My Friendly Pets

After this entry, I will be leaving to get on a plane for a trip to Florida. But this is not a pleasure trip. Unfortunately one of my cousins, at age 40 passed away from ovarian cancer leaving a husband and 4 children under the age of 14. The trip is for her funeral service and I’m sure it will be difficult for all involved.

I was thinking about how we all handle grief differently and that includes dogs. I am of the firm belief that animals, while not understanding the true concept of death, are aware of loss and grieve as humans do.

Because dogs can’t speak, we may think they don’t experience grief, but most believe that the dogs show their grief by their behavior and actions, or lack of actions. Some believe what the dog is actually feeling is separation anxiety, because they sense the person or animal missing and are more anxious about it, rather than sad.

I truly feel that dogs experience the sense of loss that we all feel when someone is missing from our lives and there are definite behaviors that help to identify this grief. Many dogs will be depressed and may exhibit this behavior by being lethargic or show a loss of appetite or disinterest in usual activities.

Sometimes dogs will demonstrate their grief physically by whining or barking. You should try and distract the dog from this behavior, but don’t do so with treats. This could actually encourage the negative behavior by rewarding he/she with treats. Distract the dog with activities when your dog is behaving with positive actions such as laying quietly and give some attention to help the dog deal with the pain. It is said that “time heals all wounds”. Meaning dogs need time to adjust to the loss of in their lives just as you and I would.

In some cases drug therapy or anti anxiety medication may be needed. This should be a decision between you and your veterinarian. Also don’t jump into getting a new dog as “company” or to replace their loss. Wait for a time when you feel your dog is emotionally ready to welcome another dog into the home. It will be a better experience for all.

I know most of my readers are not New Yorkers, so if you haven’t heard, our governer has resigned as a result of his sexual indiscretions and the potential illegality he used to conduct these acts. Read more about it in a blog by fellow blogger, Jean Lockwood.

I can remember coming home from a family dinner and we had left our dog alone in the house. He wasn’t in his crate, but he was gated in a room, as he was still a youngster, not a puppy, but still not full grown. When we came into the house, our dog jumped to greet us and was extremely happy. However, as we glanced around the room the cushions from our couch were no longer on the couch. They were all over the living room, torn to shreds. OMG!!!! Why would this dog who is so well behaved when we are at home commit to such destruction when we are not around??? Our dog sufferred from separation anxiety. We did work with Geo and he did improve greatly, but on occasion, we would return home after an outing and the furniture was intact, but he had wandered into our bedroom and proceeded to tear apart tissues. He tore them from the tissue container as well as the garbage can. So we did minimize and almost eliminate all of his separation anxiety. This like any other behavioral issue with your dog may take time and patience, but it is definately worth the effort.

There are some dogs that suffer severely from separation anxiety and unaware owners may not work with the dogs to correct any behaviors that are a result of separation anxiety. In fact, some owners punish their dogs for behavior that the dogs simply can’t control. However, there are ways to diminish and even eliminate separation anxiety in your dog. According to the Humane Society of the United States, attacks of separation anxiety will usually take place 30-45 minutes after the dog has been left alone. The behaviors exhibited as a result of separation anxiety could include chewing, digging, barking, scratching and even urninating (or worse) even if they are house trained. These behaviors are not a result of the dog being “mad” at us for leaving them, but rather their panic and anxiety at being left alone. That’s why punishing the dog for these behaviors doesn’t work.

If your dog does suffer from separation anxiety, there are things that can be done to help your dog. First of all, don’t make a big deal about leaving or coming home in front of your dog. In fact, when arriving home, keep it quiet and avoid petting your dog for a few moments. It might be hard, but it is in their best interest. When you leave, give your dog a piece of clothing that you have recently worn so they can have your scent close to them. This will help to keep the dog calm. Also, using training techniqes that allow your dog to realize, when you are going and that you are coming back work well. For example, getting your keys out and other small routines should be done the same way every time. Also, working with your dog by leaving for short periods of time and then lengthening the times so that your do gets comfortable with you leaving is also important.

If you are truly into getting away from it all, with or without your dog, check out fellow blogger, Andrea Crome, and her take on places all over the world.

