndrome. Their study won the ISAZ Conference Poster Contest, and next week Heather will join Do You Believe in Dog? for a guest post to discuss her research. Excellent!

But there was even MORE black dog research this summer! Later in July, at the 50th Animal Behavior Society Conference in Boulder, Colorado, Patricia McConnell, Taylor Jarmes and Keira McIntyre presented The Black Dog Syndrome: Factors influencing difficulty of canine adoptions. (McConnell is the PhD, CAAB we often mention on this blog, and she has been thinking about this topic for quite some time, see her earlier post). Their study on the Black Dog Syndrome had an interesting twist, so lets take a look...

TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER black dogs are less likely to be adopted than other dogs, McConnell and her students looked at the amount of time dogs spent on the adoption floor, as opposed to the amount of time dogs spent in the shelter overall. There could be a myriad of reasons why a dog does or does not make it onto the adoption floor, and coat color is not necessarily one of them. For example, depending on the shelter, a dog might be held back from the adoption floor if its sick, has behavioral issues, was recently picked up as a stray or if all the runs on the adoption floor are taken. So time spent on the actual adoption floor is an important detail when investigating whether black dogs are bypassed.  

(How much time is spent on the adoption floor? Source)

By examining adoption records and photographs from a shelter in Stoughton, Wisconsin, McConnell and her team determined dog primary and secondary coat colors. This way, they could check whether dogs were in fact black or whether the dog had a more varied coat.

Ultimately, they determined that “coat color did not significantly alter a dog’s days on the adoption floor when analyzing the entire population or when eliminating puppies.” Additionally, the amount of black found in primarily black dogs did not influence how long dogs stayed at the shelter.

Where Are We With Black Dog "Syndrome"?

To date, there doesn’t seem to be much empirical support for the Black Dog Syndrome, but as you might imagine, there are many ways to go about investigating it. For example, within a particular breed, are certain colors preferred over others, and is black more or less desirable? Or, if we were to examine a large population of entirely black dogs of a certain age and size, might the phenomenon apply? Of course, when exploring this topic, data could be collected in many different ways -- from mass data sources that look at adoption rates to reports from prospective adopters. Researchers could even look at peoples

Newfoundland & Labrador

behavior towards dogs of different colors.

WHAT ABOUT A REGIONAL or cultural Black Dog Syndrome? Kalita McDowell of the Canine Research Unit at Memorial University of Newfoundland explored this question in her research, which she also presented at the 50th Animal Behavior Society Conference. McDowell wondered whether “breeds of dogs native to, and largely celebrated in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Labrador Retriever and Newfoundland, both of which have a dominant black coat colour, will be preferred by the residents of the province and thus contradict the BBDS [Big Black Dog Syndrome].” 

I checked in with McDowell for more details and heres what she had to say: "I found that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians only preferred more black Newfoundlands than other participants, however they did not prefer more black-coated Labrador Retrievers than other participants (everybody preferred black Labs to yellow and chocolates, and yellow more so than chocolates)." Lots to mull over!

Regardless of color, when it comes to dog adoptions, people give a hoot about the way dogs look, which kind of stinks because behavior is very much where it’s at! After all, looks fade, even in dogs ;) (kidding, totally kidding).

Glad y’all are getting some sun and beach and looking forward to next week’s guest post by Heather Svoboda!

Cheers!

Julie

More reading
McConnell, P. The Black Dog Syndrome: Fact or Fiction? The Other End of The Leash Blog. (Additional studies on coat color mentioned in this blog post).

References
Weiss et al., 2012. Why did you choose this pet?: Adopters and pet selection preferences in five animal shelters in the United States. Animals 2, 144–159. (Full article here)
ISAZ 2013 Conference Program
ABS 2013 Conference Program
 

The Black Dog Syndrome – Fact or Fiction?

The Black Dog Syndrome – Fact or Fiction?

The Black Dog Syndrome – Fact or Fiction?

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Want the Truth Ask your Dog!

Your dog loves it when you pet him, right? He loves the kids to pet and hug him too? Well maybe he does and maybe he doesnt. Maybe he likes some sorts of attention at some times and not at others. We have posted many times in our blog and on our Facebook page that dogs dont like hugs and kisses, especially from children. This has generated irate comments and even hate mail from people who are offended at the notion that dogs do not always just naturally love kids or love attention from their people.

