Doggone Safe Member with Training Success Story on TV

Congratulations to Be a Tree Presenter and dog behavior consultant, Melissa Millett for her role as host and trainer on the cable TV show "Doggy House Calls". Melissa visits the homes of families to help improve the behaviour of wayward pooches. Melissa teaches the owners how to use positive reinforcement-based clicker training to teach the dog the desired behaviours. Here is a link to a show segment in which a frightened  and aggressive dog learns to be less fearful and hence non-aggressive towards other dogs.

Doggy House Calls Episode

The owner explains that it required a consistent effort and that the training and vigilance are ongoing, but the results are well-worth it to have a happy and safe dog. The owner noted that the dog is calmer and safer around kids now as well. This is a terrific side effect of the training and provides a demonstration of the fact that training leads to a safer more well-adjusted dog. We can see from this example that the dog is a much happier and calmer now that she is not frightened by other dogs.

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New Zealand Farm working Dogs 3 Mating Birth and Weaning

--> By Dr Clive Dalton
 

Mating

Dogs reach puberty at about 6-9 months of age and learn the behaviour needed to mate (eg mounting) through play.  Dogs are great individuals so bringing a bitch to a dog is probably the best way to do things.  Then it saves the time the dog will waste establishing himself in a new territory by cocking his leg on everything in sight.

The female "presents" by showing a receptive posture while the male smells and licks her genital area.  She may run a short distance and present again to excite the dog.  When in standing oestrus, the dog will mount and gain entry by trial and error.  He will then thrust vigorously stepping from one leg to the other.  During this time ejaculation occurs.

The dogs penis engorges for about 15-30 seconds in the vagina locking the pair together.  The bitch may twist and turn and the pair may end up pointing in different directions for about 10-30 minutes.  Throwing water over them will do no good at all!  During this locked position a second ejaculation occurs when most of the prostate fluid is expelled. 

Great damage can occur by pulling mating dogs apart.  So if its an unplanned mating - be patient. Spend the time placating the bitch’s owner!  The deed has been done so contact your veterinarian about an early abortion.

Pregnancy

A bitch will reach puberty and come into heat first from 6-18 months of age.  If not pregnant. she will return to heat every 6-9 months.  Bitches spend a long time in "pro-oestrus" or coming into heat.  This is annoying as all the dogs in the area think they should stay around, and wait for the great moment when she will stand. 

While coming on heat, her vulva will become red and swollen and she passes a sticky mucous.  As heat continues she will stand to be mounted before racing away to tease the male.

“Standing heat” occurs about 10 days after the start of coming into season, and lasts anything from 5-12 days.  At this most receptive stage the vulval discharge changes to a pale straw colour which will bring dogs for miles away.  She also urinates regularly to spread the news and mark her territory.  A good sign that she is "right on" is when she urinates in the presence of a male, usually when he smells her genitals.  If he doesnt get the message then, he never will! 

There are problems with inexperienced males who in all the excitement get things wrong.  To avoid this, mate a young dog first to an old bitch, and vice versa.  Some of the finer points of sexual behaviour have to be learned. Pregnancy in a bitch lasts from 58-63 days.

Pseudo pregnancy (false pregnancy)

This is an annoying condition as a bitch may appear to be pregnant for 30-90 days.  She will show all the signs of a normal pregnancy, make a nest in preparation for birth and even produce milk for up to 60 days.   This can be very handy to rear orphan pups but a nuisance if you want to mate her as she may not come in heat again for 3-4 months.

Birth

A working bitch will still want to work right up the time before birth, so watch her carefully to make sure shes not injured as she slows up with her extra load!  About 12-24 hours before birth she will make a bed of anything around.  Make sure she has some straw or rags to chew up, and dont be surprised if she doesnt want to whelp in her kennel.  She may sneak off to a hole in the ground somewhere.  Youll have to lock her up if you want to dictate the maternity quarters.

Shell become restless and have a reduced appetite prior to birth.  Frequent urination and defaecation as well as heavy panting are also good signs of action to come.  Labour can last from 2-3 hours up to 12 hours depending on the litter size and any complications.  Seek veterinary help at the first sign of problems. 

