"Other Nations"

 The first blog I wrote was 'The Importance of Sniffing on a Dog Walk' . Please check it out if you haven't seen it already. I've been inspired to write this further blog on sniffing because of information I've learned recently from an online talk 1  by  Shay Kelly BSc   (Canine Behaviour Consultant and author) and a webinar 2  by  Katrien Lismont   (International Pet Dog Behaviour Trainer). I knew that through their sniffing, dogs get interesting information about the other dogs that have passed that way – things like their age, health and so on. Generally interesting stuff for dogs. They also love investigating non-dog related stuff of course – things like discarded food wrappers for example! What I had never considered before Shay Kelly's talk is that dogs can smell the emotional state of other dogs 3  (and people). They can smell stress chemicals, for example. This will form part of the information dogs are assessing when they are out...

Walking towards your dog, taking a curved route rather than a straight approach, is a nice thing you can do for him or her in your everyday life together.  Why would we do that? Dogs have a preference for non-direct approaches. Going straight up to another dog (i.e. direct route, body orientated straight-on, face to face) is generally not the way dogs go about things. Dogs who possess competent canine social skills, when going about their business, will communicate lack of intent towards those around them through the use of the direction they walk, the way they orientate their bodies relative to others, lack of direct eye contact etc. In addition, should socially competent dogs want to engage in a greeting, it will be a reciprocal arrangement involving curved/indirect approaches. If a dog is being aggressive or a dog wants to intimidate another dog that's when they are likely to use a direct approach. Alternatively, a dog may be over-excited and not have the social skills to put c...

 Dogs growl as a means of communication and it is important to realise that this can mean many things. It may mean another dog, or a person, is behaving in a way that it causing them stress or annoyance. Although they can’t speak the way we do, they have their own vocal language to communicate. One specific use of growling  This blog is going to look at just one specific use of growling - a dog growling when people they aren’t familiar with (or maybe people they aren’t particularly close to) move about the room, stand in a doorway, stand in the room talking etc. All of these scenarios could also happen outside in the garden, or anywhere really. The dog is showing their anxiety  Ok, so you’re sitting with your dog in the company of people the dog isn’t really used to. Someone gets up and starts to move about to do something. Not something to do with the dog, just some business of the person’s own.  Some nervous dogs can really struggle with this. A nervous do...

In the previous blog we looked at the pressure dogs can feel from the ways we show them affection. What we view as us showing our love for them can be downright unpleasant for dogs. Please check out the previous blog here: PettingDogs This time we are going to take this further and look at how we can check with our dogs if they want affection from us at any given time. This is known as 'consent testing' . “ Hold on, we have to get our dog's consent to pet them?!” Well, yes, if you want your dog to enjoy the petting it has to be when they feel like it. First of all, here are just some examples of when they may NOT feel like it: If your dog is engaging in some interesting activity of their own – sniffing about, watching someone through the window, playing with a toy, eating their food, etc. – Forget it! They won't want you petting them. If a dog is resting or sleeping– Leave them be. A word on the word 'Petting' When we are using the word 'petting...

These photos show people interacting with dogs in a way that gives the people pleasure and happiness. The dogs, however, are not enjoying it. I refer to the dogs as 'he' for handiness when discussing these photos, though they could equally well be female. So what's going on for the dogs in these photos? In the last blog, People Meeting Dogs , we discussed how important personal space is to dogs. People often like to show affection with one another by close contact – hugging etc. so they often do this with dogs too which can cause the dogs stress. Let's look at how the dogs in these photos are telling us this. Feeling the pressure of restraint When dogs are restrained as they are in these photos, they can feel trapped and prevented from using the full range of their body language to communicate.  Photo 1 In Photo 1 the woman is glasping the dog's head so tightly that he can only use his ears to show his discomfort. His ears are held back. I don't know how clea...

When we like dogs, it's natural to want to greet them if we get the chance.   We might want to go over to them, reach out to them and enjoy making a fuss of them. But is this what most dogs like, from someone they don't know? The short answer is no. Let's look at why. Dogs and people have different communication styles Going up to a dog, with the best of intentions of making friends with them, is at odds with dogs' etiquette among themselves. A direct, straight-on approach from one dog to another is not the polite thing to do. It can be perceived as threatening, or at the very least pushy. We will leave dog greeting behaviour though, as it is another big topic, and return to our own behaviour when meeting dogs. Let dogs keep their personal space Of course there are some dogs who are so sociable that they welcome friendly attention from everyone, but in general it is best not to reach out into a dog's personal space. Many dogs, especially shy, nervous d...

One of the most important things in the world to dogs is sniffing!  Dogs explore the world through their sense of smell. It is their primary sense. As humans, we have no real concept of the extent to which dogs live in a world of scent. Sniffing the environment: the ground, the grass, a park bin etc. gives a dog so much interesting information about the other dogs and other creatures that have passed that way. They can tell from the chemical communication left by other dogs in their urine, information such as the age and health of those dogs. Why is all this important to those of us who live with dogs and are responsible for their care? It is because when we know these priorities of our dogs, we can best ensure their well-being by fulfilling these canine needs.   Dogs need to sniff!  As well as being fulfilling, processing scents is mentally tiring too so this can help with the calmness of your dog when they return home after a walk. It is a good sign if your dog i...