If you want to know the truth about this from your dogs point of view, then ask him! Here is a great video that shows the difference between a dog who says "no" to petting and dog that says "yes". A dog that consistently says "no" and is ignored and forced to tolerate unwanted attention may eventually get to the point of growling or biting. A dog that invites attention and enjoys it is much less likely to bite.

Visit the Doggone Safe website to learn more about the signs that dogs give when they are uncomfortable.

Learn more  about dog body language with our online course, Basic Dog Body Language (qualifies for CEUs from major dog training certification organizations)

Be sure to visit the blog by Eileen, the author of the video for more insights!

Thanks to Jennifer Shryock of Family Paw Parent Education for bringing this video to our attention.

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New Study Parents Want Dog Bite Prevention Education for Children

A new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics concluded that dog bite prevention knowledge is poor in children, that formal dog bite prevention education is warranted and that parents desire such education for their children.

Cinnamon A. Dixon, DO, MPH, E. Melinda Mahabee-Gittens, MD, MS, Kimberly W. Hart, MA,

and Christopher J. Lindsell, PhD. 2012. Dog Bite Prevention: An Assessment of Child Knowledge. J Pediatr, 160:337-341.

Abstract:

Objectives

To determine what children know about preventing dog bites and to identify parental desires for dog bite prevention education.

Study design 

This cross-sectional study sampled 5- to 15-year-olds and their parents/guardians presenting to a pediatric emergency department with nonurgent complaints or dog bites. The parent/guardian-child pairs completed surveys and knowledge-based simulated scenario tests developed on the basis of American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dog bite prevention recommendations. Regression analyses modeled knowledge test scores and probability of passing; a passing score was $11 of 14 questions.

Results 

Of 300 parent/guardian-child pairs, 43% of children failed the knowledge test. Older children had higher odds of passing the knowledge test than younger children, as did children with white parents vs those with  nonwhite parents. No associations were found between knowledge scores and other sociodemographic or  experiential factors. More than 70% of children had never received dog bite prevention education, although 88% of parents desired it.

Conclusions 

Dog bites are preventable injures that disproportionately affect children. Dog bite prevention knowledge in our sample was poor, particularly among younger children and children with nonwhite parents. Formal dog  bite prevention education is warranted and welcomed by a majority of parents.

Excerpts:

"Consequences of dog bite injuries can be temporary or lasting and include pain, disfigurement, infection, time lost from school or employment, fear, and anxiety. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons statistical data, there were >30 000 reconstructive procedures performed for dog bite injuries in 2009. Infections due to bacterial pathogens have long been described in dog bite wounds and are estimated to occur in approximately 16% of cases.8 A United Nations Children’s Fund–Alliance for Safe Children study reported animal bites to children as the number 2 cause for seeking medical care or time lost from school and work. Evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder 1 month after injury has been seen in over half of children who have been bitten by a dog.

These injuries place a significant financial strain on the US medical system. The annual cost for dog bites is estimated at $120 million for emergency services alone, of which children and adolescents account for >50% and government sources pay more than a quarter of the sums. Combining direct and indirect medical expenditures, dog bites cost nearly $250 million each year."

"Despite alarming injury statistics, children aged 5-15 in our sample population often lacked the knowledge to minimize the risk of dog bites and few had received formal dog bite prevention education. In this study, younger children and children with nonwhite parents had a greater knowledge deficit than did older children and children with white parents. We conclude that this may place younger children and those with nonwhite parents at greater risk of dog bites. The vast majority of parents in our study recognized the need for dog bite prevention education and indicated health care settings as appropriate venues for providing it. Our findings reinforce that dog bite prevention education should be included in injury prevention discussions with children and parents. Further research on this topic will be helpful in addressing this problem and discovering other strategies and interventions to reduce dog bite injuries and outcomes in children."

Read the complete paper

posted with permission from the publisher

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Dog Bite Prevention Challenge Update Day 5

The International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge is off to a great start. So far 19 presenters from 5 countries, 2 Canadian provinces and 7 US states have educated almost 2000 kids using the Be a Tree dog bite prevention program.

Day 5 of the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge

Thanks to all the presenters for their community service efforts and for keeping us updated with results!

Dr Tracy Johnson of Bethany CT with a group of Girl Scouts

Ask a Nurse! Pediatric trauma nurse and Doggone Safe member Kay Thompson gives advice to kids and parents. Kays wonderful, sweet kid-loving dogs give a good demonstration of what dogs do when they dont want hugs from kids.

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