As each pup is born the bitch will chew the birth sac, biting through the umbilical cord in the process.  The arrival of the afterbirth is a sign that all the pups have arrived and the bitch will probably eat it too.

The bitch then spends a lot of time licking the pups, especially their lower abdomen and area around the genitals ingesting their faeces and urine.  This keeps the nest clean and dry - two important aspects.

Dont disturb the bitch during whelping and keep strangers away.  If you need the vet, then make sure you are there to reassure the bitch and stay near her head comforting her.

Pups after birth

Pups are born blind and deaf, and the world of sight and sound only opens up to them at about three weeks of age.  So they are very "touch" conscious animals at birth, and this "contact comfort" stays with them for the rest of their lives.  This is why the greatest reward you can give a working dog is a reassuring pat!

Pups are quite active soon after birth, but stay near each other and seek out warm surfaces because near these, teats and milk can usually be found.  The side-to-side movements of very young pups as they move short distances, show how they are looking for those teats.  The bitch often encourages them towards her teats by licking.

If you have an inexperienced bitch, it may be useful to fit a rail around the whelping area as used for sows. to prevent her lying on pups.  Strong pups usually get out of the way or make such a noise that she will investigate their cries.  Smaller weaker pups may be ignored and squashed.

Rearing

Just before 4 weeks old, a pup begins to react to its litter mates and its mother.  At this stage the pup can see and hear.  Play, tail-wagging, barking and other traits of the adult dog are seen now.

For bitches with large litters, make sure they can get away from the pups for short periods, especially as they get older.  A shelf to lie on above the pups is ideal.  But watch a lactating bitch for roaming in search of food.   At this stage she’ll have an enormous appetite when shes milking heavily.

Once the bitch has discouraged the pups from sucking, the focus is shifted from her teats to her muzzle.  This is because the primitive dog fed her pups by regurgitating food she brought back to the den.  The pup licks the muzzle with a crouching posture of a low-ranking pack member.  So when a dog licks your face, remember it’s asking you to regurgitate your last meal for it!

Socialisation 

From 5 weeks of age pups will avoid strangers and this peaks at about 8 weeks.  Its an “anxiety” period that nature has designed to protect them from predators.  So anything that a pup has not experienced before about 12 weeks will be avoided later with some fear.

So 4 - 12 weeks of age is the most important time in a pups life.   This is the "socialisation" stage when it learns to interact with other dogs, people and anything else it will meet later on.  Let the pup experience noises, strangers, children, cats, cars and so on, if you want a happy well-adjusted dog.  There is no truth in the belief of some trainers that children can spoil pups - let them play with the kids as much as they want without getting hurt or abused.

Building the bond

Establishing yourself as a pups pack leader is vital, and it needs to be done before 12 weeks of age.   A method used by some dog handlers is simply to lay the pup flat on the ground and hold it down with both hands.  If it struggles, shake it (which is what a bitch does) and growl or raise your voice.  Then when it settles speak quietly to it and calm it by rubbing your hands all over it, including putting your fingers in its mouth.

Actions used by successful handlers:

·      Feed the pup yourself, so you and food become associated.

·      Occasionally interrupt the pups feeding for a few seconds, praise it then let it feed again.  If it resists, use the shake-praise technique.

·      Never call the dog to you just before disciplining it.

·      Dont leave the pup alone for long periods. Take it with you wherever you go.

·      Introduce it carefully to frightening experiences where it can get hurt - eg. trampling by sheep.

·      Be consistent and dont change the rules.  Give plenty of praise.  Make sure everyone else near the pup understands the rules and is not breaking them and confusing the pup.

·      If a pup shows signs of dominance or develops bad habits, use the “shake-praise” routine.

·      Eye contact is very dominating.  Hold the pup up to your eye level for periods of 30-90 seconds and stare it out.  If it struggles shake-praise it.  Praise it softly until it settles.  Repeat the exercise often in different places.

Gentle dominance of a pup by handler

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3 Ways We’re Wrong About Dogs

Hi Mia!