There are a lot of dog behaviors that are troublesome to not only the owner of the pet, but also guests who arrive the home of the pet. One way dogs show how happy and excited they are to have company is to jump on the guest, or whomever new is coming into the house as a welcome gesture. However, this can be scary, intimidating and even dangerous if the dog is large enough, as small children and the elderly could be easily overpowered by the jumping dog.

Very often when a dog jumps, people will pet the dog, push it away or even in a kind voice tell the dog to get down. Believe it or not, in a subtle way, this is reward behavior to a dog as the dog is getting a reaction. These types of “rewards” will reinforce the jumping behavior in a dog.

The best type of training to eliminate jumping behavior according to the writers at petplace.com is to give no reaction to the bad behavior including silence and no recognition of the dog’s effort to get your attention.

Anyone coming to your home should be informed about your nonjumping policy and help by showing no reaction to the dog when he/she exhibits bad jumping behavior. Also, it helps in training consistency to get the help of a friend or neighbor to come to the house repeatedly and work with your dog to reward nonjumping behavior when the lessons are learned.

We know how wonderful it is for our dogs to greet our guests with excitement and pleasure. However, it is important that our dogs realize that not everyone wants a dog to jump on them and as mentioned in some cases it can be dangerous. This is the type of behavior training that can be done at home as you will most likely be the one with your dog when guests arrive. Remember, our dogs truly want to please us, so showing them no reaction to their bad jumping behavior may be the best training mechanism your dog needs.

By now, you have probably seen “The Dog Whisperer� on National Geographic. Cesar Milan has become quite popular with his uncommon approach to dog training. Actually, Cesar’s approach is more about training the person than the dog. His philosophy is to use calm, assertive energy in establishing yourself as the pack leader. Since dogs are pack animals, they see us humans as members of their pack as well. Cesar runs the Dog Psychology Center in Los Angeles where he rehabilitates dogs who are out of control. I must say, Cesar seemingly has a gift in the way he gets dogs to respond to him. I love the idea of “calm-assertive energy�. What do you think of Cesar?

dogs, pets, animals, cesar milan, the dog whisperer, dog training, dog psycology

K9 Magazine’s translation of ten different barks:

1. Continuous rapid barking, midrange pitch: “Call the pack! There is a potential problem! Someone is coming into our territory!” Continuous barking but a bit slower and pitched lower: “The intruder [or danger] is very close. Get ready to defend yourself!”

2. Barking in rapid strings of three or four with pauses in between, midrange pitch: “I suspect that there may be a problem or an intruder near our territory. I think that the leader of the pack should look into it.”

3. Prolonged or incessant barking, with moderate to long intervals between each utterance: “Is there anybody there? I’m lonely and need companionship.” This is most often the response to confinement or being left alone for long periods of time.

4. One or two sharp short barks, midrange pitch: “Hello there!” This is the most typical greeting sound.

5. Single sharp short bark, lower midrange pitch: “Stop that!” This is often given by a mother dog when disciplining her puppies but may also indicate annoyance in any dog, such as when disturbed from sleep or if hair is pulled during grooming and so forth.

6. Single sharp short bark, higher midrange: “What’s this?” or “Huh?” This is a startled or surprised sound. If it is repeated two or three times its meaning changes to “Come look at this!” alerting the pack to a novel event. This same type of bark, but not quite as short and
sharp, is used to mean “Come here!” Many dogs will use this kind of bark at the door to indicate that they want to go out. Lowering the pitch to a relaxed midrange means “Terrific!” or some other similar expletive, such as “Oh, great!” My cairn terrier, for example, who loves to jump, will give this single bark of joy when sent over the high jump. Other dogs give this same bark when given their food dish.

7. Single yelp or very short high-pitched bark: “Ouch!” This is in response to a sudden, unexpected pain.

8. Series of yelps: “I’m hurting!” “I’m really scared” This is in response to severe fear and pain.

9. Stutter-bark, midrange pitch: If a dog’s bark were spelled “ruff,” the stutter-bark would be spelled “ar-ruff.” It means “Let’s play!” and is used to initiate playing behavior.

10. Rising bark: This is a bit hard to describe, although once you’ve heard it, it is unmistakable. It is usually a series of barks, each of which starts in the middle range but rises sharply in pitch - almost a bark-yelp, though not quite that high. It is a play bark, used during rough-and- tumble games, that shows excitement and translates as “This is fun!”

K9Magazine.com

dogs, pets, animals, barking, communication, dog behavior