Very excited to see that the program for the Working Dog Alliance Conference is out! I love conference programs. I think I’m a visual learner because when I try and remember back to a talk, I remember that the talk abstract appeared in

(Source)

say, a blue booklet, and that the abstract was on the right side of the page. Or maybe that has nothing to do with being a visual learner and means something entirely different. Anyway...

I wish I could attend the entire working dog conference (damn you ocean!), but I do have some favorite talks that Im sad to miss. I’m particularly interested in "Racing to retirement, is there a better way?", "Characterizing Dogmanship" as well as Steve White and Nicola Rooney’s talks.
 
You and I are trading places again. It almost time to change the clocks, and it’s getting darker here earlier and earlier. DAMN YOU WINTER!! 

On a happier note, I’m looking forward to speaking at the Association of Professional Dog Trainers next weekend in Spokane, Washington (#APDT2013)!

I’m covering two topics, and summaries are available here:

• Contextualizing Canine Behavior and Cognition Research 
• The Science and Politics of Anthropomorphism

At the last two APDT conferences, I presented posters of my personal research, and I’m looking forward to giving more comprehensive talks this year. 

While preparing for the conference, I found myself remembering that humans are often not spot-on in our interpretation of all things dog.

3 Misconceptions About Dogs

1) Working Dogs Have Good Welfare
I imagine when people hear the term working dog they picture accomplished dogs of war jumping out of planes or sniffing out chemical weapons. Or, people might picture guide dogs for the blind or hearing dogs for the deaf. But those are only the "stars" or "headliners" of the working dog world; working dogs include so many different dogs doing so many things for us and with us. 

Good welfare is not explicitly bound to certain types of canine work and absent from others. And good welfare cannot simply be assumed because dogs are performing a particular job.

This reminds me of an earlier post you wrote -- "The Heat(map) is On: Colours of Canine Welfare." You discussed peoples perceptions of the welfare of different types of dogs. Perceptions and realities are both important, and Im happy to see industry and science coming together to better the lives of working dogs.

(Greyhound at her new job: Source)

As I mentioned, greyhounds hold a special place in my heart. Whenever I see one on the street, I always wonder, “Where did you come from, big friend? What has your life been like?” They never answer, but sometimes their owner fills me in on the details.

2) Separation Distress is Just a Dog Missing its Owner

Research into why dogs show destructive and problematic behavior when owners are out is growing. Motivations are many and could include "fear, anxiety, over-attachment, agitation from outside stimulation and/or lack of appropriate stimulation." 


Mark Evans is a veterinary surgeon and former chief veterinary advisor of the RSPCA in the UK. He now holds informative animal-focused TV shows. For his recent program, he teamed up with Dr. Rachel Casey from the University of Bristol to examine the behavior of 40 dogs when their owners were out of the house. See what they found here, and theyve also highlighted the progress of three dogs: Bruno, Oscar and Max.

Recently, Parthasarathy et al. (2006) examined whether “dysfunctional” attachment styles to owners were related to dog separation issues. They concluded that “separation anxiety is not based on ‘hyperattachment’ of the dog to the owner...” Although they did add that “different attachment style may be present between dogs with and without separation anxiety.” 

Blanket assumptions about why dogs are distressed in owners’ absences arent helpful. Each dog needs to be considered on its own terms.

3) Canine Behavior & Cognition Research Has ALL the Answers! ;) 
This is a direct plug for my first talk at the APDT conference in Spokane next week, "Contextualizing Canine Behavior and Cognition Research."

Science is a way of looking at the world that prioritizes asking questions and devising ways to investigate those questions. This field of study is relatively young. It is continually growing and evolving. Studies build on one another, and in some cases, substantiate earlier findings, and in other cases, not so much. At my talk next Sunday, October 27 (at 8:00 AM!), Ill highlight the idea that our field is best viewed as an evolving process.

Thats me in a nut shell!

Looking forward to more welfare news!

Julie

References 
Horowitz, D. 2010 Separation anxiety in dogs. Veterinary Focus. 20(1), 18-26.

Parthasarathy et al.  2006. Relationship between attachment to owners and separation anxiety in pet dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research. 1, 109–120. 

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DOG LOVERS SHOW GIVEAWAY

Weve got 5 double passes to giveaway to the 

Dog Lovers Show in Melbourne! 

Just comment below to let us know what youd like most to see at the show and well nominate our favourite responses by the end of Sunday 27 April 2014. 

This giveaway is also open to responses received via our Facebook and Twitter community.

THE BIGGEST DOG EVENT IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE RETURNS TO MELBOURNE

Australia’s largest and most comprehensive event dedicated to educating, informing and entertaining dog lovers will take centre stage from Friday 2nd

Over three huge days, over 250 exhibitors, more than 600 dogs and a pack of pooch experts, personalities and performers will descend on the venue to provide 20,000+ visitors with everything and anything dog related on a scale never before seen in the Southern Hemisphere!

The Dog Lovers Show is a family friendly event which celebrates the unconditional love we share for our dogs with expert seminars, dog shows from the country’s most talented canines, information on all the off-leash parks in Victoria and literally thousands of the latest doggy products and services to reward your dog.

From dog adoption to hot dogs, there’s talks on diet, training and exercise to the fun of watching Chester the famous skateboarding dog on Centre stage - the Dog Lovers Show offers something for all ages.

LOCATION: Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, Melbourne

DATES: Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th  May at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton.

TIMES: 10am - 5pm Daily

Detailed info and for tickets visit: dogloversshow.com.au or
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dogloversshow
__________________________________________________________

The give away has now ended! We had such great responses here on the blog, on our Facebook page and at our Twitter feed, that we ended up using a random number generator to decide who won - it seemed the most fair way! Winners have been contacted - thank you all so much for participating - hope to see you at the DLS - please come say hello if our paths cross!  :)  Mia

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The Science Surrounding Children Dogs Part 3 The Ugly

Cute or feeding an unrealistic fantasy? (source)

Hey Julie,

You raise such an important point! 

In the same way that popular culture can influence our perceptions and interpretations of ‘cute’ in domains like body image and kawaii, photos of babies with dogs can set us up with unrealistic expectations that might lead to ugly situations and devastating outcomes.

And it’s some of The Ugly side of the science surrounding children and dogs that I want to share with you today. Dogs can hurt children and children can hurt dogs. 



It’s ugly alright.

Dogs biting kids:

As you pointed out in your last post, part of the The Ugly is that dogs can and do bite babies and kids.

(source)

Dog bites are the most frequently reported type of animal bite to humans.

The risk factors for being bitten vary a little from study to study (as youd expect given each study looks at a different population), but generally, it’s consistent that the kids most at risk were:

• Aged five years or under (with the 5-10yr age group a close second);
  
• Attempting to access the dog’s territory or a resource (toy/food/bone, etc.) sometimes with the dog on lead or chained in a yard, or
  
• Provoking the dog (by stepping on; pulling the dog’s hair/ears; hitting or attempting to ‘discipline’ the dog or waking a sleeping dog);
  
• At home or in a friend’s/neighbour’s/relative’s house (i.e. a dog known to the child and generally in the dog’s home environment)
  

• Not directly supervised by an adult.



From Reisner et al., 2007 (source)


• Boys appear more likely to be bitten by dogs not from their own households, but boys and girls have been shown to be bitten equally by dogs from their own households.

(source)

I emphasise most at risk, as obviously all people are at some risk of being bitten by any dog they encounter.

Dogs involved often have no prior history of biting children, although some have previously bitten adults or other animals.

We don’t know the full story.

Most figures regarding dog bites coming from hospital reports or other health authorities. It’s been calculated that in the USA, over 900 dog bite injuries are treated in hospital emergency departments each day. The same study estimated that for every dog bite fatality; there are approximately 16,000 dog-bite related emergency department visits. Just staggering figures!

(source)

And yet, dog bites are most likely under-reported. Not all dog bites get treated at hospital and as such, many cases may go unreported. 

A study from the 1980’s demonstrated that nearly half of 3,000 children (aged 4-18) surveyed reported being bitten by a dog in their lifetime. 
More than 36 times the rate reported to authorities!

Identification of the dog breeds involved is probably inaccurate. Dog breed identification for dogs involved in attacks are usually self-reported to health authorities by the victim or victim’s family. Recent research has demonstrated how hard it is for even dog experts to accurately identify dog breeds, so can you see where there might be an issue in the validity of this data?

Why are young kids at such high risk of being bitten?

(source)

It’s not the full story, but research has shown that the age groups most at risk don’t pay attention to dogs’ body language but focus their attention on the face. Children do misinterpret angry dog facial expressions as smiling and being happy. 

"My, what big teeth you have..."

An eye-tracking research study showed that for some reason, young children’s’ eyes focus in on the angry dogs’ mouth and teeth area instead of following the usual eye-nose-mouth scan pattern that they show for other faces. This information offers an important insight that may be used to develop education strategies for children and their interactions with dogs.

Kids abusing dogs:

The notion of children deliberately inflicting pain or suffering on dogs and other animals is distressing. 
But it happens.

A symptom of other problems

Children who abuse animals are reportedly twice as likely to have experienced sexual or physical abuse themselves compared to children who are not cruel to animals. 

They often come from households of domestic/family violence. 

They often experience parental alcoholism/unavailablility. 

(source)

Violent behaviour is believed to be learned by these children as a viable tool in relationships (i.e. this is how you relate to others) and/or is modelled from adult behaviour they have directly observed. 

Exerting ‘power’ over an animal may also assist children who feel otherwise powerless in such situations of family violence. 

Its incredibly sad. For everyone. The children and the dogs.

(source)

Motivations for animal cruelty by children have been cited as: 

• displaced hostility against a person to an animal; 
• expression of aggression; 
• post-traumatic play; and 
• to hurt someone else by hurting a animals (using the animal as a vehicle for emotional abuse). 

Younger children tend to fall into the ‘exploratory or curious’ (think ants and magnifying glasses) rather than ‘pathological’ or ‘delinquent’ classification used in describing categories of people engaging in animal abuse.

Animal abuse as a child lead to..?

Research has demonstrated associations between acts of childhood cruelty to animals and acts of serious, recurrent, interpersonal aggression/violence and other generalised anti-social behaviours as adults. 

(source)

Although it is tempting to suggest that animal cruelty exhibited in childhood leads to interpersonal violence in adulthood, it is considered a better conclusion that childhood home environment is a strong predictor of the development of many violent behaviours, often clustered together.

Childhood experiences into adulthood:

Most fearful adults report their fear of dogs began in childhood. However, being attacked as a child doesn’t necessarily mean you will be fearful of dogs as an adult. 

Most adults are dog-fearful following a direct experience of dog bite rather than being influenced by an attack event that happened to someone they knew or from verbal information/education passed to them by others. 

Amazingly, being bitten as a child has not been associated with a dislike of dogs. Positive experiences with dogs prior to being bitten made children less likely to become dog-phobic adults. It’s not fully understood why some children can recover and others retain their fearfulness into adulthood, sometimes even suffering ongoing PTSD.

(source)

Studies that utilised dogs (and other animals) with groups of children deemed at risk of engaging in anti-social behaviours  have found that programs comprising a mix of discussions of interpersonal issues and conflict management along with the proper care and obedience training of dogs (and other animals) have demonstrated decreased fear of dogs/animals and improved attitudes towards self and others – sound familiar? 

It’s The Good shining through, even in the face of The Ugly!

So there you have it Julie. 

Some of the science surrounding children and dogs: the good, the bad and the ugly.

I’m really hoping you can tell me about something fun and frivolous in your next post!

Mia

What hasnt been in any other image Ive used in these three posts? Parental supervision! (source)

Further reading:
Meints K., Allen K. & Watson C. (2011). Atypical face-scan patterns in children misinterpreting dogs facial expressions evidence from eye-tracking, Injury Prevention, 16 (Supplement 1) A173-A173. DOI: 10.1136/ip.2010.029215.619

Shewell P.C. & Nancarrow J.D. (1991). Dogs that bite., BMJ, 303 (6816) 1512-1513. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.303.6816.1512

Reisner I.R., Shofer F.S. & Nance M.L. (2007). Behavioral assessment of child-directed canine aggression, Injury Prevention, 13 (5) 348-351. DOI: 10.1136/ip.2007.015396

Weiss H.B. Incidence of Dog Bite Injuries Treated in Emergency Departments, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 279 (1) 51-53. DOI: 10.1001/jama.279.1.51

Ozanne-Smith J., Ashby K. & Stathakis V.Z. (2001). Dog bite and injury prevention--a

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Doggone Safe a Top 3 Finalist in the CLASSY Awards

The CLASSY Awards is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the USA, recognizing the most outstanding philanthropic achievements by charities, businesses and individuals nationwide.

More than 2,000 nominations were submitted to StayClassy for consideration. After a vetting process, StayClassy posted each nomination as an article on the CLASSY Awards Achievements Blog (www.stayclassy.org/stories) to put a national spotlight on amazing philanthropic stories. Doggone Safe rallied their supporters to generate at least 100 Facebook ‘Likes’ on their article to qualify them for the judging round. Out of thousands of nominations, the judges narrowed the list down to the Top 25 most inspiring and impactful in each category. Doggone Safe is a finalist in the category: Most Effective Awareness Campaign.

After a period of public voting Doggone Safe has emerged as a top 3 finalist for its efforts with the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge. The winners will be decided on the basis of judging by a panel plus the public voting results and will be recognized live on-stage at the Oscars-style CLASSY Awards ceremony in San Diego on September 17th.

Thanks to Our Supporters!

A huge thank you goes to all our supporters who voted for us and to all the Be a Tree presenters who participated in the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge and helped to educate over 16,000 kids in one week about safety around dogs.

A Charitable Event to Remember

The 3rd Annual CLASSY Awards competition will culminate at a red-carpet awards ceremony on Saturday, September 17 in San Diego, California. It will feature celebrity appearances, chart-topping music talent, nonprofit and technology leaders, and thousands of CLASSY Awards supporters. More than $150,000 in cash and prizes will be donated to support the charitable efforts of the 12 National CLASSY Awards Winners.

This year’s CLASSY Awards weekend will also feature the CLASSY Collaborative, a day-long networking event on Friday, September 16 at the W Hotel San Diego. Participants will have the opportunity to meet, mingle and share ideas with some of the foremost leaders in philanthropy, technology, innovation, and entertainment.

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Scientific American gets a dog

Paper and pen VS THE COMPUTER

Hi Mia,

So I’m going to postpone the conversation I alluded to on Facebook. I wanted to ask you whether you opt for pen and paper when youre writing out blogs and work, or if you’re a computer gal, typing directly on a computer. I am quite attached to the pen and paper method myself, and it’s driving me a bit bonkers to keep track of ALL THAT PAPER. But, it can also be challenging to write directly on a computer. My thoughts come out a bit more jumbled when I type. Well, I think I just covered most of my pen vs computer diatribe! There! Done!

TODAY has been a big day!! My other blog, Dog Spies, left its old spot on Blogger and just joined the Scientific American Blog Network, so it looks like Sci Am got a dog ;)

My other blog, Dog Spies, takes a walk over to Scientific American.

Scientific American blog editor Bora Zivkovic (who named Do You Believe in Dog? blog of the week last year) gave both Dog Spies and Do You Believe in Dog? a shout out today.

I’m going to hold off on my thoughts about manuscript writing, but actually, that is probably Step 1 of scientific manuscript draft writing: PROCRASTINATE! ;) All jokes aside, a while back I read an inspirational piece on writing by Clive Wynne, head of the University of Florida Canine Cognition and Behavior Lab. The piece is called Thoughts on Writing and Getting Published, and I refer back to every now and again.

Now I know you are doing some hardcore science over there with a meta-analysis, so do tell us what thats all aboot!

Here’s to the dogs!! 

Julie

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